Overview

Dr Laura Bramwell researches the molecular basis of ageing and age‑related disease, and has been working at the University of Exeter since 2018. She is part of the RNA‑Mediated Mechanisms of Disease (Team RNA) research team, who work closely with Senisca Ltd, working under Professor Lorna Harries. She achieved a BSc and MSc by Research from the University of Reading, before joining the University of Exeter as a researcher in the Adipose Tissue Biology group and a laboratory technician.

She was the first student to hold the prestigious PhD studentship and research funding pipeline for early career scientists as part of the charity Animal Free Research UK’s Animal Replacement Centre of Excellence 2.0. Her PhD investigated the mechanisms of senescence and drug repurposing for ageing and age‑related disease.

Qualifications

• BSc Biochemistry, University of Reading
• MSc by Res Biomedical Research, University of Reading
• PhD Medical Studies, University of Exeter

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Research

Research interests

Dr Bramwell’s research focuses on the basic mechanisms of cellular ageing, which underpin the causes of many age‑related diseases. She began her research career looking at the cellular mechanisms that underpin obesity before turning to study ageing. Her research is animal‑free and avoids the use of animal‑derived compounds and biomaterial.

In her first projects, she investigated the lipoprotein lipase (LPL) gene, the melanocortin hormones, the fat mass and obesity‑associated (FTO) gene, and angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4). During her PhD, the Covid-19 pandemic hit the UK. During this time, she worked on Covid-19 research alongside the RNA‑Mediated Mechanisms of Disease research team.

Her PhD project was titled “Mechanisms of cellular senescence and the use of repurposed drugs as senotherapeutic compounds”. During her PhD, she worked on the development of new animal‑free models and methods for ageing research, mechanisms of senescence in progeroid disease models and screening FDA‑approved drugs for potential senotherapeutic effects. Her postdoctoral research project draws on her PhD research to examine the sex differences of ageing and screen plant‑based compounds for potential senotherapeutic effects.

Research projects

Animal Free Research UK funded project - An evaluation of naturally‑occurring plant‑based sex hormone mimetics as senotherapeutic drug candidates

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Publications

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External Engagement and Impact

Committee/panel activities

• Animal Free Research UK Community of Practice moderator

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