I earned my B.Sc. in Pharmacology from University College Dublin and a PhD in Physiology from Trinity College Dublin. During my doctoral studies, I developed a strong interest in the role of dysfunctional catabolism in neurodegenerative diseases. As a Wellcome Trust postdoctoral fellow, I trained with Dr. Ralph Nixon at the Nathan Kline Institute, New York University, where I identified hallmarks of impaired autophagic flux in neurons affected by Alzheimer's disease. Subsequently, I trained with Prof. Frances Platt at the Department of Pharmacology, University of Oxford, characterising temporal impairments in endocytic and autophagic flux in mouse models of lysosomal storage diseases.Returning to Ireland, I became a lecturer in Neuroscience at University College Dublin and worked with Prof. Dominic Walsh as a Health Research Board postdoctoral fellow, gaining expertise in the neuronal metabolism of amyloid precursor protein (APP). Later, I joined the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at University College Cork, where I currently lecture and lead a research team investigating the cellular mechanisms underlying Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Inside all of our cells, waste products are packaged into acidic organelles known as lysosomes, which contain specialised enzymes that degrade cellular waste. Impaired processing (flux) of cellular waste through the endosomal-autophagic-lysosomal system of cells is a central feature of lysosomal storage diseases. Impaired lysosomal flux is evident in many neurodegenerative diseases across the entire age spectrum; from childhood neurodegenerative conditions that occur in lysosomal storage diseases, to late-onset conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. Our goal is to identify cellular biomarkers of impaired lysosomal flux and develop therapies that can restore their function, thus enabling early diagnosis and new treatments for these diseases.

Lecturer on the following modules: Semester One: 1. GM1001: Fundamentals of Medicine I 2. GM2001: Fundamentals of Medicine IV 3. PT2448: Cellular and Molecular Basis of Drug Action and Toxicity 4. PT3001: Introduction to Pharmacology 5. PT3020: Pharmacology of Disease 6. PT3201: Dental Pharmacology 7. PT4005: Neuropharmacology (Module Co-Ordinator) 8. PT4021: Immunopharmacology & Chemotherapy 9. PL4011: Learning and Memory 8. ML6004: Cell and Molecular Biology Semester Two: 1. GM1002: Fundamentals of Medicine II 2. PT1445: Foundation Pharmacology 3. FM2003: Foundations of Medicine: Medical Pharmacology (Module Co-Ordinator) 4. PT2201: Principals of Dental Pharmacology 5. GM2001: Fundamentals of Medicine iV 6. AN3013: Neurobiology of Disease 7. PF4014: Central Nervous System 8. PT4024: Current Topics in Pharmacology