Dr Amanda Corla

Amanda graduated from the University of Portsmouth in 2013 with a first class BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry and Genome Science. Continuing at Portsmouth, she embarked upon a postgraduate research degree funded by the Anatomical Society in neurovascular development under the supervision of Dr. Frank Schubert and Dr. Andy Pickford, where she developed her knowledge and skills in neurobiology, embryology, molecular biology and histology. She was awarded the degree of PhD in Biological Sciences in 2017 with her thesis entitled: 'The Anatomical and Molecular Characterisation of Vascular Ingression in the Embryonic Vertebrate Brain.'

Exploring new horizons and keen to develop her skills further, Amanda joined the Non-Vesicular Reference Laboratory as a Laboratory Technician in September 2017. Operating under ISO 17025 accreditation within the SAPO4 biocontainment facility, she provides an essential diagnostic service for the detection of viruses, such as bluetongue, African swine fever and African horse sickness, through conducting serological and molecular testing of sample submissions. Amanda is an active member of the international 'European Virus Archive goes global' (EVAg) project, working on the isolation and titration of virus samples for submission to the EVAg collection, in addition to testing virus isolates for extraneous agents. She performs collaborative work with multiple research groups at The Pirbright Institute and also provides support to the Marek’s Disease Virus Reference Laboratory.