Personal profile
Biography
Catherine Lawrence is currently a lecturer in the Faculty of Life Sciences.
Catherine obtained a BSc honours degree in Pharmacology (1992) and her PhD (1996) from the University of Manchester. During her PhD, which was under the supervision of Professor Nancy Rothwell, she was interested in how pro-inflammatory cytokines affect neuronal injury. However, after completing her PhD she then gained over two years experience in the commercial sector working as a Clinical Research Associate in the pharmaceutical industry.
In 1998 she returned to academic research and obtained a post-doctoral position (funded by AstraZenca) working with Dr Simon Luckman in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Manchester. Her interest at this time was the involvement of novel neuropeptides in energy homeostasis. In 2004 she left the University of Manchester to secure a position as a Senior Research Scientist at AstraZeneca, but then returned to the Faculty of Life Sciences in 2005 when she was awarded an RCUK fellowship. In 2010 she became a lecturer, a senior lecturer in 2015 and a Professor in Neuoscience in 2024.
Research interests
Her current research interests focus around brain diseases including stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, and the role of inflammation. These brain diseases often affect the elderly and usually people who have many other conditions also known as co-morbidities (e.g. high-blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, infection). She and others have shown that co-morbidities influence the development and/or severity of stroke and Alzheimer’s disease and her research group is trying to understand why this is.
Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms
- Dementia@Manchester
- Lydia Becker Institute
- Manchester Institute for Collaborative Research on Ageing
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
-
SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
Fingerprint
- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
-
Cerebral ischaemic stroke results in altered mucosal antibody responses and host-commensal microbiota interactions.
Hurry, M., Posner, D., Wong, R., Grayston, A., Díaz-Marugan, L., Zhang, X., De Leon, B., Benakis, C., Waisman, A., McCulloch, L., Allan, S., Lawrence, C., Brough, D. & Hepworth, M., 1 Jan 2026, In: Brain, Behaviour and Immunity.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Ch25h/25HC axis orchestrates phagocytosis and lipid metabolism after intracerebral haemorrhage
Lawrence, C. B., Zhou, R., Tapia, V., Bennington, A., Gao, R., Elmes, M., Lin, I.-H., Dai, Z., Crilly, S., Pot, C., Allan, S. & Kasher, P., 20 Feb 2026, Research Square, p. 1-31, 31 p.Research output: Preprint/Working paper › Preprint
-
Disruption of macrophage cell volume drives inflammatory responses and type I interferon signalling
Cook, J. R., Gleeson, T. A., Gago, S., Allan, S. M., Couper, K. N., Lawrence, C. B., Brough, D. & Green, J. P., 12 Mar 2026, (Accepted/In press) In: Journal of Cell Biology.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Inflammatory responses following CRISPR modification of the nuclear localisation sequence in endogenous interleukin-1alpha
Hoyle, C., Diaz Pino, R., Lai, S. M., Green, J., Adamson, A., Coutts, G., Lawrence, C., Travis, M., Brough, D. & Lopez-Castejon, G., 4 Mar 2026, In: DMM Disease Models and Mechanisms.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Molecular genotype-phenotype correlation in ACTB- and ACTG1-related non-muscle actinopathies
Di Donato, N., Thom, A., Rump, A., Greve, J. N., Cadiñanos, J., Calabro, S., Cathey, S., Chung, B. K., Cope, H., Costales, M., Cuvertino, S., Dinkel, P., Erripi, K., Fry, A. E., Garavelli, L., Hoffjan, S., Janzarik, W. G., Kreimer, I., Mancini, G. & Marin-Reina, P. & 22 others, , 5 Feb 2026, In: American Journal of Human Genetics. 113, 2, p. 324-341 18 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access
-
Modulating cholesterol 25-hydroxylase: a novel strategy to accelerate haematoma clearance after intracerebral haemorrhage to improve outcome
Lawrence, C. (PI), Kasher, P. (CoI), Allan, S. (CoI) & Dickie, B. (CoI)
1/10/23 → 30/06/27
Project: Research
-
Brain disorders
Allan, S. (Researcher), Baines, R. (Researcher), Bromley, R. (Researcher), Brough, D. (Researcher), Burns, A. (Researcher), Doig, A. (Researcher), Gigg, J. (Researcher), Green, J. (Researcher), Hooper, N. (Researcher), Kasher, P. (Researcher), Lawrence, C. (Researcher), Milosavljevic, N. (Researcher), Miyan, J. (Researcher), Pinteaux, E. (Researcher), Roncaroli, F. (Researcher), Rothwell, N. (Researcher), Schiessl, I. (Researcher), South, K. (Researcher), Verkhratsky, A. (Researcher), Wykes, R. (Researcher) & Ryan, S. (Researcher)
Project: Research
-
Neuroinflammation
Allan, S. (Researcher), Brough, D. (Researcher), Green, J. (Researcher), Kasher, P. (Researcher), Lawrence, C. (Researcher), Ryan, S. (Researcher), Pinteaux, E. (Researcher), Rothwell, N. (Researcher), Schiessl, I. (Researcher), South, K. (Researcher) & Youshani, A. (Researcher)
Project: Research
-
ICF State-of-the art preclinical MRI for imaging brain physiology
Dickie, B. (PI), Allan, S. (CoI), Asselin, M.-C. (CoI), Aznar, M. (CoI), Butterworth, S. (CoI), Couper, K. (CoI), Dunne, R. (CoI), Frangi, A. F. (CoI), Greenstein, A. (CoI), Kamper, M. (CoI), Kostarelos, K. (CoI), Lawrence, C. (CoI), Ogden, D. (CoI), Ohene, Y. (CoI), Parkes, L. (CoI), Pritchard, H. (CoI), Rowbotham, J. (CoI), South, K. (CoI), Stivaros, S. (CoI), Williams, K. (CoI) & Wykes, R. (CoI)
1/12/25 → 31/03/26
Project: Research
-
Identifying a New Drug Target for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease.
Brough, D. (PI), Allan, S. (CoI), Freeman, S. (CoI) & Lawrence, C. (CoI)
18/09/17 → 17/09/20
Project: Research
Activities
-
Invited speaker at Wellcome Trust meeting
Lawrence, C. (Speaker)
11 Jun 2019Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk › Research
-
Invited speaker at BNA conference
Lawrence, C. (Speaker)
14 Apr 2019Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk › Research
-
Seminar speaker at St George's University London
Lawrence, C. (Discussant)
5 Dec 2018Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk › Research
-
Frontiers in Neurology (Journal)
Lawrence, C. (Member of editorial board)
1 Jan 2018 → …Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work › Editorial work › Research
-
Seminar speaker at Centre for Neurodegeneration
Lawrence, C. (Invited speaker)
13 Nov 2017Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk › Research