Jeff Davies
Fulbright All Disciplines Scholar Award - Salk Institute (San Diego, CA)
Jeff Davies graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Physiology from Cardiff University. Jeff’s passion for neuroscience research was crystalised during his doctoral research project where he worked in collaboration with endocrinologists and neuroscientists to better understand how the brain controls growth and metabolism.
Since 2013, he has been an associate professor at the School of Medicine at Swansea University. Jeff has identified new roles for old hormones, in projects linking factors in the blood with brain function that is impaired in Parkinson’s disease and dementia. While at the Salk Institute, Jeff aims to investigate the connection between the endocrine, immune and nervous systems from the perspective of older age and disease.
This Fulbright will give Jeff the opportunity to integrate learning from the laboratory and community settings to encourage better dialogue between scientists, people diagnosed with neurodegenerative disorders, study participants, policymakers, and the general public.
Outside of the laboratory, Jeff volunteers with multiple organisations promoting the STEM field to under-represented groups – whether mentoring school children through the Nuffield Foundation Research Placement scheme; or celebrating science at the Urdd National Eisteddfod’s science pavilion - and is excited to expand this work within San Diego.