Melissa Bowerman

A huge congrats to our member Ali Aries for her NIHR Senior Clinical and Practitioner Research Award! This will support her work leading a Roundtable on somatosensation post-stroke for the ISRRA and to develop a Patient and Lived Experience Advisory Team (PLEAT) in The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust!

Interesting new dual #NatureMedicine papers on intrathecal delivery of #SMA gene therapy: tinyurl.com/3y62k6uv and tinyurl.com/3e5z3z57 #Myoblue

Introduction of whole genome sequencing as NHS standard of care for glioma patients in two neurosurgical oncology centres: West Midlands - BJC Reports BJC Reports - Introduction of whole genome sequencing as NHS standard of care for glioma patients in two neurosurgical oncology centres: West Midlands

Congratulations to our member Erminia Albanese for her recent publication on the introduction of whole genome sequencing as NHS standard of care for glioma patients in two neurosurgical oncology centres!
www.nature.com/articles/s44...

It is that time again, time to vote for the 12th Annual Matt's Totally Biased (but less so) Top 10 Muscle Papers of the Year. Due to prohibitive shipping costs, this year’s winner will receive an e-gift card in lieu of a plaque. Voting will end Dec. 20. uab.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Thank you for including me and looking forward to contributing my expertise on spinal muscular atrophy!

A Clinical Tool to Identify Incidental Meningioma for Early Outpatient Management - PubMed This cohort study found that the IMPACT tool accurately predicted the risk of incidental meningioma progression and can be used to stratify patients into early intervention, serial monitoring, or safe discharge from outpatient care.

Congratulations to our member Erminia Albanese for her recent publication describing A Clinical Tool to Identify Incidental Meningioma for Early Outpatient Management!
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41264316/!

FLASH: innovative integrated enzymatic-fluorescent labeling for automated muscle fiber typing, metabolic and morphometric analysis - Skeletal Muscle Background Skeletal muscle is a dynamic tissue capable of structural and metabolic remodeling in response to physiological and pathological stimuli. These adaptations are central to understanding the ...

New #SkeletalMuscle paper: FLASH: innovative integrated enzymatic-fluorescent labeling for automated muscle fiber typing, metabolic and morphometric analysis. #Myoblue tinyurl.com/4cuhffbv

Book cover of Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler showing a red bird

📖 45 of 2025 (10/10): Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler. What a sequel! The story takes an unexpected turn mid-way through. I found it very disturbing that although first published in 1998, its storyline is not a far stretch from what is happening in the USA at the moment.
#Booksky

Thank you to all co-authors and funders for your support!

Mifepristone alone and in combination with scAAV9-SMN1 gene therapy improves disease phenotypes in Smn2B/- spinal muscular atrophy mice Scientific Reports - Mifepristone alone and in combination with scAAV9-SMN1 gene therapy improves disease phenotypes in Smn2B/- spinal muscular atrophy mice

Excited to share Emma Sutton's recently published Ph.D. research! By using cells, worms and mice, we report that mifepristone, a glucocorticoid receptor anatagonist, alone and in combination with an approved SMN-dependent therapy, has the potential to improve SMA disease pathology.
rdcu.be/eQpXG

Academic poster on our research on Acrodystosis Type 2

View from window: Big Ben and the Eye in London

Privileged to attend the @ukri.org MRC Biomedicine Science Conference at the QEII Conference Centre in London today where I presented our research on Acrodysostosis Type 2, heard about exciting science and discussed public partnerships!

Book cover of Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler showing a black woman in a red dress.

📖 44 of 2025 (10/10): Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler. A dystopian novel that is not too far from current world events. Beautifully written with an array of characters that display the best and worse of what humanity has to offer. Can’t wait to read the sequel!
#Booksky

Book cover of Patriot by Alexei Navalny showing his face.

📖 43 of 2025 (10/10): Patriot by Alexei Navalny. More than a memoir: a powerful account of an individual that fought for a free, peaceful, happy and non-corrupt country. Knowing he dies makes it a difficult. Knowing that corruptions openly persists worldwide makes it even more difficult…
#Booksky

Congratulations to our member Divya Chari who has been invited to contribute to a strategic Global Health Innovative & Advanced Treatments Workshop, organised by the @ukri.org Medical Research Council UK!

I am so proud and happy for Eve McCallion, a Senior Research Technician in my lab, that was shortlisted as a finalist in this year's Lab Awards in the category of Lab Technician of the Year (lnkd.in/dbjKFJ5d)!

Book cover of The Children of Men by P.D. James showing dark skies, trees and red berries.

📖 42 of 2025 (5/20): The Children of Men by P.D. James. The concept behind the book is interesting but the plot was slow and I did not like the protagonist.
#Booksky

Brain Stories Episode 22 Caswell Barry and Lucy Unwin talk about the neuroscience behind their new children’s book – Inside Your Brain Podcast Episode · Brain Stories · 15/10/2025 · 48m

New episode of @uclbrainstories.bsky.social is out! Me & @smfleming.bsky.social chat to our cohost @caswell.bsky.social & Lucy Unwin about their new book “Inside your Brain”. Have a listen & buy the book for any budding young neuroscientists in your life!

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/b...

Research Assistant: Dementia Risk Reduction Research Assistant at Macquarie University supporting a dementia risk reduction clinical trial, assisting with study visits, data, and participant coordination.

Research Assistant Vacancy at Macquarie University supporting a dementia risk reduction clinical trial, assisting with study visits, data, and participant coordination. Closing date: 30th October

www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/job/research...

Book cover of Normal People by Sally Rooney showing two people cuddling in a can of sardines.

📖 41 of 2025 (10/10): Normal People by Sally Rooney. This book left me with a ball of mixed intense emotions in the pit of my stomach. And I had to sit with them for a while because I was not ready to say goodbye to Marianne & Connell just yet…
#Booksky

Book cover of This is Big by Marisa Meltzer showing a picture of the founder of Weight Watchers.

📖 40 of 2025 (8/10): This is Big by Marisa Meltzer. Part biography of the founder of Weight Watchers, part reflection on the author’s relationship with her body weight, it forces you to reflect on a society that too often associates how you look to your worth.
#Bluesky

a black and white drawing of an eye with a brain in the middle ALT: a black and white drawing of an eye with a brain in the middle

Last month, our member Claire Monroy had the fanstastic opportunity to give a talk on "Neural correlates of visual processing in deaf infants" at the Society for the Neurobiology of Language (2025.neurolang.org) meeting in Washington D.C. Well done!

Canal and boats

Canal and boats

My son had England ice hockey trials at Lee Valley ice rink in London so I took the opportunity to walk along the canals and wild nature reserves. Very windy but no rain!

Academic research poster

Congrats to Ian Holt, a Research Associate in our member Heidi Fuller's group, who won first prize at the Neuromuscular Study Group meeting in Stresa (Italy) for his poster on Characterising PMP22 proximal partners in a Schwann cell model of CMT1A. Well done!

a drawing of a chair with a speech bubble that says " committee work " ALT: a drawing of a chair with a speech bubble that says " committee work "

Congrats to our member Divya Chari who will be chairing the 2026 UK Multiple Sclerosis Society Career Development Awards round (PhD Fellowships & Early Career Fellowships)!

Research meeting attendees facing speaker Sharon Owen at the podium and title presentation slide.

Research meeting attendees facing speaker Sharon Owen at the podium and introduction slide on spinal muscular atrophy.

Our members Sharon Owen & Heidi Fuller were at the Neuromuscular Study Group meeting in Stresa (Italy) last week where Sharon delivered an excellent flash talk presentation on using omics to identify severity-specific differences in spinal muscular atrophy!

We’re hiring!
My new Gut–Brain Axis Lab at Northwestern is looking for a Research Technologist 2 to help build the lab and explore how the nervous system shapes gut health and disease.
🔬 Apply here: myhr.northwestern.edu/psp/hrnu/EMP...

This weekend I had the honour of attending the SMA UK's Big Weekend: Forty & Forward to update families on current pre-clinical research priorities in SMA. Clinical trials, exercise, newborn screening, access to education, sex & relationships were also discussed, showing there is still a lot to do!

Book cover of Poor by Katriona O’Sullivan showing a young female child climbing up a wall.

📖 39 of 2025 (8/10): Poor by Katriona O’Sullivan. A raw and honest account of a very difficult childhood and how our societal structures and behaviours make it difficult for kids that are born randomly in such circumstances don’t get afforded the same opportunities as others.
#Booksky

A huge congratulations to Katie, who has successfully passed her MPhil! Her research was aimed at understanding the role of authophagy in SMA and its potential as a therapeutic target. It was a real joy having her join our lab and we already miss her!

And here goes the start of another ice hockey season in the UK. Well done to my son’s team who started the season with a win! He played an excellent game and was awarded player of the match!