Role
Dr Thode is a Senior Lecturer in Pharmacology, who teaches on several modules of undergraduate and postgraduate courses, including distance-learning (eLearning) programmes; his sessions mainly cover the subject areas of pharmacology, neuroscience, physiology and molecular biology. He regularly contributes to local and international outreach activities. His other academic responsibilities include:
- Placements and Employability Convener for the Bioscience team
- Module Leader of the undergraduate modules Pathophysiology and Pharmacology of Organ Systems and Neuroscience
- HEA Mentor for colleagues applying to the Higher Education Academy for professional recognition
Career overview
- 2007–present Senior Lecturer in Pharmacology, NTU
- 2006–2007 CELS Lecturer, NTU
- 2001–2006 Research Fellow in the group of Prof. Mark G. Darlison, NTU
Research areas
Dr Thode's scientific research activities are concerned with the mechanisms that underlie the processes of learning and memory, such as the acquisition and production of complex vocalisations in songbirds. Here, the focus is on the molecular characterisation of ligand-gated ion channels. Recently, he has extended his research to the in situ profiling of selected microRNAs in healthy and diseased brain tissues. In addition, Dr Thode carries pedagogic research for which he has established an international teaching collaboration.
External activity
Member of the following professional societies:
- Neurowissenschaftliche Gesellschaft (German Neuroscience Society)
- Federation of European Neuroscience Societies
- Higher Education Academy, the national body for enhancing learning and teaching in higher education
- ASET, the placement and employability professionals' body
Sponsors and collaborators
Current and recent research is being conducted with the collaboration, funding and/or support of:
- Professor Arsenio Fernández López (University of León, Spain)
Publications
Molecular Pharmacology - From DNA to Drug Discovery. Dickenson J, Freeman F, Lloyd Mills C, Sivasubramaniam S and Thode C, 2013, Chichester, Wiley-Blackwell
Peer-assisted learning (PAL) enhancement of oral communication in bio-molecular sciences amongst multi-lingual post-graduates: A pilot study between a British and a Spanish university. López AF, Thode C, Sivasubramaniam SD, Berrnico G and Blanco RD, Se celebrará en Madrid la segunda edición del Congreso Internacional sobre Innovación, Aprendizaje y Competitividad (CINAIC), 2013, 192-197
Expression of the GABA(A) receptor gamma4-subunit gene in discrete nuclei within the zebra finch brain. Thode C, Güttinger HR and Darlison MG, Neuroscience, 2008, 157, 143-152
Consequences of the evolution of the GABAA receptor gene family. Darlison MG, Pahal I and Thode C, Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology, 2005, 25, 607-624
Early socio-emotional experience induces the expression of the immediate-early gene arg3.1/Arc (activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein / activity-regulated gene) in learning-relevant brain regions of the newborn chick. Bock J, Thode C, Hannemann O, Braun K and Darlison MG, Neuroscience, 2005, 133, 625-633
The immediate-early gene zenk is expressed in the mediorostral neostriatum / hyperstriatum ventrale, a brain region involved in acoustic imprinting, and is up-regulated after exposure to an auditory stimulus. Thode C, Bock J, Braun K and Darlison MG, Neuroscience, 2004, 130, 611-617
Press expertise
- Song birds as models of learning and memory
- Molecular processes involved in learning
- Receptors for clinically-important drugs, such as benzodiazepines (e.g. valium) and barbiturates