Obtaining a BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry from University College Swansea and she subsequently took up a research position at the National Institute of Medical Research (MRC, Mill Hill), focusing on spinal cord regeneration under supervision of Prof Geoff Raisman. She then moved to the Institute of Neurology working under the supervision of Professor Tamas Revesz, initially studying progressive supranuclear palsy and the different tau isoforms. The focus of her work shifted towards two hereditary neurodegenerative diseases familial British dementia (FBD) and familial Danish dementia (FDD). She completed her PhD in 2006 investigating the pathology of FBD and FDD providing detailed information about amyloid formation in the brain in these rare conditions, which have similar neuropathological features to those of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) thus providing a model of AD. She is currently focusing her research on frontotemporal dementias (FTLD) currently funded by the Alzheimer’s Research UK fellowship. FTLD's are a large group of dementia's characterized by the deposition of several different proteins. Initial work was carried out to re-diagnose archival cases with the new classifications set out by the FTLD working group. Comparing the underlying pathology with detailed clinical histories therefore enabling a more accurate diagnosis in life for future patients. Her work has now progressed into investigating how the pathological proteins are involved in FTLD, with particular interest in the proteins TDP-43 and FUS and their role in nuclear transport.