Dr Euan R. Brown

Research interests

Dr Euan Brown is a biophysicist working at the interface between biomedical science and biophysics, with a particular focus on bioelectricity. His research explores how the electrical behaviour of cells and tissues can be measured and exploited to address biomedical questions, with particular interests in excitable cells, membrane ion channels, and the electrical sensing of membrane events.

Commercialisation

A central theme of his research is the development of new technologies for measuring electrical activity in physiologically relevant cell and tissue models. His work combines fundamental biophysics with technology development, seeking to translate new approaches in bioelectrical measurement into practical tools for biomedical research, drug discovery and regenerative medicine.

Dr Brown is currently leading the development and commercialisation of the E-Scanner, a high-throughput electrical platform designed to characterise the electrical behaviour of excitable organoids, including human cardiac spheroids. The technology builds on several years of research supported by the MRC and EPSRC and is intended to provide rapid functional assessment for applications including drug discovery, safety testing and pre-transplant validation.

The commercialisation programme is supported by a British Heart Foundation Translational Award (2026–2029) and the Scottish Enterprise High Growth Spinout Programme (2026/7). This work is being undertaken in collaboration with Professor Shareen Forbes (Institute of Neuroscience and Cardiovascular Research University of Edinburgh and Professor Neil Carragher (Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre and MRC Institute of Genetics & Cancer, University of Edinburgh), bringing together expertise in bioengineering, regenerative medicine, disease modelling and drug discovery.

Translational research

A second major strand of Dr Brown's research focuses on developing improved experimental models for multiple sclerosis and myelination research. In collaboration with Professor Julia Edgar (School of Infection and Immunity  University of Glasgow), he is investigating the relationship between neuronal electrical excitability and the changes in myelination that occur in normal and disease states. This work integrates human stem-cell culture, multi-electrode array recording and microfluidic technologies to develop rapid electrical approaches for assessing myelination in cultured neural tissues. The programme has contributed to a number of high-impact publications and has been funded by the Multiple Sclerosis Society and Medical Research Scotland.

Across these activities, Dr Brown's research is united by an interest in using bioelectricity as both a fundamental biological signal and a practical measurement tool. By combining ion-channel biophysics, electrical sensing, advanced cell models and microengineered technologies, his research aims to develop new ways of understanding cellular function while translating those insights into technologies with applications in biomedical research and healthcare.

Research interests

• Bioelectricity and biophysics
• Excitable cells and tissues
• Membrane ion channels
• Electrical sensing of cellular and membrane events
• High-throughput electrophysiology
• Cardiac spheroids and organoid technologies
• Drug discovery and safety pharmacology
• Neuronal excitability and myelination
• Multiple sclerosis models
• Multi-electrode arrays and microfluidics
• Translational biomedical technology

 

Areas of expertise

• physiology
• Electrophysiology
• Biophysics
• Anatomy
• Cardiovascular Science
• Neurophysiology
• Commercialisation
• Grant Evaluation

Other keywords

• QP Physiology
• QL Zoology