Ronan Bree

I worked in the Lowndes laboratory from January 2003 – September 2007 as a post-doctoral researcher. Prior to this, I had performed a PhD in developmental biology (with Dr. Lucy Byrnes and Dr. Maura Grealy) so moving into the DNA damage response field was quite a change. My work in Noel’s group was funded by the Health Research Board and it involved analysing the role of 53Bp1 in the DNA damage response in the model system, DT40. We used these cells as we were able to take advantantage of the fact that they have an increased frequency of gene targeting. This allowed us to target specific gene loci to generate gene knock-outs. Noel’s group employs a broad array of cell biology, biochemical and molecular approaches to investigate the DNA damage response. I was very fortunate to work on a protein that is believed to be the true homolog of the budding yeast Rad9, named 53Bp1. It was initially discovered in 1994 and in the past few years has been shown to be involved in the DNA damage response. More recently, a role in the repair pathway, non-homologous end joining, has been discovered for 53Bp1. Our work looked at the role of the protein in cell cycle checkpoints after DNA damage, in addition to DNA repair. Reflecting on my time in the lab, I consider myself exteremely fortunate to have worked on worked in this field of science and also to have interacted with some very talented researchers.

During my post-doc, I also witnessed the foundation and expansion of the Genome Stability Cluster. The cluster now comprises seven separate labs (with two more set to join shortly!) working under the same research theme. The presence of the cluster allows frequent interactions with members of other laboratories in addition to getting advice from other principal investigators. I also enjoyed this aspect as you get to have many friends from other labs as well as your own.

Galway is a great place to live in. It has plenty of pubs and a lively nightlife that should satisfy anyone’s social needs! If you are thinking of coming to the west of Ireland, why not look at my website that has a few photographs of Galway city amongst others, http://www.ronanbree.com

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