Dr Benjamin Pickard
Senior Lecturer
Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences
Personal statement
Personal statement
Ben Pickard obtained a BSc in Biochemistry from Imperial College London (1992), and a PhD from the University of Edinburgh (1996). Before coming to the University of Strathclyde, he worked at the Babraham Institute, Cambridge on factors regulating DNA methylation, and at the Molecular Medicine Centre, Edinburgh, identifying genetic risk factors for common psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression.
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Genes associated with amyloid-beta-induced inflammasome-mediated neuronal death identified using functional gene trap mutagenesis approach Yap Jeremy Kean Yi, Pickard Benjamin Simon, Gan Sook Yee, Chan Elaine Wan Ling International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology Vol 136 (2021) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocel.2021.106014 The role of neuronal NLRP1 inflammasome in Alzheimer's disease : bringing neurons into the neuroinflammation game Yap Jeremy Kean Yi, Pickard Benjamin Simon, Chan Elaine Wan Ling, Gan Sook Yee Molecular Neurobiology Vol 56, pp. 7741-7753 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-019-1638-7 PEGylation of polypropylenimine dendrimers : effects on cytotoxicity, DNA condensation, gene delivery and expression in cancer cells Somani Sukrut, Laskar Partha, Altwaijry Najla, Kewcharoenvong Paphitchaya, Irving Craig, Robb Gillian, Pickard Benjamin S, Dufès Christine Scientific Reports Vol 8 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-27400-6 Specialised information processing deficits and distinct metabolomic profiles following TM-domain disruption of Nrg1 O'Tuathaigh Colm M P, Mathur Naina, O'Callaghan Matthew J, MacIntyre Lynsey, Harvey Richard, Lai Donna, Waddington John L, Pickard Benjamin S, Watson David G, Moran Paula M Schizophrenia Bulletin Vol 43, pp. 1100–1113 (2017) https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbw189 Genomics of lithium action and response Pickard Benjamin S Neurotherapeutics Vol 14, pp. 582-587 (2017) https://doi.org/10.1007/s13311-017-0554-7 Brain changing tubers : gene expression changes following mediaeval tuber consumption Woods N, Gebril A, Simpson Ann, Iannetta Ppm, Kenicer G, Tate R J, Pickard B, Gray A I, Ferro V A Planta Medica Vol 81, pp. S1-S381 (2016) https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0036-1596241
Publications
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DTP 2224 University of Strathclyde | Campbell, Iona Chamberlain, Luke (Principal Investigator) Pickard, Ben (Co-investigator) Campbell, Iona (Research Co-investigator) 01-Jan-2022 - 01-Jan-2026 Development of a long-lifetime dye for gated-STED microscopy Edkins, Robert (Principal Investigator) Pickard, Ben (Co-investigator) 01-Jan-2020 - 31-Jan-2021 Biomedical Vacation Scholarships Coats, Paul (Principal Investigator) Jiang, Hui-Rong (Principal Investigator) Lawrence, Catherine (Principal Investigator) McDonald, James (Principal Investigator) Pickard, Ben (Principal Investigator) 09-Jan-2018 - 31-Jan-2018 Biomedical Vacation Scholarships / R180191-5 Pickard, Ben (Principal Investigator) 02-Jan-2018 - 17-Jan-2018 Pharmacells contribution to IAA Secondment Carswell, Hilary (Principal Investigator) Pickard, Ben (Co-investigator) McKittrick, Craig (Research Co-investigator) 25-Jan-2016 - 31-Jan-2017 Development of novel gene delivery systems for brain targeting by intravenous administration Dufès, Christine (Principal Investigator) Pickard, Ben (Co-investigator) 01-Jan-2016 - 30-Jan-2019
Research Interests
- The use of gene traps in human cell lines to create mutational libraries that can be screened to reveal biological pathways: e.g., lithium mood stabiliser action, the formation of the perineuronal net, beta-amyloid toxicity in Alzheimers, human defence mechanisms against bacterial infection.
- The formation of the special type of extracellular matrix called the Perineuronal Net (PNN) which surrounds certain brain neurons and, when defective, may be a causative factor in psychiatric disorders.
- Two new rules we have discovered that link the amino acid composition of a protein to its expression level.
Projects
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Contact
Dr
Benjamin
Pickard
Senior Lecturer
Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences
Email: benjamin.pickard@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 4572