CNS News & Events
PhD student Rachel Furlong awarded Neuroscience Ireland travel bursary
PhD student Rachel Furlong who was awarded a travel bursary from Neuroscience Ireland to attend the 13th International Conference on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases tells of her experience in attending this international conference which took place in Vienna, Austria, April 2017. Rachel is a PhD student in the school of Biochemistry and Cell Biology and department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, UCC, under the supervision of Dr Cora O’Neill and Prof Aideen Sullivan
“At the meeting I presented a poster entitled “PINK1 activation of PI3-Kinase/Akt – understanding mechanisms which lead to Parkinson’s disease”. This conference offered me a unique opportunity to present my work at an international level to both basic scientists and clinical investigators of all levels, from young upcoming researchers to established leaders of the field. This allowed me the opportunity to make some important connections with potential collaborators as well as getting real time peer reviews of my work which will be useful in the preparation for publication in addition to shaping my future research. A real highlight of this conference was attending the plenary talk by Virginia Lee, a pioneer of neurodegenerative research. This talk highlighted the major advances in Parkinson’s disease (PD) research as well as clearly identifying the major challenge that still lies ahead: to find a disease modifying therapy that can treat the cause of this disease.”
Co-authors and contributors to the work are Dr Andrew Lindsay, Prof Aideen Sullivan and Dr Cora O’Neill. The work was funded by the Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme.