News, Events and Discoveries
Further investment in COVID-19 Research Project
Trinity College Dublin has welcomed the Government’s €4.8M investment into a collaborative partnership at the university researching the immune response to COVID-19."
TCD: response to Covid-19
link to TCD website on their response to Covid-19."
#IrelandinSF VIRTUAL Speaker Series
Join us for this webinar #IrelandinSF Virtual Speaker Series, “Ireland’s Research Response to the Covid-19 Crisis and Transatlantic Scientific Cooperation” with Dr Siobhan Roche and Prof Kingston Mills in conversation with Dr Máire Quigley"
Covid-19 immunology project
Join Professor Kingston Mills, Aideen Long and Luke O’Neill for this webinar on 27 May at 13:00"
Kingston Mills, Covid-19 immunology project
Professor Kingston Mills, Business Post podcast, with Nadine O’Regan"
Global effort to develop a blend of drugs to control Covid-19 is under way
Professor Kingston Mills, Irish Times"
TBSI Research Role, Covid-19
The Trinity COVID-19 Immunology Project will be powered from Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Ireland’s largest biomedical research facility and home to the greatest critical mass of internationally recognised immunologists and scientists in Ireland, including Kingston Mills, Professor of Experimental Immunology and Luke O’Neill FRS, Chair of Biochemistry"
TBSI Covid-19 research hub, Prof Kingston Mills, is co-leading the project
According to Professor Mills "This will provide key information for the design of vaccines and immunotherapeutic drugs for controlling the often fatal inflammation in Covid-19 patients, and will assist in developing and validating new assays for detecting antibody responses to the virus, thereby identifying those who are ‘immune’ and therefore safe to return to work."
Sitryx announces major licensing and research collaboration with Lilly
Sitryx was co-founded by Luke O’Neill, professor of biochemistry at Trinity, in 2018, partly based on discoveries made in the School of Biochemistry and Immunology in the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute (TBSI)
Behind the Headlines discussion Plagues and Pandemics which was livestreamed to over 7000 viewers on
Thursday evening, March 26th 2020
President of Ireland Michael D Higgins, has honoured four Trinity College researchers as recipients of the SFI President of Ireland Future Research Leaders Awards at a special ceremony in Áras an Uachtaráin, Dublin
Dr David Loane is researching traumatic brain injury and sustained brain inflammation linked to dementia and chronic neurodegeneration
TBSI Postdoc Career Day, 5 March 2020, Agenda
The TBSI Postdoc Society is run by postdocs across the TBSI-associated schools, including the Schools of Biochemistry & Immunology, Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, Medicine and Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences. The Society aims to organise events dedicated towards the professional development of postdoctoral research fellows by organising useful training, providing resources, and facilitating networking between fellow postdocs in the field of biosciences
Trinity scientists discover new “Jekyll and Hyde” immune cell
The research was funded by Science Foundation Ireland and led by Kingston Mills, Professor of Experimental Immunology, and Dr Sarah Edwards and Dr Caroline Sutton, Postdoctoral Fellows in the School of Biochemistry and Immunology in the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute. Their findings were published 27 February 2020 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.
TBSI Scientists with asthma breakthrough, published in Nature Communications 26 February 2020
Lead author Zbigniew Zaslona, working with a team led by Luke O’Neill, Professor of Biochemistry in the School of Biochemistry and Immunology in the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, has been exploring the role that inflammation plays in asthma – a very common and often serious disease of childhood
Traumatic brain injury,‘Resetting’ immune cells improves traumatic brain injury recovery in preclinical trials, published in Journal of Neuroscience
David Loane, Research assistant professor in Trinity’s School of Biochemistry and Immunology, TBSI,
Dr David Loane led the exciting new research.
Broken Heart
Michael Monaghan, Ussher Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering at TBSI,
senior author on the paper along with Dinorath Olvera, Mina Sohrabi Molina and Gillian Hendy.
New discovery provides hope for improved MS therapies
led by Kingston Mills, Professor of Experimental Immunology, and Aoife McGinley, Postdoctoral Fellow, in Trinity’s School of Biochemistry and Immunology .
Structures of lipoprotein signal peptidase II from Staphylococcus aureus complexed with antibiotics globomycin and myxovirescin, Nature Communications
TBSI Scientists discover how TB puts the brakes on our immune engines
SFI-funded Starting Investigator Research Grant, Frederick Sheedy, Ussher Assistant Professor in the School of Biochemistry and Immunology at Trinity, mentored by St James’ Hospital TB specialist, Professor Joseph Keane, has been examining how these lung macrophage immune cells fuel the fight against infection.
TBSI researcher, one of three to win prestigious ERC awards
Dr Conor Buckley, Associate Professor and Director of Biomedical Engineering in the School of Engineering and Principal Investigator in the AMBER Centre
TBSI researchers uncover critical metabolic switch for inflammatory diseases, IRISH TIMES
A research team in Trinity College Dublin has uncovered a critical role for a protein called ‘PKM2’ in the regulation of immune cell types at the heart of multiple inflammatory diseases. The work identifies PKM2 as a potential therapeutic target for treating a host of diseases mediated by over-active immune cells, such as psoriasis and multiple sclerosis
The findings are reported 21st November 2019 in the world’s leading metabolism journal Cell Metabolism – with the chief discovery being that PKM2 is a central ‘on’ switch for these cells.
Lead author Stefano Angiari, working with a team led by Luke O’Neill, Professor of Biochemistry in the School of Biochemistry and Immunology in the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, has been exploring the role of PKM2 in the regulation of two cell types called ‘Th17’ and ‘Th1’ cells'. Dr Stefano Angiari, Trinity, said:
“Th17 and Th1 cells are very important for the damage that happens in autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis and multiple sclerosis. We have found that interfering with PKM2 blocks these cells and limits inflammation.”
Professor Luke O’Neill added:
“PKM2 is a fascinating protein that has a role in how cells use glucose for energy, but it also moonlights in the immune system, where we have found it can be especially troublesome. We are currently exploring it as a new target for therapies that might work in patients with diseases like psoriasis and multiple sclerosis, where treatment options are limited.”
The study was funded by the EU Marie Curie programme (which funded Dr Angiari), and the Wellcome Trust
Minister Humphreys announces €25m for six projects through the SFI Research Infrastructure Programme
Academic Director of TBSI, Kingston Mills
Chemists create self-assembling material
Senior author of the research, Thorfinnur Gunnlaugsson, Professor of Chemistry at TBSI
Probe 2019
TBSI opens its doors to Probe 2019 on 27th September
TBSI Research Symposium 2019
The 2019 TBSI Symposium will be held on September 4th between 2-6pm in the Tercentenary Hall in TBSI
HCV infections
The majority of HCV infections are now treatable with new medicines, early detection would avoid the damaging progression to liver disease.
SARM Researchers
SARM Researchers at TBSI have discovered a previously unknown but important role SARM plays in immune responses.
TBSI welcomes its new Academic Director, Professor Kingston Mills
TBSI welcomes its new Academic Director, Professor Kingston Mills (Professor of Experimental Immunology, School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity College Dublin (TCD). He is Head of The Centre for the Study of Immunology at Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute and Theme Champion for Immunology, Inflammation and Infection at TCD).
ERC Advanced Grant
Prof Luke O’Neill awarded the accolade of the ERC Advanced Grant. This is the first time a researcher from Trinity College Dublin has won a second ERC Advanced Grant, worth 2.5 million euro.
Spin-out Azadyne completes €1.75million funding round
Based on research conducted at TBSI by Associate Professor in Biochemistry Vincent Kelly, Professor of Synthetic Chemistry Stephen Connon and Assistant Professor in Chemistry John Michael Southern.
Link between obesity and cancer
The research was led by Associate Professor in Immunology at TBSI, Lydia Lynch, who also conducts research at Harvard Medical School, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the US.
The “speed gene” myostatin
Associate Professor in Biochemistry at TBSI, Trinity College Dublin, Richard Porter, is the senior author of the journal article.
Circadian clock protein BMAL1 regulates IL-1β in macrophages via NRF2
The body clock, the timing mechanism in each cell in the body, allows the body to anticipate and respond to the 24-hour external environment.
gd T cells keeping us warm
Switch capable of turning off inflammation
Chemistry Breakthroughs
Chemistry Breakthroughs: thinking inside the box and reconfiguring the pigments of life, both led by Professor Mathias Senge.
Loss of the molecular clock in myeloid cells exacerbates T cell-mediated CNS autoimmune disease
Time of day affects severity of autoimmune disease.
Andrew Bowie’s paper
Andrew Bowie’s paper out today 7 December 2017 in Nature Communications explaining how Malaria DNA triggers innate immune sensors - collaboration between TCD and Weizmann.
Plusvital Launches the World’s First Nutrigenomic Supplement for Horses
In research funded by SFI and published this week, scientists at University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin, have shown that the genetic background of a horse has a significant influence on the production of CoQ10 in horse muscle cells.
Humanology
Luke O’Neill’s book ‘Humanology’ out on Sept 7th.
International Cytokine and Interferon Society
The International Cytokine and Interferon Society (ICIS) recognises two world leaders in deciphering the role of innate immunity in the host immune response. Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti, PhD and TBSI’s Luke O’Neill, will share the 2018 Seymour and Vivian Milstein Award, the highest honour that can be bestowed by the International Cytokine and Interferon Society, for world-leading research in deciphering the role of innate immunity in the host immune response.
Collaboration
AMBER, the Science Foundation Ireland-funded materials science institute headquartered at Trinity College Dublin, today announced a new strategic collaboration with Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc. to establish a collaborative laboratory focused on 3D bioprinting. Work on the new laboratory will begin in Q1 2018, with Trinity graduate and AMBER postdoctoral researcher Dr Gráinne Cunniffe employed by Johnson & Johnson as project manager for the lab.
Five leading Irish-based researchers to share SFI prize of €7m
Five leading Irish-based researchers to share SFI prize of €7m Congratulations of TBSI’s Tomás Ryan (left) and Lydia Lynch (right) as Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) revealed the five winners of this year’s President of Ireland Future Research Leaders Award for leading Irish-based researchers, presented by Irish President Michael D Higgins.
Career Development Symposium
Register for the event
TCD Immunology Research Forum 2018-19
8th Annual Irish NEXT GENERATION SEQUENCING Meeting
The 8th Annual Irish NEXT GENERATION SEQUENCING Meeting take place on 7th June in Tercentenary Hall, TBSI. See for full details
Arthritis Ireland Annual Lecture
Annual Lecture 2018 by @dougveale is an opportunity to hear about remarkable developments in treatment of #arthritis as well as about groundbreaking new research.
Public Lecture: Biomedical Frontiers
@18:30 pm in the Stanley Quek Theatre, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, 152-160 Pearse Street. All welcome; admission free
The Glycobiology World
Why sugars are good for you and how they have revolutionised medicine and biotechnology by Professor Gavin Davey Glycobiology is the science that studies glycans or sugars in the body. These sugars hold cells together, they allow cells to communicate together and they are extremely important across medicine and biotechnology. Without sufficient sugar our brains rapidly degenerate and communication ceases. Too much sugar and diabetes and cancer can develop. For many years inadequate technologies have hampered our understanding of glycan complexity. Fortunately this has recently changed and glycobiology researchers are revealing amazing new aspects of how the natural world works. This lecture will explore some of these discoveries and demonstrate why glycobiology is one of the most fascinating biomedical frontiers.
Burkitt Medal lecture
"Precision Medicine and Cancer: Challenges and Opportunities" Presented by Dr. Mariano Barbacid 16th January 2018 @ 17:00 Tercentenary Hall Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute 152-160 Pearse Street, Dublin