DrAmalie Couch

I am an early-career neuroscientist working in Dr. Vanessa Sancho Shimizu's group. My current research focuses on why only a small subset of people develop Herpes Simplex Encephalitis by using human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) to create immunocompetent brain organoids that model how microglia and cortical neurons respond to herpes simplex virus (HSV). By comparing organoids derived from healthy donors and from individuals previously affected by the disease, I aim to uncover the genetic and immune factors that shape vulnerability to severe HSV1 infection.

I completed my PhD at King’s College London in the Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience with Prof. Anthony Vernon, investigating how IL-6 (as a proxy for maternal immune activation) affects neurodevelopment using hiPSC-derived cortical neuron–microglia co-culture models. Following this, I contributed to the HappyMums project, studying how prenatal stress impacts offspring brain structure development in mouse models.

Most recently, I spent time as a postdoctoral researcher with Prof. Rachel Upthegrove at the Univeristy of Oxford. There, I investigated how immune and metabolic pathways influence brain structure and the development of severe mental illness, using genetic colocalization and large-scale population data, such as the UK Biobank. I continue to hold a Visiting Researcher position in this group. 

I earned an MRes in the Molecular Basis of Human Disease from Imperial College London and a BSc in Molecular Biology from University College London.