iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Today is the first day of my three-year @alzheimersresearchuk.org Fellowship, and it feels brilliant to finally get started "Shake, Shed, Spread" will explore how repeated head impacts alter brain-derived extracellular vesicles, and if they carry tau and affect brain-cell function #neuroscience #TIB

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

My new fellowship began long before the award. ARUK pilot funding supported the fieldwork and helped us validate neuron-enriched EV isolation, detect tau in pilot samples, and test EV effects in human neural-cell models. Now we can build on that groundwork at a much larger scale. 🧠🔬 #neuroscience

A selfie of me working in the lab getting ready to do some experiments

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Public involvement will be central throughout. Building on an earlier ARUK pilot award, the fellowship will help position ARUK at the forefront of research into sport, brain injury, and dementia. Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible. I can’t wait to get started! 5/5

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

The ambition extends beyond contact sport. The same biology may matter after falls, accidents, interpersonal violence, and other brain injuries. The aim is to lay foundations for better monitoring, earlier intervention, and dementia prevention. 4/5

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

I’ll work with 42 UK American football players, combining helmet-measured head impacts and blood sampling with experiments in human neurons and astrocytes. This will connect what happens on the field with mechanisms we can test in the lab. 3/5

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

The project, Shake, Shed, Spread, asks whether tiny packages released by neurons after head impacts are simply markers of exposure, or whether they carry harmful forms of tau and disrupt how brain cells manage energy and inflammation. 2/5

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Some very good news: I’ve been awarded a three-year @alzheimersresearchuk.org Research Fellowship! 🧠 From October, I’ll build an independent programme exploring how repeated head impacts may contribute to dementia-related brain changes. Pictured with some of our public contributors. 🧵 1/5

Group photo of me (far right) and some of the public involvement team

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Reposted by Dr Paul Weightman Potter

Traumatic Brain Injury News @ems1639.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Every 9 seconds, someone in the #UnitedStates, sustains a #braininjury. It is #estimated that over 10 million #TBIs occur #annually across the #globe and that over 57 million #people have been hospitalized with a #TBI during their #lifetime. tinyurl.com/2jhv2f7w

tinyurl.com

Facts and Figures | Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association

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Reposted by Dr Paul Weightman Potter

NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Brain Injury @braininjuryhrc.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

Research priorities identified by MRC

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

Rest assured my camera was outside of the hood!

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

🧪 A quick look behind the scenes. This 30 second clip condenses 25 minutes of prep for a metabolism assay on human brain cells ( #microglia ). Careful pipetting, clean technique, and lots of repetition. This is where the data begins. #lablife #neuroscience #braininury #science

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Reposted by Dr Paul Weightman Potter

Traumatic Brain Injury News @ems1639.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

It is estimated 1.4 million visit hospital every year in the UK with a #braininjury and 200,000 are admitted. tinyurl.com/3c2fvjxp

tinyurl.com

MSN

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

🧪 Neuron-derived extracellular vesicles carry tau and inflammation signals after impacts. We are validating these as potential risk markers for athletes and exploring how they may spread pathology. #EVs #Biomarkers #Science #BrainInjury

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

😴 Deep sleep supports waste clearance and learning. Protect your sleep after a head injury with a steady schedule, daytime exercise, and low light before bed. #Sleep #TBI #Recovery #BrainInjury

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Reposted by Dr Paul Weightman Potter

UKABIF @ukabif.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

⭐️UKABIF Summit 2025 - Sessions are now on our YouTube channel.⭐️ Watch here: youtube.com/@ukabif?si=-... #UKABIF #UKABIFSummit #ABICommunity #NeuroRehabilitation #BrainInjury

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

To our knowledge these are the first neuron derived EVs we have collected post impact in our cohort. Grateful for support from @alzheimersresearchuk.org and Wendy Noble’s lab. Onwards.

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

What comes next: Test the effects of exposing these on neural cells in vitro

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

Why this matters: neuron derived EVs can carry tau and inflammatory signals. Profiling them after head impacts could provide blood based markers of risk and targets for better prevention in sport.

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

How we did it: size exclusion chromatography to isolate plasma EVs, then L1CAM pull down to enrich neuron derived vesicles. ExoCheck panel used for validation. Next we will confirm with flow cytometry.

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

🧪 First look at our neuron derived EVs after head impact exposure in American football. ExoCheck neuronal panel shows at least two neuronal markers and an EV marker, with no cellular contamination. Image from today’s run. #EVs #TBI #AmericanFootball #Biomarkers #Science #BrainInjury

Greyscale dot blot from an ExoCheck neuronal panel. EV markers CD63, CD9, CD81, and TSG101 show clear spots. Cellular contamination controls CANX and ICAM1 are absent. On the right, a strong positive control is visible and neuronal markers L1CAM and NCAM1 are positive. Overall pattern supports successful isolation of neuron derived extracellular vesicles from post game samples.

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Reposted by Dr Paul Weightman Potter

NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Brain Injury @braininjuryhrc.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Listen to a new podcast about fetal monitoring and #braininjury open.spotify.com/episode/4Gx1...

open.spotify.com

Innovation- fetal monitoring

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

🧠It's important to understand how #CTE is different to other #brain diseases. In CTE, tau builds up around small blood vessels at the depths of cortical sulci, often in layers II and III. In #Alzheimers, tau tracks a different path and sits alongside amyloid plaques. #Science #BrainInjury🧪

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

Pattern 1 can show in 30s or 40s with mood change, irritability, sleep problems, impulsivity, and depression. Pattern 2 can show later with memory loss and thinking decline. If someone with contact sport or military history changes markedly, seek medical advice. #RHI #TBI

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

🧠 Every #brain is different. With repetitive head impacts, wiring can be damaged and symptoms can appear. #CTE is diagnosed after death, but two clinical patterns are often discussed in life: a faster behavioural pattern and a slower #dementia like pattern. #Science #Braininjury🧪

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

🧪 Day in the lab. Isolating extracellular vesicles from plasma collected after #Americanfootball using size exclusion chromatography. Next I'm optimising a method called immunoprecipitation to further isolate neuron derived EVs. Excited to see what the data show. #TBI #LabLife #Science

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

#Microglia help explain why some people struggle cognitively after #TBI. Timing matters. Support early clean up, prevent long term overdrive, and protect synapses. Targeting microglia with the right therapy at the right time could change outcomes. #BrainInjury #Science 🧪

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

#Microglia also shape synapses, the connections that carry thoughts. After #TBI they may prune too much or release signals that destabilise these links, decreasing spine density and weakening brain circuits, especially in the hippocampus. #science #Braininjury 🧪

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

After #concussion, #inflammation aids clean up and injury resolution. If #microglia stay pro inflammatory for months or years, they keep releasing molecules that disrupt circuits, worsen blood #brain barrier leaks, and recruit more immune cells, prolonging symptoms. #BrainInjury #TBI #Science 🧪

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

Following #TBI, stress signals such as oxidative stress, calcium overload, and inflammatory signalling can push vulnerable neurons toward cell death. #Microglia may fuel this cascade, linking early injury to later memory issues. #Neuroscience #Braininjury #Science 🧪

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Inflammation is a double-edged sword. Microglia patrol the brain. After #TBI they rush in, clear debris, and start repairs. Helpful inflammation can turn excessive, which then amplifies damage and impairs cognition. Balancing this response could be key. #Braininjury #Concussion #Science 🧪

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

🧠 After a head injury, thinking and memory can slip not only from the initial hit but also from how the brain’s immune cells called microglia respond over hours, days, and months. They can help OR they can prolong problems that affect cognition. #TBI #BrainInjury #Microglia

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Reposted by Dr Paul Weightman Potter

NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Brain Injury @braininjuryhrc.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

We are pleased to announce another PhD opportunity! Join Alexis Joannides for a PhD project on Imaging-Based AI Screening for Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus, funded through our Fellowship Programme. Deadline 14th January 2026. Interested: www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/phd-stu... Contact us for more details!

lnkd.in

This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

📰 Tina’s story shows how creativity can restore voice after brain injury. After a severe #TBI and coma, she learned BSL, earned Level 1, and helped build a deaf-aware community at Hughenden Gardens with Rose Ayling-Ellis’ project. Inspiring and practical. #BSL #BrainInjury #Concussion

bbc.co.uk

How learning sign language changed my life after a brain injury

Two participants from Rose Ayling-Ellis: Old Hands, New Tricks share how BSL has transformed their lives.

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

Thanks! I'm not very familiar with alt-text but will do so in the future. You're right though for more information please see: hrc-braininjury.nihr.ac.uk/dun for the complete documents. Healing the brain is of course an unmet need. Neurostimulation is an exciting technology with a myriad of purposes

hrc-braininjury.nihr.ac.uk

Directory of Unmet Needs - NIHR Brain Injury HRC

Directory of Unmet Needs In 2016, it was estimated that Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) alone result in approximately 1.4 million attendances to A&E in England and Wales

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

📣 @braininjuryhrc.bsky.social are gathering views on the unmet needs in brain injury care and ideas for tech that could improve outcomes. Be heard. Add your voice. Please share widely and repost. #BrainHealth #TBI #Concussion

forms.office.com

Microsoft Forms

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Shane Christie’s story is heart breaking and urgent. The former Māori All Blacks and Highlanders player suffered severe symptoms after repeated head impacts and, after his death at 39, donated his brain to science. His legacy is a call for better care in rugby. #CTE #Rugby #Braininjury #Concussion

theguardian.com

Latest news, sport and opinion from the Guardian

Latest US news, world news, sports, business, opinion, analysis and reviews from the Guardian, the world's leading liberal voice

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

👏 Huge kudos to @braininjuryhrc.bsky.social for the Unmet Needs Directory. This needs more attention! 70 needs identified, 55 validated, mapping gaps from A&E to rehab and prevention. A brilliant launchpad for real solutions. hrc-braininjury.nihr.ac.uk/dun #BrainInjury #Research #neuroscience

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Jefferson Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute @mossresearch.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

As part of the Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Collaborative, a new guidance on communicating about brain injury was developed for clinicians, researchers, policymakers, and people with lived experience. Key message: Brain injury doesn't define a person. It's just one part of who they are.

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

The next 12 months we will be analysing the neuron derived extracellular vesicles from American footballers to test whether they contain any #TBI or #CTE related markers and if they induce #neurodegeneration like behaviour in cells. #braininjury #dementia #concussion

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

Head impacts in sport raise dementia risk for some people. We will study neuron derived extracellular vesicles in blood to learn how injury signals spread and how we can stop them. #TBI #CTE #Dementia #EVs #Neuroscience

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