Caroline McCardle

PhD Student

Supervisor: Sasha Gartside

  • Email: caroline.mccardle@newcastle.ac.uk
  • Telephone: +44(0)191 222 3551
  • Address:
    Institute of Neuroscience
    Framlington Place, Newcastle University
    Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH

Introduction and area of work:

I graduated with an MRes in Neuroscience in September 2010 from Newcastle University and started my PhD in October 2010.

My research project, funded by the EPSRC, is a collaboration between the Institute of Neuroscience (ION) and the School of Chemistry. Within ION I work in the neuropharmacology research group with my supervisors Dr Sasha Gartside and Dr Richard McQuade. Within the school of Chemistry I am part of the radiosynthesis group, lead by my chemistry supervisor, Dr Michael Carroll. My research focuses on the development of novel radiolabelled PET ligands for studying 5-HT neurotransmission.

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a non invasive in vivo imaging technique used to examine the pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of radiolabelled ligands. However suitable ligands for examination of receptors in the CNS are sparse. Dysfunction of the 5-HT1A serotonin receptor has been implicated in affective disorders such as anxiety and depression. A range of PET ligands has been developed to examine this receptor with the aim to contribute to the research in psychopharmacology and psychiatry. However there is a need for ligands with improved selectivity for the 5-HT1A receptor subtype, as well ligands which are displaceable by endogenous neurotransmitters. My project aims to evaluate 5-HT1A receptor ligands with respect to selectivity and displaceability starting from chemical synthesis and radiolabelling, through to in vitro and ex vivo autoradiography studies and in vivo small animal PET studies

Qualifications:

- BSc Chemistry with Chemical Engineering University of Northumbria
- MRes Neuroscience University of Newcastle

Techniques:

- Organic and radio synthesis
- Autoradiography
- Small animal PET imaging
- Fluorescence immunocytochemistry
- In vitro electrophysiology
- Microdialysis

Awards:

Poster prize Neuroscience North East conference, Dec 2011

Publications:

1. McCardle, C.E. and S.E. Gartside, Effects of general anaesthetics on 5-HT neuronal activity in the dorsal raphe nucleus. Neuropharmacology, 2012. 62(4): p. 1787-1796.