Group Members

Janeen Laabei, B.A. (Mod), Trinity College Dublin
PhD Student (2019 - )
Project: The role of NOX2 in resident microglia vs infiltrating brain macrophages after TBI.

I graduated with a first class honours physiology degree from Trinity College Dublin in 2019, and I am currently in the third year of my PhD research. I am particularly interested in microglial activation in the context of experimental TBI along with potential therapeutic interventions that target chronic neuroinflammation.

Sahil Threja, BS-MS (Biology Major), Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali, India
PhD Student (2021 - )
Project: Does IL-17 drive pathogenic innate and adaptive immune responses during TBI?

I completed my BS-MS dual degree from IISER Mohali, India in 2021, and then joined the Neurotrauma and Neuroimmunology lab at Trinity College Dublin. I was awarded an IRC Postgraduate Scholarship to carry out my doctoral research investigating the functional role of the immune system in TBI and associated neurodegenerative diseases. Outside of research, I like to play cricket, volleyball and love to cook different cuisines.

Nathan Strogulski M.Sc., Ph.D., Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2022 - )
Project: Microglial Immunometabolic Responses in Traumatic Brain Injury

I graduated as a Pharmacist at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (2011-2016) and completed my education as a M.Sc. and Ph.D. student in biochemistry at the same university (2017-2022), looking into different aspects of metabolism in preclinical and clinical TBI. I have been awarded an IRC Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship to carry on my research at the Neurotrauma and Neuroimmunology lab at Trinity College Dublin. I am interested in the metabolic responses of immune cells following acute neurological injury, and how can they drive long-term neurodegeneration.

Carly Douglas B.A. (Mod), Trinity College Dublin
Research Assistant (2022 - )
Project: TREM2 function and tau transmission in post-traumatic Alzheimer’s Disease

I graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 2022 in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, specialising in Neuroscience. I completed my final year project in Dr David Loane’s lab focusing on lipid droplet accumulating microglia during aging and TBI. I am now a research assistant in the Neurotrauma and Neuroimmunology lab primarily focusing on TREM2 function in TBI induced tau pathology.

Gloria Vegliante, Ph.D., Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research IRCCS
Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2023 - )
Project: NOX2 and the chronic pathologies of traumatic brain injury (TBI): integrating basic and translational research to improve TBI outcomes.

I graduated as a Biologist at the University of Milan-Bicocca (2008-2014) and completed my education as a Biomedical research specialist (2015-2018) and PhD student in Neuroscience (2018-2023) at Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research IRCCS in Milan. The main focus of my research was to understand the mechanisms that transform an initial acute biomechanical injury into a chronic and progressive pathology. Here at the Neurotrauma and Neuroimmunology lab I am now investigating the contribution of chronic microglial activation in post-traumatic neurodegeneration and, in particular, in NOX2-mediated neuroinflammatory responses.