Dr. Alejandro Lorente Pons
School of Science, Engineering and Environment
Current positions
Teaching fellow in Biomedical Sciences
I joined the University of Salford as a Teaching Fellow in July 2020. My background is in biochemistry, molecular biology and neuroscience. I developed my previous research in the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience, under the supervision of Robin Highley and Jon Wood. There, I investigated some of the oligodendroglial molecular mechanisms which might cause motor neurone disease, using donated brain tissue from sporadic cases, and cases harbouring the expansion mutation in the C9orf72 gene. After my PhD, I pursued a career in teaching in Higher Education by joining the School of Biochemistry at the University of Bristol as a teaching associate. I honed my teaching skills and scholarship for 4 years in Bristol, and now I keep pursuing that teaching career at Salford.
Teaching
Research Interests
I am interested in how the brain works and how neurones interact with other cells, especially how oligodendrocytes give trophic and insulating support to the neurones in the central nervous system. Some brain diseases affect the ways oligodendrocytes perform and I find it interesting to know why this happens at the molecular level.
Qualifications
- Joint BSc in Chemistry + Biochemistry (University of Seville)
- MSc in Translational Neuroscience (University of Sheffield)
- PhD in molecular and pathological neuroscience
Memberships
- Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Member of the Society of Spanish Researchers in the UK