Charlie Softley

Biography

I carried out my bachelor and master studies in Natural Sciences in Cambridge, before relocating to Germany for my doctorate at the Technical University of Munich. There I worked on structural biology, small molecule screening and structure-based drug discovery using NMR and X-ray crystallography. After completing my doctorate in 2020, I moved to the University Medical Center Freiburg (Universitaetsklinikum Freiburg) to research splice related ciliopathies using the Xenopus model organism, particularly focussed on the alternative splice factor Tra2b. Here I used the Xenopus skin as a model for the human lung as the tadpoles have similar structures and mucus production to us.

At the start of 2024, I returned to the UK as Lecturer in Pharmacology at Keele, where I continue my work on ciliopathies using planarians (small aquatic flatworms) and Xenopus.

Research and scholarship

My research focuses on our understanding of ciliopathies using model organisms, particularly on whether we can use planarians as models for specific ciliopathies, for example Alstrom syndrome, in order to carry out drug screening on the models. I also use Xenopus tadpoles for similar work investigating the phenotypes and in the future, potential therapeutic routes using these aquatic systems.

Teaching

Teaching has previously included modules on NMR, structural biology and Xenopus as a model organism.

At Keele, this will include:

Methods in Pharmacology