Wellcome-HRB ICAT Fellows

Dr Helen Fogarty received her medical degree (2013) and MSc in Molecular Medicine (2016) from Trinity College Dublin. Her MSc project into NOTCH1 mutation status in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia gave her an insight into laboratory research methodology and reinforced her ambition to become an academic clinician. Helen is a first year Haematology SpR in St James’s Hospital and is currently exploring her research interests in coagulation and vascular biology, including investigation of novel roles for von Willebrand factor in cancer-associated thrombosis and sickle cell disease.

After studying Radiography Dr Brendan Kelly entered Graduate Entry Medicine, graduating in 2015. He was appointed as a Specialist Registrar in Radiology in St Vincent’s Hospital in July 2017 and received an MSc in Radiology from NUI Galway in 2017. His research interests are in the fields of molecular imaging, especially in its application to personalised medicine and cognitive imaging / dementia, and in potential applications of machine learning and artificial intelligence to radiology.

Dr Anita Lavery is currently completing higher specialist training in Medical Oncology. She graduated from Queen’s University Belfast in 2011 and undertook early clinical training in London, including a one-year medical oncology fellowship at Guy’s Hospital. She returned to Belfast for specialty training in Medical Oncology in 2016. Her clinical and research interests are in upper GI and urological cancers, including cancer genomics and developing new targeted treatment strategies. She is looking forward to developing these interests further through the ICAT programme.

Dr William Martin graduated from NUI Galway in 2014 and completed an MSc in Preventive Cardiology at NUI Galway in 2015. His postgraduate medical training was conducted at University Hospital Galway and Mayo Clinic, before joining the Higher Specialist Training programme in Nephrology in 2018. He has contributed to studies examining renal functional trends in patients with diabetes, mesenchymal stem cell therapy for diabetic kidney disease, and immunological aspects of chronic kidney disease progression.

Dr Mark Gurney graduated from NUI Galway in 2013. He completed basic specialist training in general internal medicine, and further developed a clinical and research focus on malignant haematology while a visiting medical resident at Mayo Clinic in 2016. Mark commenced Haematology higher specialist training in 2017 at University Hospital Galway. As an ICAT fellow Mark will explore his primary interest in the field of natural killer cell biology, and the application of natural killer cells as a cell-based cancer immunotherapy.

Dr Karen McCarthy graduated from University College Cork in 2013 and is a specialist registrar in General Paediatrics. Through her clinical training she has developed a sub-speciality interest in Infectious Disease and is completing a Master’s in Paediatric Infectious Disease at the University of Oxford. Having had an interest in research from undergraduate level she has developed broad-ranging research interests, particularly in the areas of antimicrobial resistance and stewardship.

Dr Jennifer Scott is a graduate of NUI Galway (2013). She is a specialist registrar in Nephrology and has completed postgraduate clinical training in Galway University Hospital, Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Australia and the Mayo Clinic, USA. Through the ICAT programme, Jennifer is looking forward to delving into big-data and advanced data analytics, to explore the pathophysiology, detection and treatment of autoimmune disease, with ANCA Associated Vasculitis as the exemplar disease.

Qualifying in Undergraduate Medicine in Belfast (2012), Dr Gerard Walls obtained MRCP (2015) whilst completing general medical training in London, including Royal Marsden rotations. He secured Specialty Training in Clinical Oncology in Northern Ireland (2016) and took up an Academic Clinical Fellowship at QUB in 2017. He is in the final stages of an MSc in Clinical Education and is preparing for Final FRCR examinations. Before joining ICAT, Gerard published and presented research on a range of topics including advanced radiotherapy and immunotherapy. Through the ICAT Fellowship Gerard aspires to transform care for patients with lung cancer using impactful translational research.

Peter graduated from University College Cork with First Class Honours. He has undertaken Masters degrees in Global Health from Karolinska Institutet, and in Public Health from the University of Cambridge. He has worked clinically and in Public Health Medicine in the UK and Ireland, and is currently a third year Specialist Registrar in Public Health Medicine. Through the ICAT programme, Peter hopes to develop his interest in large-scale epidemiological research, and to gain practical experience in implementing research findings into evidence-based policy.

PhD research area: Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes and the Risk of Kidney Disease in Women: A Nationwide Cohort Study

Dr Delia Bogdanet is an SpR in Diabetes and Endocrinology. She is a graduate of ‘Carol Davila’ University of Medicine and Pharmacy Bucharest, Romania. She has a Masters in Diabetes and Endocrinology from Queen Mary University of London. Delia is an emerging clinician scientist. Her main research is in the field of gestational diabetes where she has presented nationally and internationally and published in a wide range of journals. She also has a keen interest in rare diseases epidemiology research and part of her work has focused on this topic.

PhD research area: Plasma glycated CD59 (gCD59), a Novel Biomarker for the Diagnosis, Management and Follow up of Women with Gestational Diabetes (GDM).

Conor is currently completing his Higher Specialist Training in Nephrology. Prior to medicine, he completed an honours degree in Electronic and Computer Engineering. Being on the boundary between academic disciplines he has sought unmet clinical needs that can be translated into software engineering solutions. His current interest is novel software solutions for large-scale clinical research.

PhD research area: SMART Trials - Investigation of technology-enabled adaptive clinical trial methodologies for more efficient and effective clinical research

Sarah graduated from NUI Galway in 2014. As an undergraduate she participated in research related to complications of diabetes and the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Sarah completed three years of postgraduate clinical training in Galway University Hospital and Beaumont Hospital. As a postgraduate medical trainee Sarah became involved in research concerning accelerated atherosclerosis in chronic kidney disease, recurrent glomerular disease after renal transplantation and the prevalence of genetic kidney diseases in Ireland.

PhD research area: The pathophysiological role of intermediate monocyte sub-populations in progression of chronic kidney disease and its cardiovascular complications

Dr Kapil Sharma graduated from The National University of Ireland Galway in 2011. He commenced the general adult psychiatry higher specialist training scheme in 2016, dual training in forensic psychiatry. He is a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Irish College of Psychiatrists. His research interests are in the area of neuroscience and mental health, especially the biological basis of major mental disorders.

PhD research area: The effects of antipsychotics on human glial cells, neuroinflammation and demyelination

Roisin is a graduate of NUI Galway and completed 4 years vocational General Practice Training through the Trinity College Dublin /Health Service Executive Training Programme in 2012. She is a dermatology specialist registrar in St Vincent’s University Hospital and her research interests include hidradenitis suppurativa and chronic inflammatory skin disease such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.

David graduated in Medicine from Queen's University Belfast in 2012 and has been working in Psychiatry since 2014. His clinical and research interests lie in the aetiology and prevention of mental disorders such as psychosis, and how insights in these fields might aid early intervention.

PhD research area: An inflammatory biomarker study of psychosis: a longitudinal study in an at risk population

Dr Liam Townsend is an Infectious Disease trainee, with interests in premature ageing and the effects that inflammation, social factors, and chronic disease have on the ageing process.

PhD research area: Autophagy and Mitophagy in Ageing and HIV Infection: Novel Markers and Possible Predictors of a Frailty Phenotype