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Shona Waters
MSci (Hons)
Research Assistant
Evidenced-based treatments for psychiatric disorders and inflammation in depression
I am a research assistant in the Clinical Psychopharmacology Group, interested in the development of evidence-based treatments for psychiatric disorders. Currently, our focus is on the role of inflammation in depression. There is evidence suggesting inflammation may play a role in certain subgroups of depression, and particularly in treatment-resistant depression. We are investigating the potential for repurposing statins - commonly used drugs with anti-inflammatory properties, for the treatment of depression.
During my Neuroscience MSci, I became involved in several projects in psychopharmacology, including looking at the differential associations of chronic cannabis use in adolescents and adults, and using computational approaches in developmental psychiatry.
Ultimately, I am interested in understanding the underlying pathology of psychiatric disorders, the mechanisms behind current treatments, and utilising this knowledge to develop new evidence-based treatments which overcome dilemmas of current lines of treatment.