Chelsea Larabee
Meet Chelsea Larabee, the Project Manager for the MDUK Oxford Neuromuscular Centre in the Wood group. Chelsea completed her PhD in Oklahoma and her postdoctoral research in Portugal and Oxford.
Can you give a brief overview of your career trajectory so far?
I completed my undergraduate degree and PhD in Oklahoma, where I grew up. My PhD project focused on optic neuritis (inflammation of the optic nerve) in mouse models of multiple sclerosis with an emphasis on the neuroprotective role of the antioxidant Nrf2 pathway. I then moved to Portugal for my postdoc in 2017 where I studied the interaction of immune cells and sympathetic nerves within adipose tissue in the context of obesity. My lab in Portugal then moved to DPAG in Oxford in 2018, and I eventually changed labs and became involved in projects focused on schizophrenia and then diabetic retinopathy. During my time in DPAG, I tutored neuroscience, biochemistry, and physiology, which I really enjoyed. At the end of 2022, I made the difficult decision to leave the lab altogether and took up my current role early this year.
What is your research focus?
Although I no longer do research in the lab, my role in the MDUK Oxford Neuromuscular Centre aims to accelerate clinical trial capacity in Oxford for neuromuscular disease and facilitate the successful "bench-to-bedside" transition of promising pre-clinical drugs. In 2019, the Centre was established by Prof Matthew Wood in collaboration with the charity Muscular Dystrophy UK (MDUK), and it has been a very successful endeavour. We’re currently planning the Centre’s strategy for the next five years, and we have a ground-breaking programme in store that will impact the lives of patients living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
What has been your highlight this past year at the IDRM?
The best part of my role since beginning in January has been getting to know all the wonderful people in the Wood group and IDRM overall. My last group was very small, so it has been a great experience being in such a vibrant and social atmosphere.
What do you look forward to most this year?
Professionally, I look forward to learning more about my role and becoming more comfortable and confident as a project manager. Personally, I’m really looking forward to going back home (to Oklahoma) over Christmas, as it will be my first visit since before the pandemic. It will be amazing to hug many of my friends and family for the first time in years.
What do you do outside of the Institute?
I love reading books and enjoy a variety of genres. I also very much enjoy flower and vegetable gardening, which has been delightful in the lovely weather we have recently been having. Alongside this, the last year has been filled with many different satisfying projects around the house and garden, as my partner and I just bought a home early last year. And I think anyone who knows me would be shocked if I didn’t mention my quite large gin collection and mixology skills, which has become a big hobby of mine since moving to the UK.