Cornelius Donat

Biography

I am a biologist working with Prof David J. Sharp and Dr Magdalena Sastre at the Department of Medicine, Imperial College. My main research interests are disorders of the brain, primarily Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), the connection with dementia and the underlying molecular processes. I have a particular interest in nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and how they are involved in cognitive dysfunction and inflammatory processes during TBI and neurodegenerative diseases. I have worked on the visualisation of these receptors with radioactive imaging techniques and will evaluate receptor-specific therapies in TBI and neurodegenerative diseases. One of my research aims is to increase the understanding of the pathophysiological processes following TBI and how neuro- and molecular imaging can be used to identify major disease processes in order to support the development of new treatment strategies. For that purpose, I am employing models of TBI that reduce the complexity of the injury and allow the selective pharmacological manipulation. Apart from neuroscience, I am also interested in the structure of totalitarian states, the organizational and linguistic strategies they employ and the dynamic interplay between groups, individuals and society.

Research Interest

molecular processes