Sinéad Corr
Biography
Sinéad qualified with a BSc Microbiology from University College Cork in 2002 and in 2006 obtained a PhD in Molecular Microbiology at the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, under the supervision of Prof. Colin Hill. During this time she investigated the interaction of the food borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes with the gastrointestinal epithelium and the therapeutic potential of probiotics to treat intestinal infection. A research highlight showed that bacteriocin production by the probiotic Lactobacillus salivarius protects against Listeria, the first time the exact mechanism of probiotic action had been identified in vivo (From the Cover: Corr et al. 2007 PNAS). Sinéad subsequently undertook a postdoctorate position as part of a collaboration between GlaxoSmithKline and the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, under the mentorship of Prof. Fergus Shanahan, investigating novel therapeutics for the treatment of IBD. In 2008, Sinéad joined the lab of Prof. Luke O’Neill at the School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity College Dublin, were she further investigated the role of innate signalling pathways in intestinal infection and IBD. In 2012, Sinéad was awarded a Starting Investigator Research Grant from Science Foundation Ireland, to investigate the role of miRNA’s in the regulation of gut homeostasis or inflammatory disease. In 2015, Sinéad was appointed Assistant Professor in Microbiology at Trinity College Dublin, and established the Host-Microbe Interface & Gut Immunity lab. Here she continues to research the molecular mechanisms underpinning the crosstalk between the intestinal immune system and the gut microbiota, and the microbial modulation of gut immunity in disease associations, in particular microbiome-associated disorders like IBD. The influence of the microbiota on health and disease, and the potential to harness it as a therapeutic strategy, is a research focus. Sinéad continues to have strong collaborative links with the APC on this research goal.