Ellen is currently in her third year of The Cookson Scholars programme, a dual award PhD programme between The Universities of Melbourne and Manchester, co-supervised by Professor Stuart Allan and Professor Craig Smith (University of Manchester) and Professor Laura Downie and A/Prof Holly Chinnery (University of Melbourne). She completed her BSc in Neuroscience with Psychology at the University of Aberdeen in 2022, and her MSc in Neuroscience at the University of Edinburgh in 2023.   

The main focus of Ellen's PhD is investigating the role of central and peripheral inflammation in the development of post stroke cognitive impairment. Increasing evidence suggests that the release of inflammatory mediators and immune cells following stroke can promote cognitive deficits, yet the complex relationship between systemic inflammation and central neurodegeneration has yet to be elucidated. Having established an aged model of post stroke cognitive impairment in Manchester, she hopes to build on her research and further investigate the relationship between cognitive decline and changes to inflammatory cell populations, such as microglia, within the eye.   

In 2025, Ellen received The Guarantors of Brain ECR Travel Grant to present data at the Brain and Brain PET conference in Seoul, South Korea. Other notable presentations she has given include the 7th annual Stroke Symposium in Oxford, UK, and Neuroprotection and Neurorepair in Potsdam, Germany.