Dr. Caitlin Finney is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Neuroinflammation research group within the Centre for Immunology and Allergy Research at the Westmead Institute. Caitlin completed her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience at the University of Toronto and her PhD in Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of New South Wales. In her PhD, Caitlin focused on the off-label use of the selective estrogen receptor modulator Tamoxifen for neuroprotection against the consequences of hippocampal silent infarct, including neurodegeneration and dementia. Caitlin is currently working with Professor David Brown and her research interests include neurodegeneration, Alzheimer’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, with a particular focus on the role of mitochondria and single nucleotide polymorphisms. She uses both animal and cell culture models to study these topics.
Caitlin is able to provide supervision for postgraduate students and encourages interested students to get in contact.
Publications
2022 Finney, C.A., Delerue, F., Gold, W.A., Brown, D.A. & Shvetcov, A. Artificial intelligence-driven meta-analysis of brain gene expression data identifies novel gene candidates and a role for mitochondria in Alzheimer’s Disease. Submitted to Computational and Structural Biology Journal. MedRxiv preprint DOI: 10.1101/2022.02.02.22270347
2021 Finney, C.A., Shvetcov, A., Westbrook, R.F., Morris, M.J., & Jones, N.M. Tamoxifen offers long-term neuroprotection after hippocampal silent infarct. Hormones and Behavior, 136, DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105085
2021 Finney, C.A., Shvetcov, A., Westbrook, R.F., Morris, M.J., & Jones, N.M. The selective estrogen receptor modulator tamoxifen protects against cognitive decline and early markers of injury 24 h after hippocampal silent infarct in male Sprague Dawley rats. Hormones and Behavior, 134, DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105016
2021 Finney, C.A., Morris, M.J., Westbrook, R.F., & Jones, N.M. Hippocampal silent infarct leads to subtle cognitive decline that is associated with inflammation and gliosis at twenty-four hours after injury in a rat model. Behavioural Brain Research, 401, DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.113089
2020 Finney, C.A., Jones, N.M., & Morris, M.J. A scalable, fully automated approach for regional quantification of immunohistochemical staining of astrocytes in the rat brain. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, DOI: 10.1016/j.neumeth.2020.108994
2020 Finney, C.A., Shvetcov, A., Westbrook, R.F., Jones, N.M., & Morris, M.J. The role of hippocampal estradiol in synaptic plasticity and memory: A systematic review. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 100818. DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2019.100818
2020 Finney, C.A., Proschogo, N., Snepvangers, A., Holmes, N.M., Westbrook, R.F., & Clemens, K.J. The effect of standard laboratory diets on estrogen signalling and spatial memory in male and female rats. Physiology & Behavior, 215(1), 112787. DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2019.112787
2017 Newton-Mann, E., Finney, C., Purves-Tyson, T., & Gogos, A. Estrogen receptors: Mechanism of action and relevance to schizophrenia. Current Psychiatry Reviews, 13(999), 1-9. DOI: 10.2174/1573400513666170414102145
2017 Pilkiw, M., Insel, N., Cui, Y., Finney, C., Cheng, S., Morrissey, M., & Takehara-Nishiuchi, K. The lateral entorhinal cortex encodes combinations of physical and relational features of stimuli in environmental context. eLife, 6, 1-22. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.28611
2017 Mainwaring, L. & Finney, C. Psychological risk factors and outcomes of dance injury: A systematic review. Journal of Dance Medicine & Science, 21(3), 83-91. DOI: 10.12678/1089-313X.21.3.87
2015 Hensel, J., Ruiz, C., Finney, C., & Dewa, C.S. Meta-analysis of risk factors for secondary traumatic stress in therapeutic work with trauma victims. The Journal of Traumatic Stress, 28(2), 83-91. DOI: 10.1002/jts.21998
2013 Finney, C., Stergiopolous, E., Hensel, J., Bonto, S., & Dewa, C.S. Organizational stressors associated with job stress and burnout in correctional officers: A systematic review. BMC Public Health, 13(82). DOI: 10.1186/1471-2456-13-82
Clinical SpecialtyAlzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis