Gillian Matthews, PhD


gmatthewsProject

Optogenetic dissection of the neural circuitry underlying social interaction

Laboratories

Kay Tye, Ph.D., Mark Bear, Ph.D.

Biographical information

Gillian Matthews completed her undergraduate studies in Physiological Sciences at the University of Bristol. This first sparked her interest in neuroscience and she spent her final year research project investigating the hypothalamic dopamine neurons following pheromonal communication. Gillian then went on to earn her Ph.D at Imperial College London, in Mark Ungless’s Neurophysiology group. Here she utilized ex vivo patch-clamp electrophysiology to study the midbrain dopamine neurons in the context of drug addiction, which solidified her interest in the dopamine system and unraveling its role in neuropsychiatric disorders.