Congratulations to Unit scientist Dr Colin McNamara who has been awarded a prestigious Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship by the Wellcome Trust in support of his new research project entitled “Closing the loop on neuronal oscillations: Motor networks take centre stage”.

This Fellowship scheme offers recently qualified postdoctoral researchers the opportunity to start independent research careers, working in some of the best research environments in the world.

Colin will pursue his 4-year research project in the Unit under the sponsorship of Programme Leader Dr Andrew Sharott, as well as at Imperial College London in collaboration with Dr Timothy Constandinou. Colin will also be mentored by Professor Pascal Fries of the Ernst Strüngmann Institute, Germany.

Colin originally joined the Unit to pursue his D.Phil. studies in Dr David Dupret’s Group, where he investigated the influence of dopamine on hippocampal circuit dynamics and memory formation.  Since graduating, Colin has been working as a Postdoctoral Neuroscientist in Dr Sharott’s Group in the Unit.

Unit Deputy Director Professor Peter Magill commented “We are thrilled for Colin. He is an exceptional scientist, outstanding collaborator, and a valued colleague. Colin’s new Fellowship is well deserved, and is a fitting testament to the culture of research training and career development that we have established at the Unit.”