Paediatrics and Child Health

Biography

My area of research involves the study of biomarkers of neonatal hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE).  The severity of HIE cannot always be determined in the immediate postnatal period, and can take up to 24 hours to appropriately assign.  With the introduction of therapeutic hypothermia, the early grading of HIE has become much more important, as only those with moderate or severe HIE should be cooled.  We are therefore measuring the levels of various proteins in the infant's system at birth, to establish if any of these biomarkers can accurately predict grade of HIE.  We will perform neurodevelopmental follow up on these children to assess if the biomarkers can not only be used to predict grade of HIE in the early neonatal period, but also if the markers drawn at birth can predict long term neurodevelopmental outcome.

My PhD is supervised by Dr. Deirdre Murray, Dr. Geraldine Boylan, Dr. Gene Dempsey and Dr. Louise Kenny.