The field of Neuroscience is ever-diversifying and developing, with many of the cellular mechanisms and biochemical processes that interact within the brain remaining misunderstood. With both an ageing population and an increase in the prominence of inflammatory diseases, such as hay fever, allergies and asthma, it is important that we begin to focus our research on the rising epidemic of excessive inflammatory responses. 

This project seeks to utilise newly discovered drugs and technologies, that have been shown to reduce microglia inflammation, to understand what specific influence they have on the biochemical and cellular mechanisms on microglia cells, which are important cells in the maintenance of the brain's neurons and synapses. Through this, the interplay between microglial inflammation and neurodegeneration may be explored, bringing us closer to alleviating the impacts of Alzheimer's disease. 

Through undertaking various lab protocols, such as gene cloning, gene expression and protein extraction, we hope to investigate the cellular mechanisms underlying the response of microglial cells to specific drugs that have been previously identified. In contextualizing our results with the current literature surrounding neurodegeneration, we hope to answer the key question: Is there a quantifiable method to reducing neurodegeneration, specifically Alzheimer's disease, through drugs and other anti-inflammatory technologies?