Dr Robert Mason

Rob began his career studying Biological Sciences at the University of Leicester and graduated in 1998. He then stayed at Leicester and received an MRes and PhD, followed by work as a Research Associate for Professor Flaviano Giorgini between 2006 and 2022. His postdoctoral work involved identifying and characterising genetic modifiers of neurodegenerative disease to discover novel therapeutic strategies. He has also worked as a Teaching Fellow and a Scientific Officer in the genomics core facility at Leicester. Rob started as an Associate Lecturer at the University of Northampton in 2022 and became a Senior Lecturer in Molecular Medicine in 2023. He is also a member of the Centre for Physical Activity and Life Sciences.

Rob's research focuses on identifying genes that influence the onset and symptomatic profile of neurodegenerative diseases. His main interests lie in  understanding how they cause disease, and using this information to uncover novel therapeutic strategies.

Key areas of interest include:

• Using model organisms to understand neurodegenerative disease
• Identifying common factors in neurodegenerative disease
• Developing novel therapeutic strategies for Huntington's disease
• Rab GTPase function and dysfunction in neurodegeneration

Rob primarily contributes to teaching on the MSc Molecular medicine, and is module lead for:

• SLSM014 Genetics and Genomics
• SLSM011 Research Methods: Quantitative Statistical Analyses
• SPOM019 Applied Practice