Emma Louise Scotter MNZM is a New Zealand academic neuropharmacologist, and is a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland, and head of the university's Centre for Brain Research. In 2024 she was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Motor Neuron Disease research.
Emma Scotter | |
|---|---|
| Awards | Rutherford Discovery Fellowship, Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University of Auckland |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | University of Auckland, King's College London, University of Waikato |
Academic career
editScotter completed a PhD in pharmacology at the University of Auckland, working on Huntington's disease.[1] She undertook postdoctoral work at the University of Waikato, and then received an international fellowship to work on motor neuron disease genetics with Professor Chris Shaw at King's College London.[2] Scotter then returned to Auckland as a postdoctoral research fellow, and in 2015 was awarded a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship, for research on the blood-brain-barrier in motor neuron disease (MND).[3] She joined the faculty of the university, rising to senior lecturer.[1] As of 2024 she is head of the university's Centre for Brain Research.[4]
Scotter's team has shown that New Zealand has one of the highest incidences of motor neuron disease in the world.[2] There are around 35 different genes involved in MND, but only around 10 per cent of cases are known to be genetic, and environmental causes are also believed to play a part. Scotter leads a large study into the genetics of the disease in New Zealand, and in one family was able to identify the specific genetic defect involved, allowing family members to be tested.[5] Her research group is trialling treatments, some of which appear to slow or stop the disease progression for some patients.[2][6][7]
Honours and awards
editIn the 2024 King's Birthday Honours, Scotter was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Motor Neuron Disease research.[4]
Selected works
edit
- Younbok Lee; Han-Jou Chen; João N Peres; et al. (27 November 2013). "Hexanucleotide repeats in ALS/FTD form length-dependent RNA foci, sequester RNA binding proteins, and are neurotoxic". Cell Reports. 5 (5): 1178–1186. doi:10.1016/J.CELREP.2013.10.049. ISSN 2211-1247. PMC 3898469. PMID 24290757. Wikidata Q37503127.
- Christopher S Kearn; Katherine Blake-Palmer; Emma Daniel; Ken Mackie; Michelle Glass (14 February 2005). "Concurrent stimulation of cannabinoid CB1 and dopamine D2 receptors enhances heterodimer formation: a mechanism for receptor cross-talk?". Molecular Pharmacology. 67 (5): 1697–1704. doi:10.1124/MOL.104.006882. ISSN 0026-895X. PMID 15710746. Wikidata Q33211909.
- Bradley N Smith; Nicola Ticozzi; Claudia Fallini; et al. (22 October 2014). "Exome-wide rare variant analysis identifies TUBA4A mutations associated with familial ALS". Neuron. 84 (2): 324–331. doi:10.1016/J.NEURON.2014.09.027. ISSN 0896-6273. PMC 4521390. PMID 25374358. Wikidata Q35906336.
- Emma Scotter; Han-Jou Chen; Christopher Shaw (1 April 2015). "TDP-43 Proteinopathy and ALS: Insights into Disease Mechanisms and Therapeutic Targets". Neurotherapeutics. 12 (2): 352–363. doi:10.1007/S13311-015-0338-X. ISSN 1933-7213. PMC 4404432. PMID 25652699. Wikidata Q28080628. (erratum)
- Emma Scotter; Caroline Vance; Agnes L Nishimura; et al. (14 January 2014). "Differential roles of the ubiquitin proteasome system and autophagy in the clearance of soluble and aggregated TDP-43 species". Journal of Cell Science. 127 (Pt 6): 1263–1278. doi:10.1242/JCS.140087. ISSN 0021-9533. PMC 3953816. PMID 24424030. Wikidata Q30574024.
- Emma L Scotter; Mary E Abood; Michelle Glass (1 June 2010). "The endocannabinoid system as a target for the treatment of neurodegenerative disease". British Journal of Pharmacology. 160 (3): 480–498. doi:10.1111/J.1476-5381.2010.00735.X. ISSN 0007-1188. PMC 2931550. PMID 20590559. Wikidata Q34098196.
References
edit- ^ a b "Academic profile: Dr Emma Scotter". profiles.auckland.ac.nz. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ a b c "The heart and soul of brain research - The University of Auckland". www.auckland.ac.nz. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ "Search Rutherford Discovery Fellowship awards 2010–2017". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ a b "King's Birthday Honours 2024 - Citations for Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC)". www.dpmc.govt.nz. 3 June 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ "'The whole room was in tears': Auckland scientists celebrate major MND breakthrough". Newshub. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ "Dr Emma Scotter: MNZM for services to MND - MND NZ". Motor Neuron Disease New Zealand. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ "650 people have donated their brains". NZ Herald. 20 July 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
External links
edit- Dr Emma Scotter and Dr Natalie Gauld on the AM Show on Three, 22 February 2024, via YouTube