Alexandra graduated from Queens University Belfast, in 2002, with a degree in Biomedical Science. She remained at QUB to complete a Masters in Medical Laboratory Science in the Department of Haematology. After this she remained in the Haematology department as a research assistant specializing in applications of real-time PCR. In October 2004, she began a D.Phil in the Molecular Haematology Unit of the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine in Oxford. Her thesis investigated the role of Atrx in the early development of lower vertebrate species. Since July 2009, Alexandra has been at the WTCHG to set up a system for next generation sequencing of families with ataxia, in an effort to determine whether this technology could replace current technologies by providing rapid parallel sequencing of many genes and expand the spectrum of genes available for testing.
