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 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

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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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