Professor Aideen Long
Principal Investigator; Director, Trinity Translational Medicine Institute
- Research Institute:
Trinity Translational Medicine Institute
- Contact e-mail:
- Contact number:
- Thematic Area:
Diagnostic / Screening Assays and Translational Immunology Studies
Research Profile:
Aideen Long is a Principal Investigator in the Trinity Translational Medicine Institute where her research focuses on T lymphocyte biology. In particular, she is interested in the intracellular signalling mechanisms involved in T cell activation and migration. Her work has also investigated how viruses such as Hepatitis C (HCV) undermine T cell immune responses to promote persistent infection.
Research Description:
The main focus of my research group is the biology of T lymphocytes. We study, at the molecular level, the activation and migratory capacity of these cells in health and disease. The ability of these cells to migrate and secrete cytokines are important factors in the inflammatory response. In studying mechanisms of T cell migration, we are interested in signalling processes, for example Protein Kinase C family enzymes, that regulate the organisation of the actin and microtubule components of the cellular cytoskeleton. T cell-mediated immune responses are key to fighting and clearing infectious diseases such as Hepatitis C and SARS-CoV-2. We investigate T cell responses to these viruses to understand optimal T cell activity and their orchestration of immune responses required to clear infection.