Vanessa Christie-Brown

I hold a BSc in Experimental Psychology and an MSc in Immunology. I began my career as a research scientist in the field of immunology, working first at The Royal Postgraduate Medical School (Hammersmith Hospital) and later at Imperial College London, UK.

In 2011, I transitioned into the neuromuscular field, joining The SMA Trust, a charity dedicated to funding spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) research. Following its merger with SMA Support UK in 2018 to form SMA UK, I continued to coordinate and manage SMA research programmes for SMA Europe as Research Programme Manager, until 2024.

I have since joined Newcastle University as a Visiting Researcher for the SMA Care UK Project and SMA UK. In this role, I am managing efforts to update and implement the standards of care for people of all ages living with SMA in the UK, ensuring that research, clinical expertise and lived experience are aligned to improve outcomes across the care pathway.