Dr Sharron Vass

Post Nominals	BSc. Hons., PhD, SFHEA
Biography	Dr Sharron Vass BSc (Hons) PhD SFHEA is a lecturer of Biomedical Sciences within the School of Applied Sciences, at Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland, UK. Research Interests Dr Vass completed her PhD studies at the Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Edinburgh. Her research involved investigating the stability of the cohesion complex, the molecular ‘glue’ that holds chromosomes together during the cell cycle. This work contributed to a rapidly expanding field at the time and has been cited more than 200 times. Dr Vass undertook post-doctoral research at the Queen’s Medical Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, where she was investigating the role of metalloproteinase enzymes in cell migration processes. She developed novel microscopy techniques for visualising the formation of developing blood vessels in live zebrafish embryos and was invited to teach a short course on these techniques at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm in 2012. In 2014, Dr Vass gained a lectureship at Edinburgh Napier University, where she established her own research interests initially focusing on the molecular pathways regulating cell migration in highly migratory melanoma cells. In collaboration with Dr Usama Ammar, a synthetic chemist, this work has been extended to investigate novel small molecule inhibitors in drug resistant melanoma. More recently, Dr Vass has been instrumental in developing new application methodologies to investigate the toxicity of vaping fluids on human lung epithelial cells. The toxicology of vaping fluids is of primary public health concern, particularly as these products are targeted at young adolescents. Academic Leadership Dr Vass gained Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in 2015, and Senior Fellowship in 2022. She is passionate about Widening Participation and Inclusion within the HE landscapes and has worked on a number of projects to enhance student experience which she was invited to present at the UK Advising & Tutoring conference (2022). Since 2018, Dr Vass has been Programme Leader for the MSc Biomedical Sciences in Hong Kong, which is offered in conjunction with our partner organisation HKU SPACE. This MSc programme is recognised by the Hong Kong Hospital Authority and continues to recruit strongly. She has extensive trans-national educational experience and has delivered teaching and assessment materials in Sri Lanka, Singapore and Hong Kong. Dr Vass is passionate about public engagement promoting science and STEM careers. She has been an invited speaker at a number of PE events including; An Afternoon of Science, Soap Box Science, and Monster Confidence. She continues to work closely with employers to ensure that future recruitment and skills needs are met through curriculum development.

Post Nominals

BSc. Hons., PhD, SFHEA

Biography

Dr Sharron Vass BSc (Hons) PhD SFHEA is a lecturer of Biomedical Sciences within the School of Applied Sciences, at Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland, UK.

Research Interests
Dr Vass completed her PhD studies at the Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Edinburgh. Her research involved investigating the stability of the cohesion complex, the molecular ‘glue’ that holds chromosomes together during the cell cycle. This work contributed to a rapidly expanding field at the time and has been cited more than 200 times.
Dr Vass undertook post-doctoral research at the Queen’s Medical Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, where she was investigating the role of metalloproteinase enzymes in cell migration processes. She developed novel microscopy techniques for visualising the formation of developing blood vessels in live zebrafish embryos and was invited to teach a short course on these techniques at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm in 2012.
In 2014, Dr Vass gained a lectureship at Edinburgh Napier University, where she established her own research interests initially focusing on the molecular pathways regulating cell migration in highly migratory melanoma cells. In collaboration with Dr Usama Ammar, a synthetic chemist, this work has been extended to investigate novel small molecule inhibitors in drug resistant melanoma. More recently, Dr Vass has been instrumental in developing new application methodologies to investigate the toxicity of vaping fluids on human lung epithelial cells. The toxicology of vaping fluids is of primary public health concern, particularly as these products are targeted at young adolescents.

Academic Leadership
Dr Vass gained Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in 2015, and Senior Fellowship in 2022. She is passionate about Widening Participation and Inclusion within the HE landscapes and has worked on a number of projects to enhance student experience which she was invited to present at the UK Advising & Tutoring conference (2022).
Since 2018, Dr Vass has been Programme Leader for the MSc Biomedical Sciences in Hong Kong, which is offered in conjunction with our partner organisation HKU SPACE. This MSc programme is recognised by the Hong Kong Hospital Authority and continues to recruit strongly. She has extensive trans-national educational experience and has delivered teaching and assessment materials in Sri Lanka, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Dr Vass is passionate about public engagement promoting science and STEM careers. She has been an invited speaker at a number of PE events including; An Afternoon of Science, Soap Box Science, and Monster Confidence. She continues to work closely with employers to ensure that future recruitment and skills needs are met through curriculum development.