Dr Sophie Walker

Sophie is a Postdoctoral Research Associate with Dr Joanne Boldison, where her research aims to elucidate the role of B cells in the onset of type 1 diabetes using spatial transcriptomics of pancreatic tissues and single cell RNA sequencing of peripheral blood samples.

Sophie completed her undergraduate degree in Chemistry, including an integrated Master’s and Year in Industry, at the University of Leeds in 2019. She then moved to the University of Edinburgh, where she undertook her PhD under the supervision of Professor Shareen Forbes and Associate Professor Lisa White (University of Nottingham). Sophie's doctoral research focused on optimising islet transplantation outcomes through the use of drug-loaded microparticles in preclinical models of type 1 diabetes.

Invited talks:

• NGS Genomics Day, KCL London 3rd June 2025
• GW4 Cytomics Symposium, Bath, 2nd-3rd April 2026
• London Genomics Network-Bruker Spatial multiomics day, London, 23rd April 2026

Awards:

• Diabetes UK professional conference, Liverpool 2023: oral poster presentation runner-up
• ECRN Enhancement Award, Universty of Exeter / UKRI, 2024

Research Unit:
RILD - IBEx