Dr Hande Tunbak

I am a postdoctoral researcher within Professor Nicola Ragge's lab at Oxford Brookes and also a visiting postdoctoral researcher working with Professor Steve Wilson at UCL. I am working to identify and characterise genes causing rare eye abnormalities with a specific focus on identifying novel genetic interactions that contribute to the varying spectrum of developmental eye defects observed in patient cohorts. I use zebrafish modelling to study the development of visual systems using gene editing and transgenesis systems combined with computational approaches and high-resolution imaging techniques.

Before joining the team at Brookes, I completed my PhD research investigating the impact of social isolation on social behaviour in Zebrafish and its effects on neural circuitry pathways throughout various stages of development.

Areas of expertise

• Developmental Biology and Neuroscience
• Experience and training in using zebrafish as a research model system
• Molecular biology techniques (e.g. expression analysis) 
• High-resolution imaging techniques