Speakers

Dr. Alexi Nott’s research explores how the epigenome and chromatin architecture shape cell type-specific gene expression in the brain, with a focus on both normal function and changes that occur during ageing and disease. Alexi joined Imperial College London in 2020 as a Lecturer in the Department of Brain Sciences and a Group Leader in the UK Dementia Research Institute.

His interest in epigenetics began during his MRC-funded PhD at UCL, where he focused on neurodevelopment. He further pursued this field during his postdoctoral research at MIT, investigating the role of epigenetics in autism-related behaviours. Later, he received an Alzheimer’s Association Research Fellowship and a KL2 Mentored Career Development Award at the University of California, San Diego. During this period, he generated cell-type-specific epigenetic atlases of the human brain and discovered that many genetic risk variants for Alzheimer’s disease are concentrated in active gene regulatory elements within microglia. Alexi's group utilizes nuclei isolation methods and genome-wide sequencing approaches to profile the epigenome of brain cell types using patient-derived archived tissue. Functional interrogation of disease-associated gene regulatory regions is explored using CRISPR DNA-editing technology of pluripotent stem cells derived into brain cell types. Using a combination of these approaches, Alexi’s research examines the epigenome of the human brain to understand how genetic variation contributes to age-related brain disorders.