Dr Hannah Botfield PhD, MRes, BSc

Hannah Botfield

Department of Inflammation and Ageing
Assistant Professor of Experimental Neuroscience
Stroke Association Lecturer

Contact details

Email
h.botfield@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
Department of Inflammation and Ageing
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Hannah Botfield is an Assistant Professor based within the Department of Inflammation and Ageing.

Her research interest is in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics in health and disease. Her work focusses on understanding the pathology behind CSF dysfunction in disorders such as hydrocephalus and haemorrhagic stroke, with an emphasis on the role of inflammation, matrix biology and ageing.

Qualifications

  • PhD in Neuroscience, University of Birmingham, 2014
  • MRes in Tissue engineering, repair and regeneration, University of Birmingham, 2010
  • BSc in Biomedical Science, Cardiff University, 2008

Teaching

BSc/MSc Biomedical Science

  • Module lead for Neurotrauma and Disease: Degeneration and Regeneration (year 3)
  • Co-module lead for Translational Medicine (year 3)
  • Lecturer on Student Selected Science Project (year 2)
  • Supervises final year research projects

Postgraduate supervision

Dr Botfield supervises Masters and PhD students in projects relating to:

  • Haemorrhagic stroke and hydrocephalus
  • Degenerative diseases of the eye (age-related macular degeneration, Glaucoma)
  • Technologies to enhance drug delivery into the CNS

If interested in undertaking research in Hannah’s laboratory, please contact her on h.botfield@bham.ac.uk

Research

Research interests

Hannah’s research focusses on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) disorders such as idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), hydrocephalus and haemorrhagic stroke. She also conducts research into ocular disorders such as glaucoma which shares similar dysregulated fluid dynamics age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

She is interested in understanding how changes in fluid dynamics, inflammation, matrix biology and ageing contribute to pathology in order to develop novel therapeutic strategies to improve patient outcome.

Current projects

  • Investigating anti-scarring agents to treat inflammation and fibrosis in post-haemorrhagic hydrocephalus
  • Determining the impact of ageing on haemorrhagic stroke and fluid dynamics in the brain
  • Developing in vitro models of haemorrhagic stroke to determine the impact of blood products on the brain 
  • Developing anti-scarring eye drops for glaucoma
  • Developing immunotherapies for AMD

Other activities

  • Local Group Representative (University of Birmingham) British Neuroscience Association (BNA)
  • Membership secretary for the Society for Research into Hydrocephalus and Spina Bifida (SRHSB)

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Hewitt, BJ, Roberts, L, Roberts, JA, Fulton, D, Hill, LJ, Kitchen, P, Bill, RM & Botfield, HF 2026, 'Adult organotypic brain slice cultures recapitulate extracellular matrix remodeling in hemorrhagic stroke', Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, vol. 19, 1722240. https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2025.1722240

Roberts, JA, Batie, M, Ponsford, AH, Poh, J, Hewitt, BJ, Botfield, HF, Hill, LJ, Sanderson, CM, Rocha, S & Sharma, P 2026, 'NRF2 upregulation by CDDO-Me protects AC16 human cardiomyocytes against doxorubicin-induced toxicity', Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, vol. 194, 118878. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2025.118878

Mugo, CW, Church, E, Horniblow, RD, Mollan, SP, Botfield, H, Hill, LJ, Sinclair, AJ & Grech, O 2025, 'Unravelling the gut-brain connection: a systematic review of migraine and the gut microbiome', The Journal of Headache and Pain, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 125. https://doi.org/10.1186/s10194-025-02039-7

Hardy, RS, Botfield, H, Markey, K, Mitchell, JL, Alimajstorovic, Z, Westgate, CSJ, Sagmeister, M, Fairclough, RJ, Ottridge, RS, Yiangou, A, Storbeck, K-HH, Taylor, AE, Gilligan, LC, Arlt, W, Stewart, PM, Tomlinson, JW, Mollan, SP, Lavery, GG & Sinclair, AJ 2021, '11βHSD1 inhibition with AZD4017 improves lipid profiles and lean muscle mass in Idiopathic intracranial hypertension', Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, vol. 106, no. 1, pp. 174-187. https://doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgaa766

Hill, LJ, Botfield, H, Begum, G, Qureshi, O, Vigneswara, V, Masood, I, Barnes, N, Bruce, L & Logan, A 2021, 'ILB® resolves inflammatory scarring and promotes functional tissue repair', npj Regenerative Medicine, vol. 6, no. 1, 3. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41536-020-00110-2

Westgate, C, Botfield, H, Alimajstorovic, Z, Yiangou, A, Walsh, M, Smith, G, Singhal, R, Mitchell, J, Grech, O, Markey, K, Hebenstreit, D, Tennant, D, Tomlinson, J, Mollan, S, Ludwig, C, Akerman, I, Lavery, G & Sinclair, A 2021, 'Systemic and adipocyte transcriptional and metabolic dysregulation in idiopathic intracranial hypertension', JCI Insight, vol. 6, no. 10, e145346. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.145346

Abstract

Hewitt, B & Botfield, H 2025, 'An in vitro model of post-haemorrhagic hydrocephalus', Brain and Neuroscience Advances, vol. 9, 23982128251339055, pp. 2-3. https://doi.org/10.1177/23982128251339055

Roberts, L, Hewitt, BJ, Kitchen, P, Bill, R & Botfield, H 2025, 'Distribution and localisation of the water channel, AQP4, in organotypic brain slice cultures', Brain and Neuroscience Advances, vol. 9, 23982128251339055, pp. 2-2. https://doi.org/10.1177/23982128251339055

Hill, L, Begum, G, Hubbard, J, Mugo, C, Botfield, H, Lyons, H, Thaller, M, Yiangou, A, Grech, O, Mitchell, J, Mollan, S & Sinclair, A 2025, 'Identifying candidate molecular biomarkers in idiopathic intracranial hypertension patients (P7-2.008)', Neurology, vol. 104, no. 7 Supplement 1, 4448. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000211678

Preprint

Hewitt, BJ, Roberts, L, Roberts, JA, Fulton, D, Hill, L, Kitchen, P, Bill, RM & Botfield, H 2025 'Adult organotypic brain slice cultures recapitulate extracellular matrix remodelling in haemorrhagic stroke' bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.07.15.665021

Roberts, JA, Batie, M, Ponsford, AH, Poh, J, Hewitt, BJ, Botfield, HF, Hill, LJ, Sanderson, CM, Rocha, S & Sharma, P 2025 'NRF2 upregulation by CDDO-Me protects AC16 human cardiomyocytes against doxorubicin-induced toxicity.' bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.09.10.675420

Hewitt, BJ, Ali, M, Hubbard, J, Hill, LJ & Botfield, H 2024 'The double-edged sword of transforming growth factor β 1: a systematic review of pre-clinical stroke models' Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4687466/v1

Review article

Moorey, HC, McCluskey-White, LM, Andleeb, S, Botfield, HF & Jackson, TA 2025, 'A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Role of Peripheral Inflammation in Delirium', Brain and Behavior, vol. 15, no. 10, e70979. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.70979

Hewitt, BJ, Ali, M, Hubbard, J, Hill, LJ & Botfield, H 2025, 'A Systematic Review of the Differential Effects of TGF-β1 in Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Preclinical Stroke Models', Journal of the American Heart Association, vol. 14, no. 14, e037890. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.124.037890

Anwar, R, Bellamy Plaice, G, Geddes, A, Botfield, HF, Hill, LJ & Masood, I 2024, 'Understanding Factors Contributing to Glaucoma in Populations of African Descent', Journal of Clinical & Translational Ophthalmology, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 155-170. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcto2040013

View all publications in research portal