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Mariah Lelos

Dr Mariah Lelos

(she/her)

Senior Lecturer

School of Biosciences

Email
LelosMJ@cardiff.ac.uk
Telephone
+44 29208 75541
Campuses
Sir Martin Evans Building, Room Cardiff School of Biosciences, The Sir Martin Evans Building, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX
Users
Available for postgraduate supervision

Overview

I co-direct the Brain Repair Group (BRG), where we focus on understanding and treating neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases. We are interested in understanding the manifestation of motor and non-motor (cognitive, neuropsychiatric) dysfunctions in degenerative diseases using lesion, viral vector and genetically modified rodent models. We are also investigating the ability of novel cell (hESC- and hiPSC-derived) and gene therapies to alleviate these impairments and optimising these treatments for clinical application.

I am the Deputy Head of the Neuroscience Division

I am a PI within the Medicines Discovery Institute (MDI) and co-I in the Dementia Research Institute (DRI)

I act as an Associate Theme Lead for Mind, Brain and Neurosciences

I am the Deputy Chair and Biosi Representative on the Animal Welfare and Research Panel (AWARP)

I also sit on the GMBA committee 

Publication

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2018

2017

2016

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

Articles

Book sections

Thesis

Websites

Research

My lab focuses on understanding and treating neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases. We are interested in understanding the manifestation of motor and non-motor (cognitive, neuropsychiatric) dysfunctions in degenerative diseases using lesion, viral vector and genetically modified rodent models. We are also investigating the ability of novel cell (hESC- and hiPSC-derived) and gene therapies to alleviate these impairments and optimising these treatments for clinical application.

Some current research questions that are being addressed include: 

Can hPSC-derived dopamine grafts alleviate non-motor dysfunctions in Parkinson's disease?

Does neuroinflammation play a role in hPSC-derived dopmine graft-induced dyskinesias?

What is the impact of dopamine production from AAV vectors on striatal-dependent cognitive function?

Can we modulate gene expression to improve neurite outgrowth and synapse formation from hPSC-derived dopamine grafts?

Can hPSC-derived medium spiny neuron transplants form synaptic connections and alleviate non-motor dysfunctions in models of Huntingtons' disease?

Teaching

I am currently the Assessment Lead and a lecturer on the 3rd year module 'Neurobiology of Brain Disorders'.

I teach on the Cellular and Molecular Biology module at Master's level.

I run a week-long practical to teach histological and immunohistochemical assays and microscopy skills using rodent brain tissues.

I am a personal tutor for Neuroscience and Biomedical undergraduate students.

See a recent talk on my field: 

  • Lelos, M.J. (2022, January 31). Cell replacement therapy for neurodegenerative diseases [Video file]. In The Biomedical & Life Sciences Collection, Henry Stewart Talks. Retrieved March 22, 2022, from https://hstalks.com/bs/4882/.

Biography

My PhD (2005-2010, Prof M Good) investigated neural network dysfunction using mathematical modelling in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, with a particular focus on amyloid-induced dysfunction in the amydala and hippocampal formation.

My post-doctoral research (2010-2015, Prof S Dunnett) aimed to understand basal ganglia dysfunction in Parkinson's and Huntington's disease and to explore the use of human fetal and novel stem cell derived therapies to alleviate the behavioural impairments.

I was awarded a Senior Research Fellowship from Parkinson's UK (2015-2018) to investigate the ability of human stem cell derived cell therapy products to ameliorate cognitive impairments in rodent models of Parkinson's disease.

I have recently commenced a Senior Lectureship in the neuroscience department and my lab is exploring several new avenues. We are seeking to establish novel cell therapies to treat Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, using novel DREADDs manipulations, undertaking PET/MR imaging and using rabies tracing technologies. We are also studying the impact of novel gene therapies on cellular function and on cognitive dysfunction.

Supervisions

I am keen to welcome new PhD students to the team with a particular interest in:

Parkinson's disease

Huntington's disease

Cognitive or neuropsychiatric dysfunctions

Cell therapies

Gene therapies

Current supervision

Charlotte Bridge

Charlotte Bridge

Research Associate

Feras Sharouf

Feras Sharouf

Research student

Rachel Sellick

Rachel Sellick

Graduate Demonstrator

Parinda Prapaiwongs

Parinda Prapaiwongs

Research Assistant

Kubra Aksu

Kubra Aksu

Graduate Demonstrator

Jiayu Hao

Jiayu Hao

Research student

Phoebe Norton

Phoebe Norton

Research student

Patricia Garcia Jareno

Patricia Garcia Jareno

Research Assistant

Rachel Hills

Rachel Hills

Research student

Past projects

Previous PhD students: 

Dr. Susanne Clinch: Developing and evaluating behavioural tasks to assess basal ganglia function

Dr. Mengru Song: Does levodopa affect endogenous and exogenous dopaminergic neuron survival? 

Dr. Charlotte Bridge: Investigating the role of dopamine in cognitive impairments in a rat model of Parkinson’s Disease

Specialisms

  • Parkinson's disease
  • Huntington's disease
  • Cell therapies
  • Gene therapies
  • Cognition