Emma Scotter

New Zealand medical researcher From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Emma Louise Scotter MNZM is a New Zealand academic neuropharmacologist and Associate Professor at the University of Auckland. In 2024 she was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Motor Neuron Disease research.

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Emma Scotter
AwardsRutherford Discovery Fellowship, Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Auckland
Academic work
InstitutionsUniversity of Auckland, King's College London, University of Waikato
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Academic career

Scotter completed a PhD in pharmacology at the University of Auckland, working on Huntington's disease.[1] She undertook postdoctoral work at the University of Waikato, and then received an international fellowship to work on motor neuron disease genetics with Professor Chris Shaw at King's College London.[2] Scotter then returned to Auckland as a postdoctoral research fellow, and in 2015 was awarded a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship, for research on the blood-brain-barrier in motor neuron disease (MND).[3] She joined the faculty of the university, rising to Associate Professor.[1] Scotter's team has shown that New Zealand has one of the highest incidences of motor neuron disease in the world.[2] There are around 35 different genes involved in MND, but only around 10 per cent of cases are known to be genetic, and environmental causes are also believed to play a part. Scotter leads a large study into the genetics of the disease in New Zealand, and in one family was able to identify the specific genetic defect involved, allowing family members to be tested.[4] Her research group is trialling treatments, some of which appear to slow or stop the disease progression for some patients.[2][5][6]

Honours and awards

In the 2024 King's Birthday Honours, Scotter was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Motor Neuron Disease research.[7]

Selected works

References

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