Shivali joined Dr. Mick Craig’s lab group at the University of Exeter in January 2018 as a Postdoctoral Research Associate (funded by ARUK) to investigate the role of thalamic nuclei (communication hubs within the Brain’s memory circuit) in cognitive function, combining pharmacogenetics and behavioural techniques to determine whether modulation of thalamic excitability can improve learning and memory performance in mouse models for dementia.

Prior to moving to Exeter, Shivali graduated from the University of Newcastle in 2012 with a BSc in Pharmacology, before moving onto an MSc in Neuroscience at King’s College London in 2013. She then undertook a PhD in neuropharmacology at the University of Nottingham, received in 2018.

With a keen interest in behavioural neuropharmacology, Shivali Kohli’s areas of expertise involve the use of rodent models for neuropsychiatric disease, using various in vivo approaches including behaviour assays, immunohistochemistry and microdialysis to unravel underlying mechanisms underpinning disorders with deficits in social behaviour and cognition.