I first joined the Epigenetics of Complex Traits team in 2013 to do my dissertation as part of my degree in Medical Science. During this time I gained a considerable interest in the structure and function of the brain more especially in neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. As a result of working as part of the Epigenetics’ team, as well as the work I did as an undergraduate in the Molecular Genetics Department of the RD&E Wonford hospital, I decided that a molecular approach to understanding neurological diseases was how I wanted to continue my learning and research. My degree finished in July 2014 and I am now working on my PhD with Dr Katie Lunnon and Professor Jonathan Mill. I am exploring the implications of epigenetic changes in the ANK1 gene in Alzheimer’s disease. Recently the group has reported evidence for significant epigenetic changes in this gene in Alzheimer’s disease cases, particularly in regions of the brain that are affected early in the disease. Interestingly, no difference was seen in ANK1 in areas of the brain largely unaffected by Alzheimer’s disease, or in blood samples collected from the same patients during life. My PhD studentship, funded by the charity BRACE, is exploring the implications of epigenetic changes in the ANK1 gene, and how this could lead to disease. The project aims to refine the exact extent and location of the epigenetic changes in the ANK1 gene in Alzheimer’s disease, relating this information to both levels of gene expression and characteristic measures of disease stage from autopsy examination. I am also investigating other epigenetic modifications that could affect the expression of this gene. I hope that due to the fact that disease-associated epigenetic changes are potentially reversible this research could represent new drug targets of disease in the future. Therefore I also plan to use new exciting epigenetic editing techniques to try to reverse the epigenetic changes in cell model experiments.