I graduated with a BSc with a double major in Physiology and Zoology from Massey University in 1994. Following my undergraduate degree I joined the workforce as a physiology technician in the School of Biological Sciences here at VUW. During this time I completed postgraduate papers part-time and carried out research projects studying the developmental expression of opioid receptors under the supervision of Prof. John Miller. In 2004 I completed my PhD and joined the laboratory of Dr Toni Shippenberg at the National Institutes on Drug abuse (NIH) in Baltimore (USA) as a Postdoctoral research fellow working on kappa opioid receptor and monoamine transporter signalling pathways. I returned to Wellington as a Postdoctoral Fellow where I continued my research into drugs of abuse and regulation of monoamine transporter proteins (Project PI, Prof. Miller). In 2007 I joined the faculty as a lecturer and am currently Associate Professor of Neurobiology in the School of Biological Sciences. My laboratory has several projects investigating the  the therapeutic potential of structurally novel opioid receptors at both the behavioural, cellular and molecular levels. Current project involve developing remyelination drugs to enhance repair and functional recovery in demyelinating diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS). I am also developing new drugs to treat pain, particularly neuropathic pain with a focus on developing  non-addictive drugs that do not cause respiratory depression.  I am also investigating new therapeutic targets for Alzheimer's disease that attenuates neuroinflammation and repairs damage at early stages of disease, with the aim of delaying disease progression. I am a member of the Centre for Biodiscovery at VUW, and an affiliate member of the Maurice Wilkins Centre.