Ciarán O'Connor

CONTACT DETAILS:

E-mail : oconnc53[at]tcd.ie
Tel : +353-(0)1-896-1265
Fax : +353-(0)1-679-8558

MODERN DNA LABORATORY ADDRESS:

Molecular Population Genetics
Smurfit Institute of Genetics
Trinity College Dublin
Dublin 2
Ireland

ANCIENT DNA LABORATORY ADDRESS (for archaeological samples):

Archaeological Genetics
Smurfit Institute of Genetics
Trinity College Dublin
Dublin 2
Ireland

RESEARCH INTEREST:

The field of ancient DNA has developed rapidly in recent years, greatly advancing our understanding of early animal domestication events and the prolonged effects of human interference on the biology of domesticates. However, the majority of this research to date has focused on sequence-based changes, with a lack of study in the epigenetics of ancient domesticates. Epigenomics is a powerful tool that can leverage the differential in post-mortem cytosine deamination between methylated and unmethylated CpG sites to reconstruct the methylation patterns of ancient animals. Through this approach, I am interested in determining key characteristics such as the sex ratios, castration status, and age-at-death of ancient cattle and sheep. This will reveal key information about the farming practices and subsistence strategies of ancient human populations. Furthermore, I wish to compare the epigenomic profiles of domesticates to their wild predecessors in order to identify the changes in gene expression involved in developing desirable traits.

EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS:

2023 – Present: PhD Candidate, Bradley Lab, Trinity College Dublin. Thesis title: Muscle and wool: ancient epigenomics of cattle and sheep.

2021 – 2022: M.Sc. Taxonomy, Biodiversity and Evolution, Imperial College London and the Natural History Museum London. Thesis title: Reconstructing the population history of babirusa from the Indonesian islands of Taliabu and Sulawesi.

2016 – 2020: B.A. Human Genetics, Trinity College Dublin. Thesis title: Identifying migrants in late Iron Age Britain: the genetic characterisation of ten Durotrigian individuals. #

EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE:

2020 – 2021: Data Analyst, Enfer Medical. Covid testing data analyst reporting to the National Virus Reference Laboratory.