Dr Judith Sleeman

When genes are switched on, the cell makes copies of them from a substance called RNA. These RNA copies need to be altered extensively and delivered to the right areas of the cell before they can be used. Defects in these alteration and delivery processes are involved in degenerative conditions including Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Dr Judith Sleeman’s group studies how the cell makes and uses RNA copies of genes, and how this goes wrong in conditions including SMA and ALS.

Judith studied for a BSc in cellular and molecular pathology at the University of Bristol followed by a PhD in stem cell biology at the University of Edinburgh. Following postdoctoral research at the University of Dundee she was awarded a Royal Society University Research Fellowship and established an independent group in 2004. Judith has been a lecturer, and now senior lecturer, at the University of St Andrews since 2007.