Yvonne Couch

Yvonne Couch is an Associate Professor of Neuroimmunology at the University of Oxford's Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences. She holds the prestigious position of Alzheimer's Research UK Fellow and serves as a Stipendiary Lecturer at Somerville College and an Associate Research Fellow at St Hilda's College. Her research program is centered at the Oxford Stroke Recovery Research Hub, where she leads investigations into brain-immune communication mechanisms following stroke.

Dr. Couch's primary research interests focus on neuroimmunology, specifically how the brain communicates injury or illness to the systemic immune system and vice versa. Her work centers on stroke research with particular emphasis on extracellular vesicles (EVs) as novel mechanisms of cell-to-cell communication. She investigates how EVs act as injury signals escaping the brain after stroke and their impact on vascular function. Her recent work has expanded into studying the long-term consequences of stroke on brain health, including vascular reactivity and metabolic health in the central nervous system, with the ultimate goal of preventing post-stroke cognitive decline.

Analysis of Dr. Couch's publication record reveals a strong focus on stroke pathophysiology, neurovascular mechanisms, and extracellular vesicle biology. Her work spans from fundamental cell biology of pericytes and vascular function to translational metabolic imaging approaches. Recent publications demonstrate increasing emphasis on therapeutic interventions like rapamycin and metabolic imaging techniques to understand long-term stroke consequences.

Her notable scientific achievements include:

• Carlsberg Research Fellowship at the University of Southern Denmark
• Alzheimer's Research UK Fellowship
• BHF Transition Fellowship awarded in 2024 by the Oxford Centre for Research Excellence

Dr. Couch's research program has secured multiple independent grants enabling exploration of EVs in stroke. Her current BHF Transition Fellowship focuses on using metabolic imaging to study long-term effects of stroke on brain and brain metabolism. She maintains active collaborations through the Oxford Stroke Recovery Research Hub and Dementia Researcher Network, with research spanning basic science to translational applications.

Her laboratory continues to investigate the role of extracellular vesicles in stroke pathophysiology and recovery, with particular interest in how these lipid vesicles affect vascular reactivity and contribute to long-term cognitive outcomes. The research group actively seeks new collaborations in these areas.