Connor Scott

Connor Scott

Scientist (Alkermes) / Honorary Research Fellow (Oxford)

Alkermes

Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences

Professional Profile

Connor Scott is an experienced neuroscientist with over 12 years of expertise in ex vivo research, specialising in the analysis of human and rodent tissue, histology, molecular biology, and mass spectrometry.

Throughout his career, Connor has been dedicated to advancing our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders. His work spans cutting-edge research initiatives and innovative drug discovery programs aimed at uncovering novel therapeutic solutions.

Connor is a recognised subject matter expert in:

Connor’s Research Overview

Connor’s research encompasses some of the most challenging and impactful areas of neuroscience, including neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He also brings significant expertise to psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia and complex diseases with neurological components such as narcolepsy and glioblastoma multiforme.

With a passion for advancing neuroscience and a track record of impactful contributions, Connor continues to drive innovation at the intersection of research and drug discovery.

Scroll down to see a overview of his professional contributions or click on the headings above to see a detailed overview.

Interests

  • Drug Discovery / Drug Development
  • Cell Biology / Molecular Biology
  • Histology / Neuropathology
  • Neurodegeneration / Psychiatry
  • Proteomics / Transciptomics

Education

  • D.Phil/PhD in Clinical Neurosciences, 2021

    University of Oxford

  • BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Sciences, 2012

    University of Greenwich

Skills

Spatial Transcriptomics

Neuropathology

Proteomics / Transcriptomics

RNAscope / Immunostaining

Laser Microdissection

Molecular Biology

Data Analysis

Bioinformatics

Image Analysis

Current Employment

 
 
 
 
 

Scientist - Functional Neuroanatomy

Alkermes

Jan 2023 – Present Boston
Alkermes is a global biopharmaceutical company developing innovative medicines in the fields of neurology and psychiatry with revenues north of ~$1 billion.

Overview of Position:

As a scientist within the CNS Biology Group, I lead ex vivo experiments using rodent and human brain tissue to support drug discovery and development. My multifaceted role spans several disciplines and incorporates a diverse range of techniques, including immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, spatial transcriptomics, receptor occupancy assessment, and MALDI Imaging.

Responsibilities include:

  • Demonstrating leadership in experimental design, planning, execution, and analysis.

  • Leveraging extensive expertise in human disease, neurobiology, and ex vivo investigations to advance preclinical drug programs by discovering suitable pharmacodynamic markers, determining target validation/engagement, and testing hypotheses to further understand the mechanism of action of different pharmaceuticals.

  • Collaborating with the wider R&D team to evaluate biochemical, molecular, and in vivo endpoints and providing strategic guidance to drive the progression of preclinical drug development.

  • Drive innovation through the adoption of cutting-edge techniques to better utilize human tissues, transgenic models, or animals dosed with different pharmacologies.

  • Provide project management for key research programs, including planning and overseeing experimental timelines, coordinating contracting, managing compound shipments, and ensuring timely delivery of final reports in collaboration with CROs.

  • Write and review technical documents for drug nomination and IND applications.
 
 
 
 
 

Honorary Academic

University of Oxford - Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences

May 2021 – Present Oxford
Current projects:
Selective vulnerability of subpopulation of neurons in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis anf frontotemporal dementia.

Extracurricular

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All Leadership Projects Peer Review Public Engagement Grants/Awards

Editorial Board - Frontiers in Neuroanatomy

Frontiers in Neuroanatomy publishes research revealing important aspects of the anatomical organization of all nervous systems across all species.

Editorial Board - Frontiers in Neuroimaging (Clinical Neuroimaging)

Frontiers in Neuroimaging is a multidisciplinary journal focused on expanding research on the physiological principles underlying typical and atypical brain functions to decrease the global burden of brain disorders.

Peer Reviewer - Brain Mechanisms

Brain Mechanisms is dedicated to advancing the boundaries of neuroscience by providing a comprehensive platform for the dissemination of cutting-edge research on the dynamic processes underlying brain function and dysfunction.

Peer Reviewer - Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology

Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology is a peer-reviewed journal focused on the analysis of neuronal and brain function at cellular and subcellular levels.

Peer Reviewer - Experimental and Molecular Pathology

We welcome research addressing questions related to human pathology, with a particular emphasis on the preclinical aspects, in biology (cellular, molecular), biochemistry, genetics (epi), genomics, virology, immunology, and oncology.

Peer Reviewer - Heliyon

Heliyon is an all-science, open access journal that is part of the Cell Press family. Any paper reporting scientifically accurate and valuable research, which adheres to accepted ethical and scientific publishing standards, will be considered for publication.

Peer Reviewer - Journal of Chemical Neuroanatomy

The Journal of Chemical Neuroanatomy publishes scientific reports relating the functional and biochemical aspects of the nervous system with its microanatomical organization. The scope of the journal concentrates on reports which combine microanatomical, biochemical, pharmacological and behavioural approaches.

Peer Reviewer - Journal of Molecular Neuroscience

Journal of Molecular Neuroscience is dedicated to publishing original research that enhances our understanding of the molecular structure, function, and development of the nervous system.

Peer Reviewer - Journal of Neurogenetics

Covers behavioral, biochemical, or cellular neural function, plasticity, or ageing, including unamenable models or C. elegans, Drosophila, mouse, and zebrafish.

Peer Reviewer - Journal of Proteomics

Official journal of the European Proteomics Association (EuPA). Aimed at protein scientists and analytical chemists in the field of biomarker discovery, protein analytics, human studies, tissue imaging by mass spectrometry, and protein bioinformatics.

Peer Reviewer - Neurobiology of Disease

Neurobiology of Disease is a major international open access journal at the interface between basic and clinical neuroscience. The journal provides a forum for the publication of top quality research papers on molecular and cellular neural systems underpinning behavioral, neurological, and psychiatric disorders.

Sir Charles Sherrington and Sir Wilfrid Le Gros Clark Collections

Digital microscopist for these historic collections.

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University of Oxford, Graduate President.

President of graduate students at one of University of Oxford’s colleges - Somerville College.

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University of Oxford, Social Secretary.

Responsible for planning, budgeting, and executing social activities at Somerville College.

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Neuropath EQA scheme (NEQAS)

The Neuropathology EQA scheme (NEQAS) forms part of a national system of quality assurance to healthcare organisations that is being maintained and improved.

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Recent Publications

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The Digital Brain Bank, an open access platform for post-mortem datasets

Post mortem MRI provides the opportunity to acquire high resolution datasets to investigate neuroanatomy, and validate the origins of image contrast through microscopy comparisons. We introduce the Digital Brain Bank (open.win.ox.ac.uk/DigitalBrainBank), a data release platform providing open access to curated, multimodal post-mortem neuroimaging datasets.
Benjamin Tendler, Taylor Hanayik, Olaf Ansorge, Sarah Bangerter Christensen, Gregory Berns, Mads Bartelsen, Katherine L Bryant, Sean Foxley, Martijn van den Heuvel, Amy Howard, Istvan Huszar, Alexandre Khrapitchev, Anna Leonte, Paul R Manger, Ricarda Menke, Jeroen Mollink, Duncan Mortimer, Menuka Pallebage Gamarallage, Lea Roumazeilles, Jerome Sallet, Lianne Scholtens, Connor Scott, Adele Smart, Martin Turner, Chaoyue Wang, Saad Jbabdi, Rogier Mars, Karla Miller
DOI

Tau-proximity ligation assay reveals extensive previously undetected pathology prior to neurofibrillary tangles in preclinical Alzheimer’s disease

Background:
Multimerization is a key process in prion-like disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), since it is a requirement for …
Nora Bengoa-Vergniory, Elisavet Velentza-Almpani, Ana Maria Silva, Connor Scott, Mariana Vargas-Caballero, Magdalena Sastre, Richard Wade-Martins, Javier Alegre-Abarrategui
DOI

Detection and quantification of novel C-terminal TDP-43 fragments in ALS-TDP

The pathological hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the presence of cytoplasmic inclusions, containing C terminal …
Emily Feneberg, Philip Charles, Mattéa J. Finelli, Connor Scott, Benedikt Kessler, Roman Fischer, Olaf Ansorge, Elizabeth Gray, Kevin Talbot, Martin Turner
DOI
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Recent Abstracts

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The microscopy connectome towards 3D PLI tractography in the BigMac dataset

Here, we reconstruct 3D fibre orientations from 2D microscopy images in the BigMac dataset. This will facilitate future determination of the ultra-high resolution microscopy connectome, with applications in basic neuroanatomy and tractography design.
Amy FD Howard, Istvan N Huszar, Michiel Cottaar, Greg Daubney, Alexandre A Khrapitchev, Rogier B Mars, Jeroen Mollink, Connor Scott, Nicola Sibson, Adele Smart, Jerome Sallet, Saad Jbabdi, Karla L Miller
Last updated on Dec 8, 2024

Automatic extraction of reproducible semi-quantitative histological metrics for MRI-histology correlations

Here, we describe an end-to-end pipeline for the extraction of a histological metric from IHC stains to quantify a microstructural feature. We compare the pipeline’s reproducibility and robustness to histology artefacts, relative to manual MRI-histology analyses.
Daniel Kor, Saad Jbabdi, Jeroen Mollink, Istvan Huszar, Menuka Pallebage Gamarallage, Adele Smart, Connor Scott, Olaf Ansorge, Amy Howard, Karla L. Miller
Last updated on Dec 8, 2024

Spatially resolved MALDI mass spectrometric imaging of human brain tissue for metabolites, lipids, and peptides - proof of principle

In this proof of principle experiment, we demonstrate that MALDI-MSI combined with classical LCM LC-MS/MS has the potential to spatially resolve metabolic signatures in human brain at cellular resolution. Abstract & Talk given - The Oxford Metabolic Health Symposium 2020, 30th June – 3rd July 2020.
Connor Scott, Simon Davis, Janina Oetjen, Annika Koch, Benedikt Kessler, Roman Fischer, Olaf Ansorge
Last updated on Dec 8, 2024
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Contact

  • Boston, United States