Paula Ledesma Fernandez
I am a PhD student in the Weir lab. I am a veterinary surgeon, and I graduated from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (2018). I gained clinical experience working as an equine veterinary surgeon before completing an MScR in Integrative Neuroscience; I conducted proteomics and in silico analysis to understand the pathophysiology of equine grass sickness (an equine neurodegenerative disease) under the supervision of Professor Thomas Wishart and Professor Bruce McGorum (2021-2022). I then worked as a Clinician at the Equine Practice of the University of Edinburgh and obtained a Certificate as Advanced Veterinary Practitioner. In September 2023 I moved to Glasgow to start my PhD, in which I am co-supervised by Dr Andrew Bell (primary supervisor) and Dr Greg-Weir (co-supervisor).
My project focuses on transcriptomic analysis of canine sensory neurons in the dorsal root ganglia. I am specifically characterising the molecular properties of nociceptive sensory neurons to aid rational analgesic design. My main interest is to strengthen and hone the translation between human and veterinary diseases.