Susan Joyce

Biography

Dr Susan Joyce (H index=46, >6724 citations) graduated with a B.Sc (joint hons) from Maynooth University in Biology and Mathematics and a research PhD on host-microbe interactions. She was awarded a Marie Curie Fellowship to examine cis and trans acting factors affecting mRNA synthesis and gene expression at the Ecole Normal Superieure, Paris which included a stint at the Max Planck Institute, Berlin. Before coming to UCC, Dr Joyce was a postdoctoral scientist at the University of Bath, UK (Leverhulme, BBSRC funded) and at Trinity College Dublin.

Susan Joyce (BSc, PhD, CM, PGCE) is Senior Lecturer at UCC SEFS, an investigator in APC Microbiome Ireland and a PI in the UCC Food Institute. Her research interests are centred on metabolism particularly altered human, host and microbial metabolic pathways, with food, that can influence health and disease. She leads a multidisciplinary team combining metabolomics focused research group, with expertise in diverse areas of host and microbial responses through small molecule analysis (MS applications), cellular systems, genetics and signalling readout, clinical interphase, microbial associations in terms of strain isolation, functional and phenotypic and genetic characterization including their mechanistics. Areas currently under investigation include (1) metabolomic approach to identify novel biomarkers of microbial dietary ingredients in fermentation and (2) metabolomic signatures in deciphering health and ageing (3) specific microbial enzyme manipulation inhibition and applications to alter metabolomic signatures towards healthy weight gain. Susan is a recipient of DAFM and SFI funding. She is a partner in the FP7 project SOPHIA, with a focus on obesity. She represents her School and APC Microbiome Ireland in the Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) CABALA for health, where she is a partner. She has published over 110 articles including publications in leading journals including Angewande Chemie. PNAS, GUT, J Hepatol and Nature Comms. She regularly serves as a reviewer for international and national grant awards and for international journals and she is serving as an associate editor Frontiers in Nutrition and Editorial Board of Liver Research.

She is actively involved in biochemistry undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, mentoring and research, and delivers a range of lectures in advanced metabolism at all BSc levels and to accredited professional degrees including Pharmacy, Dentistry and previously to Medical and medicine and health students. She hosts a series of postgraduate interactive workshops with postgraduate students on strategy (next steps), scientific writing (the blank page) and approaches to award and grant writing. She was (student) nominated for the Presidents Prize for Excellence in Teaching (Dec 2022) and she was Research Team nominated and awarded an Irish Research Council Ally award for mentorship (Dec 2021). She is Director of MRes in Biochemistry and Biosciences from 2021. She is Chair of her School Research committee, Vice Chair of the Research and Innovation Committee College of SEFS, Vice-Chair of the Irish Mass Spectrometry Society (IMSS) to 2020-2022.