Katherine Birditt

My academic journey began with an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences. It was during a Wellcome Trust Internship, that my passion for neurodegenerative disease research was realised. Awarded a Standard Bank of Africa Chairman’s Scholarship to pursue my MPhil in Basic and Translational Neuroscience at Cambridge University, I explored the diagnostic utility of existing plasma biomarkers in differentiating AD from LBD. My research as a Harding Distinguished Postgraduate PhD scholar will remain guided by this interest in blood-based markers of biological processes, but will be focused on frontotemporal lobar degeneration. I intend on analysing multimodal brain imaging data and plasma biomarkers and integrating this information with clinical data to detect early brain changes that contribute to the rapid progression of the disorder. Specifically, my work will explore the interactions between inflammation, genetic markers, and metabolomics to enhance our understanding of how these parameters associate with one another and evolve over the course of the disease. The goal of this research is to gain deeper insights into the mechanisms underlying frontotemporal dementia, thereby improving its diagnosis, aiding in prognostic monitoring, and hopefully informing the development of more effective therapeutic strategies.