Dr. Roisin Kelly-Laubscher is a Lecturer in Pharmacology & Therapeutics at University College Cork, Ireland. She completed her Ph.D. on arterial hemodynamics, the vascular endothelium, and the endothelial glycocalyx. In 2006, she began a postdoctoral fellowship at the Hatter Institute for Cardiovascular Research (University of Cape Town), working under Prof. Lionel H. Opie and Prof. Sandrine Lecour. From 2009 to 2018, she held an academic post at UCT, where her research focused on the roles of ethanolamine and the endothelial glycocalyx in cardioprotection. Her current research explores novel approaches to protecting the heart from drug-induced cardiotoxicity. Dr. Kelly-Laubscher has also been active in life sciences education research since 2011, working on diverse topics including the use of wikis in teaching, the experiences of first-generation science students, applying Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) to biology curricula, and teaching scientific writing through journal articles. She is co-lead of the IUPHAR Core Concepts of Pharmacology project.

Dr. Roisin Kelly-Laubscher’s research focuses on the identification and development of cardioprotective agents for the treatment of cardiac pathologies. To do this she uses cellular and preclinical models of cardiac pathology including; myocardial infarction, drug induced cardiotoxicity and cardiac hypertrophy. Through her research she has identified ethanolamine as a novel cardioprotective agent in myocardial infarction. Her current research focuses on the delineation of the mechanisms of this protection. A better understanding of how ethanolamine protects the heart may lead to the identification of more specific drug targets. Another aspect of her current research centres on the identification of novel cardioprotective agents that can minimise the damage caused by anti-cancer drugs. More and more people are surviving cancer due to early detection methods and better treatment options. Unfortunately, many of the drugs used to treat cancer can also damage the heart and so there is a need for cardioprotective agents that can protect the heart during cancer treatment. Dr Kelly-Laubscher welcomes enquires from students interested in discussing MSc or PhD opportunities and post-doctoral researchers wishing to join the research group. If you would like to discuss such possibilities, please contact me on [email protected]