Peter Haslehurst

I am interested in how the synapse (the junction between two neurons) is able to change its strength in response to a stimulus (plasticity). I’m especially interested in forms of plasticity where changes at one synapse can cause changes at neighbouring synapses on the same neuron. As well as being fascinating  for its own sake, we hope that this work will help us to understand human memory better, which will ultimately assist the fight against diseases of memory (such as Alzheimer’s Disease).

To make progress in this work we need new imaging technologies. In collaboration with physicists at St Andrews University (the Dholakia group) and a small photonics company (M Squared Life, see  Aurora: Light Sheet Fluorescence Microscopy​) I am developing light sheet microscopes of novel design which we hope will enable significant new advances in our understanding of synapse plasticity.