Dr Rebecca Henry receives Royal Society-SFI University Research Fellowship Enhancement Award

1 Nov 2023

Congratulations to Dr Rebecca Henry, Royal Society Science Foundation Ireland Fellow, PI, and lecturer in the Department of Anatomy & Neuroscience who has recently been awarded enhanced funding as part of her ongoing prestigious Royal Society-SFI University Research Fellowship. This brings the total funding received by Dr Henry to over 1 million euros over a 5-year period.

The Royal Society-SFI University Research fellowship scheme is for outstanding scientists in the Republic of Ireland who are in the early stages of their research career and have the potential to become leaders in their field. These long-term fellowships provide the opportunity and freedom to build an independent research career in the Republic of Ireland and pursue cutting-edge scientific research. Dr Henry was previously awarded Royal Society-SFI University Research Fellowship for her work entitled ‘Preclinical investigation of immunometabolic mechanisms in a model of traumatic brain injury with pre-existing obesity.’ 

Award of The Royal Society-SFI University Research Fellowship Enhancement Award will allow Dr Henry to expand her research programme investigating immunometabolic changes in a preclinical model of co-morbid TBI and obesity, through recruitment of postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers.

Since commencing her fellowship in January 2023, Dr. Henry has recruited a research master’s student and has generated novel data demonstrating a bi-directional relationship between the adipose tissue and brain in the context of co-morbid diet-induced obesity and TBI (Henry et al., bioRxiv. 2023). Ongoing studies are exploring the potential of therapeutically targeting the adipose tissue-brain inflammatory axis in the context of comorbid diet-induced obesity and TBI. The overall goal of Dr Henry's research is to pave the way for novel therapies for TBI patients with pre-existing metabolic disorders.

LINKS

• UCC Scientist, Dr Rebecca Henry has been awarded the prestigious Royal Society-SFI University Research Fellowship
• Royal Society - Science Foundation Ireland University Research Fellowship
• Dr Rebecca Henry selected as Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize judge 2023

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News story Dr Rebecca Henry

Photograph Bereniece Riedewald