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Dr Wajeeha Aziz

Dr Wajeeha Aziz

Dr Wajeeha Aziz (MBBS, MSc (Clin Ed), PhD, PGCertHE, PGDip Med Ed, SFHEA, MAcadMEd)

Associate Professor in Medical Education
E: w.aziz@bsms.ac.uk
T: +44 (0)1273 644125
Location: Watson Building, Room 344b, University of Brighton Falmer Campus, BN1 9PH

Roles: Course lead PGCert Simulation in Clinical PracticeDissertation Supervisor MSc Clinical and Medical Education, Inclusive Practice and Curriculum lead (PGt), School rep Equality Diversity and Staff Development Committee, External examiner, Anglia Ruskin University

Preferred gender pronouns: She/her

Biography

  • Associate Professor BSMS
  • Senior Research Fellow, Sussex Neuroscience, University of Sussex
  • Research Fellow, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London
  • Research Associate, National Institute of Physiological Sciences, Japan

Education and Scholarship

  • MSc in Clinical Education, Brighton and Sussex Medical School (Distinction)
  • PhD Neuroscience National Institute of Physiological Sciences, Japan
  • MSc Physiology, National Institute of Physiological Sciences, Japan
  • MBBS Punjab University, Pakistan.

Research

Dr Aziz brings a wealth of experience from her extensive research in neuroscience, where she honed advanced skills in electron microscopy, high-resolution imaging, and electrophysiology. Her contributions to the field are evident through numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Current Focus in Medical Education

Transitioning to medical education, Dr Aziz is now passionately dedicated to fostering inclusive learning environments. Her current research centers on developing inclusive curriculum strategies through collaborative partnerships between staff and students, alongside establishing best practices for effectively utilising student feedback to enhance educational quality.

Commitment to Equity and Wellbeing

Dr Aziz's commitment extends to addressing critical issues in inclusion health for marginalised groups and promoting the health and education of ethnic minority communities. Furthermore, she is deeply invested in understanding and improving the mental health and well-being of individuals within ethnic minority and marginalised populations.

Research focus:

  • Medical and Clinical Education
  • Inclusive Curriculum
  • Synaptic structural plasticity
  • Short and long-term motor learning
  • Novel mechanisms of long-term Hippocampal memory
  • Molecular mechanisms of Aging
  • Human Genetic mutations in glutamate receptors

Research methods:

  • Quantitative and Qualitative medical research
  • High resolution Electron microscopy
  • Molecular biology
  • Organotypic slice electrophysiology
  • Behavioural Neuroscience

Current research interests:

  • Inclusive curriculum strategies through staff/student partnership
  • Diversifying and Decolonising Medical Curriculum
  • Inclusion health for marginalised groups
  • Simulation- based education 

Teaching

As the course lead for the PGCert Simulation in Clinical Practice and an academic supervisor in clinical education, Dr Aziz champions innovative pedagogical approaches. Her extensive experience in supervising master's and PhD students, alongside tutoring undergraduates across various courses, underscores her deep commitment to fostering student growth. Dr Aziz is particularly passionate about enhancing the student experience through active engagement, often incorporating interprofessional simulation to cultivate collaborative skills and simulation-based deduction to promote critical thinking in realistic clinical scenarios. Her post-graduation certification in higher education (2018) ignited a keen interest in reflective teaching practices and blended learning, further enriching her approach. Recognised as a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and a member of the Academy of Medical Educators, Dr Aziz's dedication to inclusive practices is further evidenced by receipt of the BSMS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award 2023, highlighting her leadership in creating an equitable learning environment.

Selected publications

Reproducible supervised learning-assisted classification of spontaneous synaptic waveforms with Eventer. Winchester Giles, Steele Oliver G. , Liu Samuel, Maia Chagas Andre, Aziz Wajeeha, Penn Andrew C. Frontiers in Neuroinformatics vol 18 .2024

Qi Z, Aziz W and Butler C. Medical educator’s attitudes and experiences of teaching clinical skills online to undergraduate medical students:  Learning from COVID 19 and future implications , MedEdPublish 2024, 14:107 (poster) (https://doi.org/10.21955/mep.1115527.1)

Aziz W, Bascombe K, Butler C et al. Decolonising the physician associate curriculum through interprofessional educational collaboration at Brighton and Sussex Medical School ,MedEdPublish 2024, 14:212 (poster) (https://doi.org/10.21955/mep.1115636.1)

Intercultural Competence Education for Health Workers: A Tool for National and Global Health Equity. Matthew O'Bryan, Wajeeha Aziz. AMEE 2023 Glasgow
Intersectionality is the only way to nurture academics of colour. 2023. timeshighereducation.com/campus/intersectionality-only-way-nurture-academics-colour. 

Synaptic Dysfunction by Mutations in GRIN2B: Influence of Triheteromeric NMDA Receptors on Gain-of-Function and Loss-of-Function Mutant Classification. Brain Sci. 2022, 12, 789. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12060789. Elmasri, M.; Lotti, J.S.; Aziz, W.; Steele, O.G.;

Karachaliou, E.; Sakimura, K.; Hansen, K.B.; Penn, A.C.
Common synaptic phenotypes arising from diverse mutations in the human NMDA receptor subunit GluN2A. M. Elmasri, D. Hunter, G. Winchester, W. Aziz, E. Bates, D. Moolenaar Van Der Does, E. Karachaliou, K. Sakimura, A.C. Penn bioRxiv 2020.08.06.240010; doi:https://doi.org/10.1101/2020. 08.06.240010.

Multi-input Synapses, but Not LTP-Strengthened Synapses, Correlate with Hippocampal Memory Storage in Aged Mice. Aziz W, Kraev I, Mizuno K, Kirby A, Fang T, Rupawala H, Kasbi K, Rothe S, Jozsa F, Rosenblum K, Stewart MG, Giese KP. Curr Biol. 2019 Nov 4;29(21):3600-3610.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.08.064. Epub 2019 Oct 17. PMID: 31630953; PMCID: PMC6839404.

Alzheimer-related decrease in CYFIP2 links amyloid production to tau hyperphosphorylation and memory loss.Tiwari SS, Mizuno K, Ghosh A, Aziz W, Troakes C, Daoud J, Golash V, Noble W, Hortobágyi T, Giese KP.. Brain. 2016 Oct;139(Pt 10):2751-2765. doi: 10.1093/brain/aww205. Epub 2016 Aug 14. PMID: 27524794; PMCID: PMC5035822.

Age-dependent changes in autophosphorylation of alpha calcium/calmodulin dependent kinase II in hippocampus and amygdala after contextual fear conditioning. Fang T, Kasbi K, Rothe S, Aziz W, Giese KP. Brain Res Bull. 2017 Sep;134:18-23. doi: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2017.06.012. Epub 2017 Jun 23. PMID: 28648815; PMCID: PMC5599619.

Generation of multi-innervated dendritic spines as a novel mechanism of long-term memory formation. Giese KP, Aziz W, Kraev I, Stewart MG. Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2015 Oct;124:48-51. doi: 10.1016/j.nlm.2015.04.009. Epub 2015 Apr 28. PMID: 25933505.

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