I graduated from GMIT with a First Class Honours in B.Sc. (Hons.) in Medical Science in 2016, specializing in Medical Microbiology. As part of my degree, I undertook a research project in the Centre for Food Safety in UCD, under the supervision of Prof. Seamus Fanning, investigating antibiotic resistance genes in E. coli. It was during this project that my interest in research and academia grew. After working in a microbiology laboratory in an Irish paediatric hospital for a year and a half, I returned to GMIT to undertake a postgraduate research project. My postgraduate project examines the expression and functionality of novel antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in Atlantic salmon. Given my microbiology background, I am interested in discovering new potential therapies to replace our current antibiotic options to treat infections. The exponential surge in antibiotic resistance in recent years indicates novel therapies are urgently required. I began my postgraduate studies as a Masters student on a RISE Scholarship before progressing to a PhD candidate as part of the CUA PhD Completion Scholarship in collaboration with IT Sligo.
My areas of research interest include innate immunology, biochemistry, microbiology and antibiotic resistance.
