At Ulysses Neuroscience Ltd. we have expertise in a broad range of preclinical and clinical experimental approaches to study the pathogenesis and treatment of brain disorders. Contact us if you have an interest in any of our research capabilities for your drug discovery project.

Clinical Research

At Ulysses Neuroscience Ltd. we are experts in creating a relationship of trust and collaboration with clinicians and patient communities. We organise initiatives such as awareness days and focus groups that provide great insight into the needs and wishes of both the patient and caregiver community and that of their clinicians.

We have a strong working relationship with local and international clinical sites and have robust protocols to ensure the highest standard of quality from sample collection through to analysis. From bedside to bench, we integrate this information into the design of bespoke biomarker and target identification studies and phase IV trials.

Specialising in fluid biomarker analysis in conjunction with existing clinical assessments and scales, we advance the understanding of druggable targets and epidemiological characteristics of a disorder alongside the patient and caregiver populations, and help pharmaceutical companies improve their reach and study efficacy.

Preclinical Research

Disease Models

Neurodevelopmental

1. Fmr1-KO mice (Fragile X Syndrome model)

2. Cdkl5-KO (exon 6) mice (CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder model)

3. Ube3a-KO mice (Angelman syndrome model)

Neuropsychiatric

Interferon-α neuroinflammatory model of depression

Neurodegenerative

α-Synuclein model of Parkinson’s disease (in collaboration with Atuka)

Human AAV1/2 A53T

Pre-formed fibrils

Behavioural Analysis

Cognition

Operant conditioning

Object recognition task

T-maze

Morris water maze

Stress and anxiety

Forced swimming test

Elevated + maze & zero maze

Open field test

Marble burying test

Ultrasonic vocalisations

Sociability

3-Chambers task

Social interaction

Motor Systems

Prepulse inhibition

Rotarod

Cylinder test

Stepping test

Gait test

Grip strength test

Cellular / Molecular Methodologies

InfraRed Western Blot – Odyssey CLx Imaging system
Multiplex MESO Scale Discovery – QuickPlex SQ 120
Immunohistochemistry
Real-time PCR
ELISA
HPLC
EEG
In vivo amperometry

In Vitro Research

Primary culture system

- Primary cultures of neurons and glia from wild-type and transgenic mouse models
- Morphometric and functional assays
- Neuroprotective assessment: cell viability, apoptosis and inflammatory gene expression

iPSCs/organoids platform

iPSC biobanking, characterisation and neuronal differentiation
Middle brain organoids from Parkinson’s disease patients and control iPSCs (incollaboration with Michael J Fox Foundation (MJFF)
Quantification and identification of biomarkers and novel disease

Infrared Western Blot
Immunohistochemistry analysis
Synaptogenesis quantification

Drug screening and target validation

At our Ulysses Maynooth site, we have developed our electroencephalography (EEG) platform in rats, focusing on home cage and operant chamber-based recordings to use EEG as an endpoint in pharmacological and behavioural studies. We have the capabilities to do both screw-based and depth electrodes, allowing for studies to be tailored to the needs of the research.

Resting State EEG (rsEEG)

The use of psychedelics for depression has become a major driver of drug discovery in psychiatry, especially the development of novel psychedelic-based compounds which have anti-depressant features but lack the acute hallucinogenic or sensory side effects of compounds like psilocybin. Using rsEEG, we are developing an analytical pipeline to better understand these psychedelic effects in rodents.

Sleep EEG

Sleep is a key behaviour that is dysregulated across a range of neurological disorders including neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson’s disease and in neurodevelopmental disorders like Angelman syndrome. Sleep EEG is a powerful translational tool for drug discovery which we use to examine changes in sleep architecture during preclinical testing.

Amperometry and voltammetry

In addition to traditional EEG techniques, we also have the capability to measure real-time changes in neurochemistry in freely-moving animals. We have extensive expertise in amperometric sensors and biosensors used to detect real-time changes in oxygen, glucose, lactate, glutamate, choline and many other analytes. We are also developing our facilities to perform voltammetry for the detection of dopamine and serotonin in awake, behaving rats.

Research Capabilities