I received my B.Sc Hons in Pharmacology from the University of Aberdeen before obtaining a Ph.D from the University of Strathclyde under the supervision of Prof Susan Pyne, where I studied the enzymes sphingosine kinase and sphingosine-1-phosphate phosphatase. My postdoctoral training began at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Centre (University of California, San Francisco) in the laboratory of Professor Jennifer Whistler, where I investigated the consequences of disrupted GPCR trafficking in health an disease. Specifically, my work focused on the dopamine receptor family and their role in cocaine sensitisation. From here, I moved to the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre at Imperial College London followed by training at the William Harvey Research Centre at Queen Mary London in the laboratory of Profs Mauro Perretti and Roderick Flower where I studied the trafficking properties of the Formylpeptide receptor family (also GPCRs) and their role in innate immunity. I returned to the University of Aberdeen and continued my postdoctoral studies under the supervision of Prof Mirela Delibegovic investigating the role of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) in inflammation. In January 2020 I was appointed Lecturer in Medical Sciences.
My research philosophy involves determining processes at the molecular level and translating these into whole animal physiology. My specific focus is G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) regulation and the molecular mechanisms controlling GPCR endocytosis and post-endocytic fate, how these control cellular function, how disruption of these process alters cell function and ultimately how this leads to disease in the animal.
Loss of GPR75 protects against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and body fat accumulation
Leeson-Payne, A., Iyinikkel, J., Malcolm, C., Lam, B. Y. H., Sommer, N., Dowsett, G. K. C., Blanco Martinez de Morentin, P., Thompson, D., MacKenzie, A., Chianese, R., Kentistou, K. A., Gardner, E. J., Perry, J. R., Grassmann, F., Speakman, J., Rochford, J., Yeo, G. S. H., Murray, F., Heisler, L.
