Yvonne Mbaki

Contact

• workRoom B1A05 Faculty of Science Block B
  Malaysia Campus
  Jalan Broga
  43500 Semenyih
  Selangor Darul Ehsan
  Malaysia
• work+6 (03) 8924 8729
• fax+6 (03) 8924 8018
• yvonne.mbaki@nottingham.edu.my

Biography

Dr Yvonne Mbaki obtained her first degree in Biomedical Sciences (BSc, 2002) from the University of Bradford (UK). She then undertook her Masters and PhD studies in Neuroscience and Pharmacology (Urology) respectively from University College London (UK).

Dr Mbaki's PhD project was part funded by Pfizer (UK) with a 10 month placement at Pfizer incorporated into the PhD program. The focus of her PhD was to investigate the role of 5-HT₂ receptors in the control of micturition with detailed in vivo pharmacological investigations of the three 5-HT₂ receptor subtypes and their effects on bladder function.

Following on from her PhD, Dr Mbaki undertook a 2 year post-doctoral appointment within the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Nottingham (UK) and the focus of her post-doctorate project was to better understand the central control of bladder function. She was subsequently employed as a University Teacher within the same School before joining the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Nottingham Malaysia campus as an Assistant Professor.

Teaching Summary

I am currently module convenor for Physiology and Pharmacology 4 (B32D11) and contribute to several other modules including Physiology and Pharmacology 1 (B31A03), Physiology and Pharmacology 2… read more

Research Summary

Urinary incontinence is an increasingly common problem worldwide, with a high prevalence occurring in women. Overactive bladder syndrome (OABs), an arm of urinary incontinence is characterised by… read more

Recent Publications

• MBAKI Y, GARDINER J, MCMURRAY G and RAMAGE AG, 2012. 5-HT(2A) receptor activation of the external urethral sphincter and 5-HT(2C) receptor inhibition of micturition: A study based on pharmacokinetics in the anaesthetized female rat. European Journal Of Pharmacology.
• MASON, R, FENTON, G, SPICER, C and MBAKI, Y, 2012. Involvement of the medial prefrontal cortex in the control of micturition in the anaesthetised and awake rat In: Federation of European Neurosciences, Barcelona, Spain.
• HALLIDAY, D, MBAKI, Y, KNAPP, S, SPICER, C, MARSDEN, C.A, STEVENSON, C.W and MASON, R, 2012. Functional connectivity analysis of in-vivo multi-unit electrode data sets: Spectral tracking for detection of non-stationary features In: Federation of European Neurosciences, Barcelona, Spain.
• MBAKI Y, KNAPP S, SPICER C, MASON R, HALLIDAY DM, 2011. Changes in synchronization between pairs of single neurones in medial prefrontal cortex during micturition in the behaving female rat In: British Neuroscience Association Meeting, Harrogate, UK.

• View all publications

• I am currently module convenor for Physiology and Pharmacology 4 (B32D11) and contribute to several other modules including Physiology and Pharmacology 1 (B31A03), Physiology and Pharmacology 2 (B31B02), Physiology and Pharmacology 3 (B32C03), Laboratory studies in Physiology and Pharmacology (B31A12), Molecular Pharmacology (B13505) and Extended Project Research (B34H09)
• I supervise two fourth year Pharmacy Research Projects in the spring semester
• I sit on the Learning Committee Forum in the School of Pharmacy
• I am interested in the use of innovative tools to enhance teaching and learning

Current Research

Urinary incontinence is an increasingly common problem worldwide, with a high prevalence occurring in women. Overactive bladder syndrome (OABs), an arm of urinary incontinence is characterised by urinary frequency with a premature urge to urinate. The impact on the quality of life of OAB sufferers is profound, hence the need for the identification of better therapeutic agents to treat the condition.

My current research interest is in phytotherapy treatment of OABs, utilising natural products from the Malaysian rainforest. My research aim is to screen natural products as potential therapeutic agents for OABs which will eventually be translated to an in vivo model of OABs.

Other research interests include:

• Understanding bladder control by performing pharmacological and physiological investigations at central and peripheral sites
• Tissue-based regulation of bladder smooth muscle contractility, peripheral nerve stimulation and signaling molecule studies
• Developing models of bladder dysfunction

Research Techniques/Expertise

• Surgical techniques: stereotaxic surgery and bladder cystometry
• In vivo electrophysiology: neuronal activity with multiple electrode arrays
• Tissue bath bladder smooth muscle preparation contractility
• Tissue culture techniques
• Neuronal ensemble data analysis using Offline Sorter, NeuroExplorer and MATLAB

• MBAKI Y, GARDINER J, MCMURRAY G and RAMAGE AG, 2012. 5-HT(2A) receptor activation of the external urethral sphincter and 5-HT(2C) receptor inhibition of micturition: A study based on pharmacokinetics in the anaesthetized female rat. European Journal Of Pharmacology.
• MASON, R, FENTON, G, SPICER, C and MBAKI, Y, 2012. Involvement of the medial prefrontal cortex in the control of micturition in the anaesthetised and awake rat In: Federation of European Neurosciences, Barcelona, Spain.
• HALLIDAY, D, MBAKI, Y, KNAPP, S, SPICER, C, MARSDEN, C.A, STEVENSON, C.W and MASON, R, 2012. Functional connectivity analysis of in-vivo multi-unit electrode data sets: Spectral tracking for detection of non-stationary features In: Federation of European Neurosciences, Barcelona, Spain.
• MBAKI Y, KNAPP S, SPICER C, MASON R, HALLIDAY DM, 2011. Changes in synchronization between pairs of single neurones in medial prefrontal cortex during micturition in the behaving female rat In: British Neuroscience Association Meeting, Harrogate, UK.
• MBAKI Y, SPICER C, MASON R, 2011. Evidence for involvement of the medial prefrontal cortex in the control of micturition in the anaesthetised and awake female rat In: British Neuroscience Association Meeting, Harrogate, UK.
• MBAKI Y, CHAPMAN V, MCMURRAY G, MASON R, 2010. Does systemic oxybutynin alter bladder and supraspinal neuronal activity in the ‘bladder-irritated’ rat? In: Federation of European Neurosciences (FENS), Amsterdam, Netherlands. (In Press.)
• MBAKI Y, CHAPMAN V, CONLEY R, MASON R, 2009. Effect of local GABA/glutamate transmission in mPFC on bladder function In: British Neuroscience Association meeting, Liverpool, UK.
• MBAKI Y, CHAPMAN V, CONLEY R, MASON R, 2008. Evidence for the involvement of the medial prefrontal cortex and thalamus in the control of micturition in the female rat In: Society for Neuroscience (SfN) meeting, Washington DC, USA.
• MBAKI Y, RAMAGE A G, 2008. Investigation of the role of 5-HT2 receptor subtypes in the control of the bladder and the urethra in the anaesthetized female rat. British journal of pharmacology. 155(3), 343-56
• MBAKI Y, CHAPMAN V, CONLEY R, MASON R, 2008. Medial prefrontal cortex influences the control of normal and abnormal urinary bladder function in rats In: Physiological Society Meeting, Cambridge, UK.
• MBAKI Y, GARDINER JC, MCMURRAY G, RAMAGE AG, 2006. The effect of 5-HT2C receptor agonist Ro 60-0175 in the control of the urethra and micturition in anaesthetized female rats In: Physiological Society Meeting, London, UK.
• MBAKI Y, GARDINER JC, MCMURRAY G, RAMAGE AG, 2006. The role of 5-HT2A/2C receptors in the control of micturition in the rat In: Society for Neuroscience (SfN) meeting, Atlanta, USA.
• MBAKI Y, WESTBROOK S, RAMAGE A G, 2005. The role of 5-HT2 receptors in the control of the urethra and micturition in anaesthetized female rats In: British Pharmacological Society (BPS) meeting, London, UK.
• MBAKI Y, WESTBROOK S, RAMAGE A G, 2005. Role of 5-HT2C receptors in the control of micturition in anaesthetized female rats In: International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS) meeting, San Diego, USA..