Megan Hird

Megan Hird

Email: mh3438@hallam.shu.ac.uk
Research Centre: Biomolecular Sciences Research Centre (BMRC)
Research Group: Health and Disease
PhD Thesis Title: The impact of low-level carbon monoxide on the human brain.
Director of Studies: Dr. Mari Herigstad
Supervisors: Dr. Prachi Stafford, Dr. Caroline Dalton, and Dr. Stephen Emegbo

Collaborators:  Carbon Monoxide Research Trust (CORT)

SUMMARY

I completed my MSci degree in Biochemistry at Sheffield Hallam University, where my MSci project investigated potential biomarkers for carbon monoxide (CO) exposure. Staying within CO research, my PhD now focuses on the effects of low-level CO upon the brain, on both a cellular level and an organ level.

RESEARCH

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a toxic, colourless, odourless, and tasteless gas with a binding affinity with haemoglobin over 200x that of oxygen. It is released into the air during combustion of fossil fuels, making it a common constituent of polluted air. At acute exposure levels it can directly affect the brain, causing headaches and brain fog, but there is little insight into its effects on the human brain following repeated low-level exposure.

With current research suggesting it can increase the risk of neurological disorders, research needs to be done in vivo and in vitro to determine how CO can impact in the brain at low levels. My research aims to evaluate the impact of low-level CO at both a cellular level, through analysing and determining targeted pathways in vitro, and at an organ level, investigating electrical activity in the brain using EEG.