Kevin is a PhD student in Dr Kathy Evans research group at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer. Here he talks about his project examining different measures of stress and how they correlate with epigenetic and brain ageing. You were awarded a poster prize at the 2023 ENGoG Symposium – please tell us about the project you presented and how your work involves genomics or makes use of genomic technologies I presented work that harnessed recent advances in epigenomic technologies to investigate the relationship between stress and accelerated ageing. Chronic stress contributes to negative health outcomes, and it is hypothesised that it may do this in part by accelerating ageing processes. I used data from Generation Scotland – a richly phenotyped cohort with genetic, epigenetic, environmental and lifestyle data – to investigate the relationship between measures of stress and accelerated biological ageing. There is a strong correlation between levels of methylation in our epigenome and our chronological age. Epigenetic clocks have been developed which can predict a range of health outcomes and mortality and provide a tool to investigate the relationship between phenotypes, such as stress, and accelerated ageing. Specifically, I was interested in looking at whether there is a relationship between different measures of stress (i.e., hair glucocorticoids, early life adversity, psychological distress and stressful life events) and accelerated ageing phenotypes (epigenetic and brain ageing). We found that hair glucocorticoids, specifically hair cortisone, was associated with accelerated epigenetic, but not brain, ageing. Stressful life events were associated with accelerated brain ageing. No single measure of stress was associated with both accelerated epigenetic and brain age. Identifying those most vulnerable to the negative effects of stress is a major priority and I want to investigate whether an individual’s APOE genotype may impact the response to stress. Please summarise your previous work and career so far. I graduated with a BSc in Biomedical Science from the National University of Ireland, Galway. I majored in Pharmacology and gained my first experience in a lab under the supervision of Professor Eilis Dowd where I was involved in a project investigating cellular therapy for Parkinson’s disease. I went on to complete an MSc in Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin and did my research project with Professor Kumlesh Dev where I analysed behavioural data from rodent models of Alzheimer’s disease who were treated with a potential therapeutic. After this, I was offered a place on the Wellcome Trust Translational Neuroscience PhD programme which I hope to finish next year. Over the course of my PhD, I have been keen to get involved with other activities across the university. I am actively involved with ‘Science Mentors’ a mentorship programme with high school students aimed at providing an insight into third-level education and helping students with their academic studies. I also volunteered as part of the ‘Pint of Science’ festival in Edinburgh and was part of the team that coordinated and organised the ‘Beautiful Mind’ events this year. What inspired you to follow your career path? From a very young age, I loved to learn new things and I thought I would become a primary school teacher. Although education is something that remains extremely important to me, my secondary school Biology and Chemistry teacher opened the doors to the world of science, and I was hooked. Throughout my studies, I became particularly fascinated by how our bodies work and how seamlessly they appear to be operating despite the complexity within them. I spent a semester during my undergrad studying at the University of California, Berkeley. Whilst there, I took a Neurobiology of Disease class and was exposed to the field of neuroscience for the first time. I was immediately captivated by the ways our brains work and how little we understood about how they operate in health, let alone in disease. From then I knew I wanted to pursue research that one day may help others. If you could have tea with anyone (alive or dead), who would it be? What would you talk about? Can I say Taylor Swift?… If we are talking about the world of science, I’m not sure there is one particular person who comes to mind. However, I think it would be very interesting to speak to multiple scientists from different generations from a variety of disciplines and discuss what they would research if they were a scientist today given the resources and tools available nowadays. What is the most unusual thing you have done during your career? I can’t say I’ve done too many unusual things in my career so far…. probably the most bizarre thing was learning practical lab techniques online during COVID. PCRs should not be taught via Zoom… Do you have any advice for people wanting to pursue a research career? What do you like best about your job? What do you like the least? My advice would be to pursue whatever you enjoy and find most stimulating. Ask questions, approach people whom you admire/would like to learn from and don’t be afraid to put yourself outside of your comfort zone. It’s important to find out which environment works best for you and one in which the people around you are supportive of your professional development. My favourite thing about my job is the people I get to meet. The programme I am a part of is so diverse and I have been so lucky to meet some wonderful people (who are also brilliant scientists). I feel like I am continuously learning from others and am constantly amazed by the brains of the people around me! The flexibility of academia and the autonomy we have in our research are also major highlights. That said, the lack of structure can have its downsides and I do find the PhD can be quite lonely at times which I struggle with as someone who enjoys working with people. How do you spend your time outside of research? Is there anything else you would like to tell us about? Outwith the PhD, I try to spend as much time with my friends - near and far away - and my family as possible. In my spare time, I love reading, going to the cinema and going to gigs. I love the outdoors and try to squeeze in some hiking during the year and a park run on a Saturday if I can. I play Gaelic football in Edinburgh and am actively involved in the club having the role of secretary for the past two years. I like to stay busy! Links Kathy Evans Research Page Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine Institute of Genetics and Cancer Generation Scotland This article was published on 2024-07-26
