Trinity scientist aims to demystify debilitating inherited conditions and pinpoint new treatment options

Posted on: 05 May 2026

Trinity College Dublin scientist, Dr Dylan Ryan, will lead an eight-year project that seeks to better understand why people with inherited mitochondrial disorders are often more vulnerable to severe infections. 

People living with these conditions can experience profound neurological impairment alongside a range of other complications, including muscle weakness and fatigue, heart issues, vision and hearing loss, and gastrointestinal symptoms. 

These complex disorders may present in childhood or adulthood and are currently incurable. They often substantially reduce both life expectancy and overall quality of life, with affected individuals facing reduced independence, severe disability, and frequent hospital admissions. In many cases, sepsis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. 

Mitochondria are widely known as the structures that generate energy inside our cells, but they also play an important role in controlling the immune system.

The new project will see Dr Ryan home in on harmful mutations in mitochondrial DNA, which are a major cause of primary mitochondrial disorders, and then investigate how these mutations alter the behaviour of immune cells. 

Although patients with these disorders frequently experience recurrent infections and inflammatory complications, the reasons for this remain poorly understood. This project aims to redress the balance, by uncovering the biological link(s) between mitochondrial dysfunction and impaired host defence.

Specifically, the study will centre on macrophages, which are frontline immune cells that help the body detect and eliminate pathogens, such as bacteria and viruses. 

Dr Ryan, Assistant Professor in Trinity’s School of Biochemistry and Immunology, based in the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute (TBSI), said: “By combining advanced metabolic profiling, infection models and preclinical studies, we will test whether mitochondrial DNA mutations drive these immune cells into a persistent state of ‘false alarm’ that weakens antibacterial defence and promotes damaging inflammation. We will also assess whether these abnormalities can be reversed using targeted therapeutic strategies” 

What is the potential impact of this research?

“In combination, we expect to gain new insights into infection risk in mitochondrial disease, and believe these insights may have wider relevance for understanding immune dysfunction in conditions such as sepsis, autoimmunity and ageing,” said Dr Ryan.

“I am delighted to have secured this prestigious Wellcome funding and am especially excited to now build a strong research team at Trinity College Dublin with the goal of uncovering how mitochondrial DNA mutations reshape immune responses. The aim is to help deliver new, more effective treatments for these conditions – but we can only put these on the radar if we first better understand the biological mechanisms.”

Prof. Sinéad Ryan, Dean of Research at Trinity, added: “I extend warm congratulations to Dylan on this outstanding achievement. Wellcome Career Development Awards are among the most competitive and prestigious fellowships internationally, so this success offers a powerful endorsement of the originality, ambition and potential of his research programme.” 

“Thrive, Trinity’s Strategic Plan, commits us to supporting and enabling researchers to create new knowledge and address societal challenges so we are delighted that Dylan will build his team here in Trinity.”

About the Wellcome Career Development Award

Wellcome Career Development Awards support mid-career researchers with the potential to be international research leaders in their fields. Awardees will develop their research capabilities, drive innovative programmes of work and deliver significant shifts in understanding related to human life, health and wellbeing.

Dr Ryan is the third Trinity researcher to receive this prestigious award, following in the footsteps of Dr Irina Kinchin and Dr Nollaig Bourke from the School of Medicine. This achievement further cements Trinity’s position as the leading institution on the island of Ireland for Wellcome Career Development Awards, with Trinity researchers securing three of the seven awards granted to date.

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