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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

This is in collaboration with Benoit Cox and is an exciting project at the interface of industry and academia efforts to develop cutting-edge models of the BBB.

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Excellent UCB PhD studentship day yesterday, showcasing the ongoing work with academia and UCB to support future R&D . Andrew Sellin is a 2nd year PhD student in the Dickens lab funded by UCB working on advanced cellular models of the blood-brain barrier (BBB)

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

I would like to welcome a new PhD student to the Dickens Lab. Kader is funded by the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Education and is working on a project entitled: The Effect of Microbiome Metabolites on the Blood-Brain Barrier in Brain Cancer: In Vitro and Computational Studies

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Their presentations highlighted recent developments in stem‑cell–derived barrier models and innovative approaches to studying neurovascular function, helping to deepen understanding of mechanisms underlying blood–brain barrier regulation in health and disease.

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Dickens Lab PhD researchers Andrew and Jo showcased their latest work on advanced in vitro models of the blood–brain barrier at the Pharmacology Research Away Day.

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

Great piece by Denise Roland on emerging ways to overcome the blood–brain barrier. Thanks for involving me! With advanced cell models and new BBB insights, the field is at a tipping point with big advances ahead. Exciting area to be part of! eqtgroup.com/thinq/health...

eqtgroup.com

Breaking Through the Blood-Brain Barrier | ThinQ by EQT

Novel approaches aim to overcome one of the major hurdles in developing new treatments for diseases including Alzheimer’s and brain cancer.

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

Are you ready to tackle one of the most pressing safety challenges in immuno-oncology? We are offering a DiMeN DTP iCASE MRC-funded PhD studentship in the Dickens Lab, in collaboration with AstraZeneca. Decode how the #BloodBrainBarrier is compromised & explore ways to protect it

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

Shout out to Josephine Pedder and Andrew Sellin for presenting at the meeting and congratulations to Jo for winning the Best PhD student presentation award!

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

Fantastic 14th UK & Ireland Early Career blood-brain barriers meeting last week! Many thanks to the local hosts, Avril Reddy & Natalie Hudson from Matt Campbell lab at Trinity College Dublin for an excellent meeting showcasing early career research on CNS barriers.

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

I gave a talk yesterday at the bionow Neuroscience 2025 conference on “Crossing the blood–brain barrier: emerging therapeutic strategies”. Many thanks for the organisers for the invite and was great to see the depth and breadth of neuroscience research from both industry and academic scientists!

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

The British Association for Psychopharmacology summer meeting showcased cutting edge psychopharmacology research and was an excellent meeting!

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

Congratulations to Leon Lane, an undergraduate pharmacology student, who was awarded a British Association of Psychopharmacology (BAP) Summer Research Internship. Leon presented his research involving scopolamine and glycopyrrolate at the BAP summer meeting as a poster presentation. Well done, Leon!

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

Many thanks to Paulina Kolasinska-Zwierz for the invite and all the excellent questions after my talk – was a stimulating and interesting day!

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

Was great to hear about Alchemab work on resilient individuals and how to identify antibodies with similar properties as novel therapeutics. Also good to discuss the challenges of the blood-brain barrier in the context of drug discovery and development.

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

Excellent visit to Alchemab Therapeutics yesterday to give an invited talk on “Crossing the blood–brain barrier: emerging therapeutic strategies”.

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

Looking forward to the next meeting in a years’ time and for the ongoing enrichment and differing focus that collaborating with industry gives to a project!

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

There was an excellent range of posters and talks from UCB funded PhD students reflecting the cutting-edge science that is performed with academic collaborators. Also, the application of this research to aid in the R&D process was clear and lead to a vibrate and informative meeting.

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

Attended a stimulating UCB Pharma PhD Day today. Was a great opportunity for Andrew Sellin to present on his UCB funded PhD project involving the blood-brain barrier.

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

Some of the Dickens Lab attended #BNA2025 this week -right here in our home city of Liverpool! 🧠✨ Fantastic to see such a wide range of neuroscience topics and brilliant presentations throughout the festival. #Neuroscience #BNA #Liverpool

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

Great visit by our UCB Pharma collaborators to Universty of Liverpool to discuss Andrews ongoing PhD project focused on developing a state of the art blood-brain barrier model using an organ on a chip platform. This aims to surpass current methodologies for testing drug permeability across the BBB

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

Great visit to Revivocell Ltd. today at Daresbury Laboratory! I meet up with Abdullah Talari and we focused on the potential of NANOSTACKS technology to enhance in vitro blood-brain barrier modelling -an exciting step forward for neuropharmacology and translational research.

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

Many thanks for the team at Sygnature Discovery for inviting me to give a guest lecture on "Crossing the blood–brain barrier: emerging therapeutic strategies". Was great to meet the team, chat about drug transporters, DMPK and discuss the challenge of drug delivery to the brain! #Sygnature Discovery

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

Delighted that the Campbell Lab, based at Trinity College Dublin, will host the 14th UK & Ireland Early Career Blood-Brain Barrier Symposium on the 17th of July 2025! Further Info: bbbsymposium.com & to register: ti.to/genetics/uk-... @mattcampbelltcd.bsky.social

bbbsymposium.com

UK & Ireland Early Career Blood-Brain Barrier Symposium

The UK & Ireland Early Career Blood-Brain Barrier Symposium series provides an opportunity for early career researchers to present their research on the BBB

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

Our review is now out in the March print issue of Lancet Neurology! www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

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Reposted by David Dickens

Sarah Passey @soggous.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

New Personal View online at The Lancet Neurology, looking at some emerging strategies to get drugs across the blood–brain barrier #neurology @thelancet.bsky.social This paper came about after I attended a talk at the Festival of Neuroscience in 2023 #neuroscience www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

thelancet.com

Crossing the blood–brain barrier: emerging therapeutic strategies for neurological disease

The blood–brain barrier is a physiological barrier that can prevent both small and complex drugs from reaching the brain to exert a pharmacological effect. For treatment of neurological diseases, drug...

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Our review is now out in Lancet Neurology on "Crossing the Blood–Brain Barrier: Emerging Therapeutic Strategies for Neurological Disease’. We highlight several pioneering strategies that show promise for safely bypassing this barrier.

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

My lab has extensive expertise in targeted drug delivery to the brain and has established a cutting-edge cellular BBB model for drug and disease modelling. This means we are at the forefront of research into this exciting area of unmet need. news.liverpool.ac.uk/2025/01/22/r...

news.liverpool.ac.uk

Revealing insights into neurological disease treatment - University of Liverpool News

Revealing insights into neurological disease treatment

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Our review is now out in Lancet Neurology on "Crossing the Blood–Brain Barrier: Emerging Therapeutic Strategies for Neurological Disease". We highlight several pioneering strategies that show promise for safely bypassing this barrier. authors.elsevier.com/a/1kUHI5FFzL...

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

As crossing this barrier is a major stumbling block for the development of new treatments for brain cancers.

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Great short talk by Jo on the blood-brain barrier at the recent Brain Tumour North West meeting. Jo is developing a novel, biologically relevant, in vitro model of the blood-brain tumour barrier (BBTB) using a cutting edge stem-cell derived model.

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

The Dickens Lab is a vibrant and welcoming team that has expertise in the blood-brain barrier, membrane transporters and psychopharmacology. We are always looking for new students, projects and collaborations so please feel free to reach out to me directly

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

We also have Joe and Rory who are new MRes students working on different projects involving the blood-brain barrier.

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

Inspiring meeting last week on neuroscience research at the Universty of Liverpool. The meeting highlighted the depth and breadth of neuroscience research at the Universty and the exciting opportunities for growing this area of research in the future! @livuni-ismib.bsky.social

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David Dickens @davidsdickens.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

I would like to welcome two new PhD students to the Dickens Lab. Yahya is funded by the Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau in the UK and is working on a project involving clozapine. While Andrew is funded by UCB Pharma and is working on a cutting-edge blood-brain barrier model. @livuni-ismib.bsky.social

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