Dr Louise Collins Research group

Dr. Collins’s current research interests include investigating the mechanisms that regulate dopaminergic growth and survival and translating these findings to develop neuroprotective therapies that prevent dopaminergic (DA) neurodegeneration which is observed in diseases such as Parkinson’s disease (PD)

Professor Aideen Sulllivan Research group

Professor Aideen Sullivan leads an active research group, focused on novel approaches to the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Her particular interest is the development of neuroprotective therapies, which have the potential to slow or reverse the progression of this debilitating disease.

Dr Cian McCafferty Research group

Dr McCafferty's current research at UCC and APC Microbiome Ireland focuses on the patterns of neuronal and network activity that determine behaviour, with a particular interest in those mechanisms that mediate the influence of the gut microbiome on anxiety, mood and cognition.

Dr Aonghus Lavelle Research group

Professor Gerard O'Keeffe Research group

The central aim of Professor O'Keeffe's research is to understand the factors important for brain health across the life-span in order to translate this information into the development of novel molecular therapies for neuroprotection and neuroregeneration. Professor O'Keeffe is also interested in the molecular cross-talk between the nervous system and other physiological systems including the role of immune signals and placenta signals in regulating brain development.

Dr Harriët Schellekens Research group

Dr Harriët Schellekens' research explores the neuronal circuitry underlying the complex relationship between stress, mood and food intake. Her work explores the pharmacology G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), neuropeptides and gut hormones within the microbiota-brain-gut axis, regulating the homeostatic control of food intake. These appetite and satiety signals also modulate the hedonic aspects of food intake and impact on stress-induced food reward behavior, which play a major role in the development of eating disorders, including obesity, binge-eating and addiction.