Dr. Melissa Conroy

• Conroy M.J., Mac Nicholas R., Taylor M., O'Dea S., Mulcahy F., Norris S. and D.G. Doherty , Expansions of IFN-γ-producing Gamma delta T cells in patients with asymptomatic persistent hepatitis B virus infection. , Viral Immunology , 2015Journal Article, 2015, TARA - Full Text
• Conroy MJ, Mac Nicholas R, Grealy R, Taylor M, Otegbayo JA, O'Dea S, Mulcahy F, Ryan T, Norris S, Doherty DG, Circulating CD56dim natural killer cells and CD56+ T cells that produce interferon-" or interleukin-10 are expanded in asymptomatic, E antigen-negative patients with persistent hepatitis B virus infection., Journal of viral hepatitis, 22, (3), 2015, p335-45Journal Article, 2015, DOI
• Kavanagh ME, Conroy MJ, Clarke NE, Gilmartin NT, O'Sullivan KE, Feighery R, MacCarthy F, O'Toole D, Ravi N, Reynolds JV, O'Sullivan J, Lysaght J, Impact of the inflammatory microenvironment on T-cell phenotype in the progression from reflux oesophagitis to Barrett oesophagus and oesophageal adenocarcinoma., Cancer letters, 370, (1), 2016, p117-24Journal Article, 2016, DOI
• Conroy MJ, Dunne MR, Donohoe CL, Reynolds JV, Obesity-associated cancer: an immunological perspective., The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 75, (2), 2015, p125 - 138Journal Article, 2015, DOI
• Conroy M.J, Galvin K.C, Kavanagh M.E, Mongan A.M, Doyle S.L, Gilmartin N, O'Farrelly C, Reynolds J.V, Lysaght J, CCR1 antagonism attenuates T cell trafficking to omentum and liver in obesity-associated cancer, Immunology and Cell Biology, 94, (6), 2016, p531 - 537Journal Article, 2016, DOI , URL
• Conroy M.J, Galvin K.C, Doyle S.L, Kavanagh M.E, Mongan A.-M, Cannon A, Moore G.Y, Reynolds J.V, Lysaght J, Parallel Profiles of Inflammatory and Effector Memory T Cells in Visceral Fat and Liver of Obesity-Associated Cancer Patients, Inflammation, 39, (5), 2016, p1729 - 1736Journal Article, 2016, DOI , URL
• *Galvin KC, *Conroy MJ, Doyle SL, Dunne MR, Fahey R, Foley E, O'Sullivan KE, Doherty DG, Geoghegan JG, Ravi N, O'Farrelly C, Reynolds JV, Lysaght J., Extratumoral PD-1 blockade does not perpetuate obesity-associated inflammation in esophageal adenocarcinoma., Cancer Letters, 418, 2018, p230-238Journal Article, 2018, DOI , URL
• Conroy M.J., Fitzgerald V., Doyle S.L., Channon S., Useckaite Z., Gilmartin N., O'Farrelly C, Ravi N., Reynolds J.V. and J. Lysaght, The Microenvironment of Visceral Adipose Tissue and Liver alter Natural Killer Cell Viability and Function., Journal of Leukocyte Biology, 2016Journal Article, 2016
• Royds J, Cassidy H, Conroy MJ, Dunne MR, Matallanas D, Lysaght J, McCrory C., An Investigation into Proteomic Constituents of Cerebrospinal Fluid in Patients with Chronic Peripheral Neuropathic Pain Medicated with Opioids- a Pilot Study., Journal of neuroimmune pharmacology : the official journal of the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology, 2020Journal Article, 2020, DOI
• Das B., Conroy M.J., Moore D., Lysaght J. and C. McCrory., Human Dorsal Root Ganglion Pulsed Radiofrequency treatment modulates Cerebrospinal Fluid lymphocytes and neuroinflammatory markers in chronic radicular pain., Brain, Behaviour and Immunity, 2018Journal Article, 2018
• Conroy M.J., Maher S.G., Melo A.M., Doyle S.L., Foley E., Reynolds J.V. and J. Lysaght., Identifying a novel role for fractalkine (CX3CL1) in memory CD8+ T cell accumulation in the omentum of obesity-associated cancer patients., Frontiers in Immunology, 2018Journal Article, 2018
• Conroy M.J., Maher S.G., Melo A.M., Doyle S.L., Foley E., Reynolds J.V. and J. Lysaght., Identifying a novel role for fractalkine (CX3CL1) in memory CD8+ T cell accumulation in the omentum of obesity-associated cancer patients., Frontiers in Immunology, 2018Journal Article, 2018
• *Kavanagh M.E., *Conroy M.J., Clarke N.E., Gilmartin N.T., Feighery R., MacCarthy F., O"Toole D., Ravi N., Reynolds J.V., O" Sullivan J. and J. Lysaght., Altered T cell migratory capacity in the progression from Barrett Oesophagus to Oesophageal Adenocarcinoma., Cancer Microenvironment, 2019Journal Article, 2019
• Mongan A.M., Lynam-Lennon N., Doyle S.L., Casey R, Carr E., Cannon A., Conroy M.J., Pidgeon G.P., Brennan L., Lysaght J., Reynolds J.V. and J. O"Sullivan., Visceral Adipose Tissue Modulates Radiosensitivity in Oesophageal Adenocarcinoma., Int. J. Med. Sci., 2019Journal Article, 2019
• Melo A.M., O"Brien A.M., Phelan J.J., Kennedy S.A., Wood N., Besra G.S., Clarke N.E., Foley E.K., Ravi A., O"Toole D., Ravi N., Reynolds J.V., Hogan A.E., Conroy M.J., O"Sullivan J. and M.R. Dunne., Mucosal-associated invariant T cells display diminished effector capacity in oesophageal adenocarcinoma., Frontiers in Immunology, 2019Journal Article, 2019
• Royds J., Conroy M.J., Dunne M.R., Lysaght J. and C. McCrory., An investigation into the modulation of T cell phenotypes by amitriptyline and nortriptyline., European Neuropsychopharmacology, 2019Journal Article, 2019
• Melo A.M., Conroy M.J., Foley E.K., Dockry E., Breen E.P., Reynolds J.V., Lysaght J.* and Doherty D.G., CD1d expression and invariant natural killer T cell numbers are reduced in patients with upper gastrointestinal cancers and are further impaired by commonly used chemotherapies., Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy., 2020Journal Article, 2020
• Golden-Mason, L, Madrigal-Estebas, L, McGrath, E, Conroy, MJ, Ryan, EJ, Hegarty, JE, O'Farrelly, C, Doherty, DG, Altered natural killer cell subset distributions in resolved and persistent hepatitis C virus infection following single source exposure., Gut, 57, (8), 2008, p1121-8Journal Article, 2008, DOI , URL
• Mockler MB, Conroy MJ, Lysaght J, Targeting T cell immunometabolism for cancer immunotherapy; understanding the impact of the tumor microenvironment., Frontiers in oncology, 4, 2014, p107Journal Article, 2014, DOI , TARA - Full Text

• Title

  Targeting T cell trafficking as a novel means to control obesity-associated chronic inflammation.
  Summary

  Obesity is a global health problem affecting millions of adults and children worldwide. In Ireland, approximately 66% of adults and 25% of children are overweight or obese and are therefore at serious risk of developing obesity-associated diseases. Obesity induces organ and whole body chronic inflammation. It is the active infiltration of immune cells into expanding visceral adipose tissue (VAT) that causes this inflammation in obesity and studies have shown that T cells are predominantly responsible for this. VAT surrounds abdominal organs and its expansion is closely associated with obesity-related pathologies including many types of cancer and liver disease. Therefore, we propose that preventing T cells from infiltrating the VAT will prevent or reduce local and systemic inflammation and as a result the associated comorbidities. Proteins known as chemokines are responsible for guiding the migration of immune cells during normal immune responses and it is now well documented that chemokines mediate the natural cycling of T cells to the liver. However, previous murine studies have implicated dysregulated chemokine production in the recruitment of inflammatory cells to the VAT in obesity. Our recent work has revealed preferential movement of T cells to human VAT and liver and have identified two key chemokines guiding this movement; macrophage inflammatory protein 1α (MIP-1α) and interferon-inducible protein 10 (IP-10). Therefore, we propose that a therapeutic strategy specifically blocking MIP-1α- and IP-10-guided inflammatory T cell trafficking to the VAT and liver using novel chemokine receptor antagonists will prevent and reduce both local and systemic chronic inflammation in obesity. For the first time, this innovative study will validate a novel immunotherapeutic strategy targeting immune cell trafficking, which has significant potential to prevent and reduce the detrimental consequences of obesity-associated inflammation, as a major driver of carcinogenesis and liver disease, in the rapidly growing number of obese individuals worldwide.
  Funding Agency

  Irish Research Council
  Date From

  1st October 2015

Immunity and Infection (including Rheumatology & Inflammatory disease), Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Biochemistry, Molecular & Cellular Biology, Oncology and cancer biology, Neuroscience and clinical neurology, Medical, Health and Life Sciences & Technologies, Other Health Sciences,

• European Association for Cancer Research Travel Fellowship 2016
• European Federation of Immunological Societies Travel Grant 2021
• Best Oral Poster prize at Irish Society of Immunology Annual Meeting 2009
• Best Poster Prize at Irish Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2014
• Recognition in the rank of Senior Research Fellow. 2016
• HSE Open Access Research Award (Integrated Services Category) 15/12/2023
• Antibody Genie Young Researcher Award. 2018
• Ranked in Professional Top 100 2021 in Hospital Professional News December 2021
• Ranked in Professional Top 100 2022 in Hospital Professional News December 2022
• Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship 2015
• First Prize in Postdoctoral Research Blitz, Trinity Translational Medicine Institute. 2018
• Irish Society of Immunology Travel Bursary. 2018
• Appointed to Irish Society for Immunology Outreach Committee 2015
• Appointed as Lead of Irish Society for Immunology Outreach Committee 12/04/2023
• ImmunoTools Special Award. 2018
• MSC Travel Bursary. 2019
• Denis Phelan Scholarship, National University of Ireland 2004
• Maynooth University Access Program Alumni Achievement Award 2017

• Irish Society for Immunology
• European Association for Cancer Research
• European Federation of Immunological Societies
• Irish Association for Cancer Research