Working Group Participant

Azlina Ahmad Annuar, PhD

University of Malaya

I obtained a BSc (Neuroscience) from University College London, then pursued a PhD (Neurogenetics) investigating the contribution of the DYNC1H1 gene in human motor neuron degeneration, at Imperial College London under Elizabeth Fisher. I then trained as a postdoctoral research fellow with Patricia Salinas at University College London, studying the role of the Wnt-Dvl pathway in synaptogenesis. Following this, I returned to Malaysia to set up my own lab, and established key collaborations with leading consultant neurologists, to explore the underlying genetic causes of a number of neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s disease, motor neuron disease and peripheral neuropathies in Malaysian cohorts. Working together as a national team as well as with our international colleagues, we have advanced our understanding of the genetic architecture of these diseases amongst the various ethnicities within Malaysia, contributing clinically-relevant scientific knowledge which would also be relevant to other populations of similar ancestry in the Southeast Asian region.