Luke Souter
- Email: mnlso@leeds.ac.uk
- Thesis title: The interplay of biochemical and biophysical properties to the functions of perineuronal nets
- Supervisor: Dr Jessica CF Kwok, Ralf Richter, Richard Hall
Profile
I graduated from the University of Bristol Biology department in 2012 and took up a position at the Sanger Institiute. I worked as a research assistant working on the mouse genetics programme in the developmental biology and histology laboratories. In 2015 I joined a central doctorate training programme (CDT) at the University of Leeds in the Mechanical Engineering department where I undertook an MSc in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. I am now a PhD student in Jessica Kwok's lab looking into the biochemical and biophysical properties of a specialised extracellular matrix structure in the central nervous system.
Research interests
I am intersted in researching how the extracellular matrix influences neuronal behaviour in the central nervous system. Specifically I am researching a specialised extracellular matrix structure called a perineuronal net.
My research project is looking into heterogeneity in the biochemical makeup of these structures in the central nervous system and how these differences may influence their biophysical properties.
Qualifications
- MSc Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine: Distinction
- BSc Biology: 1st class Hons