Elizabeth Davenport

Elizabeth graduated with a first-class degree from the University of York in Molecular Cell Biology with a year in Europe. She then completed her PhD in Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience in the department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology at University College London where she studied post-synaptic molecular mechanisms of neurodevelopment disorders. Elizabeth then moved to The University of Edinburgh where she undertook postdoctoral work in the labs of Prof Peter Kind and Prof Mike Cousin, continuing her research on synaptic function in models of neurodevelopmental disorders within the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences.

During her postdoctoral work Elizabeth became actively involved in teaching at the University of Edinburgh. This led to her appointment as a teaching track Teaching Fellow in Biomedical Sciences in 2022. Elizabeth now contributes to a wide range of teaching activities across undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the Deanery of Biomedical Sciences. She has been a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy since 2021.

Elizabeth teaches in the Deanery of Biomedical Sciences. She has a prominent role in the pre-honours years and teaches on the core Biomedical Sciences courses (BMS1, MB1 and BMS2) which aim to provide a solid foundational knowledge in the disciplines of biomedical sciences as well as key academic and practical skills required for scientific practice.

She also contributes to Neuroscience teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level, supervises honours student projects and is involved with the core components of the Medical Sciences honours programme.

Elizabeth is interested in understanding the pre and postsynaptic molecular mechanisms that contribute to synaptic function in health and neurodevelopmental disorders. She is specifically interested in the role adhesion molecules play in these processes.

Elizabeth now also invests time in the scholarship of teaching and learning and is keenly interested in ways in which we can improve student engagement in large pre-honours courses. Additionally, she explores novel ways to embed core scientific skills and experimental design into large undergraduate practicals.