Student Speakers - 2021
Fionn Ó Fearghail
Ph.D Student
Technological University
Dublin
Fionn Ó Fearghail is a postgraduate researcher in TUD. His current research is the development and application of analytical techniques including for the detailed characterization of chitin and bio-active protein fractions produced by both chemical and biological treatment of commercial crab and shrimp waste streams. A major focus in this work is application of LC-MS metabolomics studies to determine the inflammatory effects from human consumption of the extracted bioactive products in order to indicate their potential for use in nutraceuticals and food supplements.
Carla Harkin
Ph.D Student
Ulster University
Belfast
Carla Harkin will complete her Ph.D in Bioanalytical Mass Spectrometry from Ulster University, Coleraine in 2021. She received her two-year M.Sc. by Research in LYIT in 2014 as part of a larger global project. She then worked as a Research Assistant and Microbiology Technician before taking up employment as a QC Analyst at Randox Teoranta where she was offered a place in the Randox-Ulster University-Industrial PhD Academy. Her current research area focuses on the identification of potential biomarkers for diabetic kidney disease using mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) among other platforms.
Merissa Cullen
PhD Researcher
Proteomics/Pesticides
NUI Maynooth
Merissa obtained her BSc in Biological Sciences in 2018 and is currently pursuing a PhD at Maynooth University. Her research uses mass spectrometry-based proteomics to gain novel insights into how non-insecticidal pesticides affect bumblebees. Her research is carried out as part of the PROTECTS project http://protects.ucd.ie funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Emma Leacy
Ph.D Student
Trinity College
Dublin
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I am currently a Ph.D Student in the Department of Clinical Medicine at TCD. I'm based in the Translational Medicine Institute where my research is supervised by Prof. Mark Little and Dr.Gareth Brady. I aim to uncover the metabolomic changes in monocytes in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis (AAV) using LCMS.