Ashvini Wijayapala#
Ashvini Wijayapala`
PhD Student
I graduated from the University of Warwick with an MBio in Biomedical Science with a Year in Industry. During my industrial placement with the Exploratory Biology team at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, I gained my first experience working with neuronal stem cells and electrophysiology, which inspired a strong interest in neuronal signalling and synaptic biology.
Research:#
I am now pursuing a PhD at the University of Bristol under the supervision of Prof. Jack Mellor and Dr Adam Grieve. My current work investigates the role of rhomboid proteases in regulating synaptic transmission. Using a combination of cell biology, proteomics and electrophysiology techniques the project aims to understand how rhomboid proteolysis contributes to neuronal development and function.
Current projects:#
Outside of the lab
I bake a very good raspberry and chocolate cake whilst dancing to Sabrina Carpenter (despite the Mellor labs rejection of both)
Publications:#
Connexin50 hemichannels are opened by CO2: implications for lens physiology
Alexandra Lovatt, Frederick Bibra, ‘Ashvini Wijayapala’, Macy Mui, Jack Butler, Nicholas Dale
Frontiers in Physiology 2026 (article)