IBANS Scholars

Nina Henderson, School of Medicine

My IBANS research project investigates how the melanocortin receptor accessory protein 2 (MRAP2) modulates signalling of the melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R), a key regulator of appetite and energy balance in the brain. My work took utilises neurons derived from the hypothalamus, a critical brain region involved in metabolic control, to determine whether and how MRAP2 enhances MC4R activity within appetite-regulating pathways.
In addition to addressing these mechanistic questions, the project provided valuable training in experimental design, data analysis, and collaborative research. It has also enabled me to develop technical expertise in advanced laboratory methods, including neuronal transfection, fluorescence microscopy, and live-cell signaling assays

Saif Alahmad, School of Biology

My project investigates how sexual selection shapes reproductive isolation between two closely related fruit fly species, Drosophila pseudoobscura and Drosophila persimilis. Using CRISPR-generated knockout lines and controlled mating experiments, I am testing whether specific genes influence post-mating processes such as sperm competition and fertilisation bias between species. This work focuses on conspecific sperm precedence, where females preferentially produce offspring from males of their own species even after mating with both species. More broadly, the project aims to understand how interactions between reproduction, genetics, and sexual selection contribute to the early stages of speciation

Natheir Malkawi, School of Modern Languages

My research interests lie in the study of stupidity in the works of Michel Houellebecq and Abū al-‘Alā’ al-Ma‘arrī’s Epistle of Forgiveness. I look at stupidity from epistemological and semantical angels, aiming to examine its possible connections to memory and forgetting, future and afterlife, and authorship.