Dr. Andrew Young

E-mail: amjy1@le.ac.uk

After completing my BSc (Hons) in Zoology at University of Nottingham, I went on to study for a PhD on the mechanisms of action of sleep peptides at University of Birmingham under the supervision of John Wolstencroft and Brian Key.  I then spent four years as a post-doc at Imperial College, and 9 years at the Institute of Psychiatry (Kings College) in London, before moving to Leicester as a Senior Research Fellow in 1997.  Although I undertook substantial teaching responsibilities during my post-docs and Fellowship, I joined the academic staff as a Lecturer in the School of Psychology in 2002.  My research focuses on understanding neurochemical mechanisms controlling behaviour: in particular motivation and attention, both in the normally functioning brain and in mental disease.  Current projects are investigating modulation of dopamine function in dorsal and ventral striatum in relation to schizophrenia and addiction, giving insights into basic mechanisms of function providing a better understanding of the origins of disease, and pointer to novel treatment strategies.  Previous funding includes grants from BBSRC, Wellcome Trust and NC3Rs.