ApconiX Welcomes Dr Louisa Zolkiewski

Academic Career

Louisa studied Biomedical Sciences at Newcastle University and went on to gain an MSc in Cancer Biology and Molecular Biomedicine at The University of Manchester. During this time she developed a range of in vitro and ex vivo molecular biology skills investigating the effects of gene mutations on protein function in different disease models. Her MSc year consisted of two 6-month research projects where she investigated the role of YAP/TAZ signalling in breast cancer and then the mechanisms underlying skeletal growth in rare forms of dwarfism.

Louisa commented “I am very grateful to my undergraduate project supervisor for giving me a challenging project and for encouraging me to pursue a career in research. From the moment I stepped back into a laboratory environment in my MSc I knew that being at the bench doing wet-lab research was where I was meant to be.”

Following this, Louisa worked as a Research Technician at The University of Manchester isolating and culturing primary neuronal cells to understand the impact of different chemical agents on neurite outgrowth as potential therapies for diabetic neuropathy.

Louisa achieved a PhD in mammalian genetics at The University of Oxford where she was awarded several postgraduate prizes for her contributions to research activities within her institute. Her work focussed on modelling common DNA variants associated with increased waist-to-hip ratio which is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and Type 2 Diabetes. She used in silico, in vitro and in vivo models to assess the effects of these variants on protein structure and function and was awarded The Genetics Society Bruce Cattanach Prize for her thesis.

Following her PhD, Louisa joined Gentronix as a GLP Principal Investigator working in the Big Blue assay team evaluating the genotoxic effect of chemical agents. Louisa was part of a team performing the in vitro aspects of the assay and she wrote plans and reports for pharmaceutical and agrochemical clients across the world, gaining an understanding of regulatory requirements including FDA, ECHA and REACH.

Dr Michael Morton, Director and Co-founder commented, “Louisa joins ApconiX with previous academic and CRO experience. Her research at ApconiX is already generating novel data that will impact future client decision-making.”

Working at ApconiX

Having gained experience in the regulatory aspects of toxicology and drug safety, Louisa was looking to work in a collaborative environment to develop new methodologies that could improve preclinical screening strategies.

Louisa will be working in the ion channel laboratory team primarily to optimise and validate the in vitro MEA assay to detect alternative liabilities in addition to seizure.

Interests Outside Work

Louisa is a keen swimmer and enjoys travelling across the world to attend competitions. She holds a Masters British record in the 100m butterfly and recently set a Masters world record in the 4x200m freestyle relay. In the rest of her free time, Louisa enjoys long walks in the countryside with her dog – a German Shepherd called Ghost.