A NEUROSCIENCE student has had a research article published in a respected international academic journal.

University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) graduate Farheen Rokad, 22, from Blackburn was named as the lead author on a piece of research published in the Journal for Alzheimer’s Disease.

The former Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School and Blackburn College pupil, collaborated with three universities - Florida, Cardiff and Birmingham, on research into brain tissue damage and its impact on gum disease during an internship at UCLan’s school of dentistry.

She said: “To see my work published in such a prestigious journal while I was still an undergraduate student is a fantastic reward and motivates me to excel to my full potential.”

Dr Sim Singhrao, a senior research fellow with a special interest in understanding how gum disease becomes a risk factor for Alzheimers disease, supervised Farheen in her internship.

She said: “. This sets Farheen onto an excellent start, either for postgraduate research or in finding employment.”

Farheen was one of more than 4,000 students to graduate this week.