Áine Kelly

Affiliation(s):
Trinity College Dublin

Department:
Physiology

Research interests:
Cognitive function; neuroinflammation; ageing; menopause

ORCID Profile
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9255-0848

Biography

Áine Kelly is an academic based at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), where she is Professor in
Physiology in the School of Medicine. She completed her undergraduate degree and PhD in TCD and postdoctoral work in Université Paris Saclay and TCD before being appointed to an academic position in 2002. Her research expertise lies at the interface between exercise physiology and neuroscience. She is interested in understanding how regular physical activity can protect brain function throughout the lifespan and how these exercise responses differ between females and males.  Her work has been supported by funding from agencies including Science Foundation Ireland, the Health Research Board, and the Irish Research Council. She has supervised twelve PhD students to successful completion and published >50 articles and book chapters. She is former President of Neuroscience Ireland (2019-2021), Ireland’s national neuroscience society. Currently, she is a Trustee and Board member of the Physiological Society,  a member of the Pan-European regional Committee of the International Brain Research Organisation and a member of the Committee on Higher Education and Training of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies.

Publications

1. Kelly Á.M., McHugh C., Hale J., Cunningham J., Boyle N., Joyce O., O'Connell B., Farrell G., Wilson F. (2025) The influence of type 2 diabetes and its metabolic correlates in middle-aged adults on cognition at mid and later life; a systematic review and meta-analysis PlosOne 20 (12): e0327408
   
   
2. Joyce O.C., McHugh C., Mockler D., Wilson F, Kelly Á.M. (2025) The influence of circulating cholesterol and its components in middle-aged adults on cognitive function at mid- and later-life; a systematic review Frontiers in Aging 6:1430382
   
   
3. Joyce O.C., McHugh C., Mockler D., Wilson F, Kelly Á.M. (2024) Midlife hypertension is a risk factor for some, but not all, domains of cognitive decline in later life: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Hypertension 42(2) 205-223
   
   
4. Kelly Á.M. (2018) Exercise-induced modulation of neuroinflammation in models of Alzheimer's disease Brain Plasticity 12 (4), 81-94