• Molecular and cellular biology of vertebrate embryo development
• Antidepressants; novel targets; modulating immune responses
• Non-animal alternatives for toxicological assessment of drugs
• Novel cell, gene and pharmacological therapies for Parkinson's disease
• Molecular mechanisms of intestinal injury, repair and carcinogenesis; inflammatory bowel disease, colon cancer and radiation injury to the intestinal tract
• Caspases, cell death and differentiation;, chemotherapy-induced apoptosis and cancer
• Neurochemical, neuroendocrine and molecular mechanisms underlying pain, anxiety and depression
• Neuropharmacology of cannabinoid and opioid receptors; The endocannabinoid system in pain, anxiety, Parkinson’s disease and neuroimmune function
• Toll-like receptors and the brain-gut axis

Prof. Laurence Egan
laurence.egan@nuigalway.ie
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Molecular mechanisms of intestinal injury, repair and carcinogenesis; focus on biological functions of transcription factor NF-kappaB; identification and characterization of novel therapeutic targets for inflammatory bowel disease, colon cancer and radiation injury to the intestinal tract.

Dr. John Kelly
john.kelly@nuigalway.ie
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Investigation of the mechanism of action of antidepressants and the development of novel targets using animal models; the effects of antidepressants on modulating immune responses; development of non-animal alternatives for toxicological assessment of drugs.

Dr. Maura Grealy
maura.grealynuigalway.ie
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Developmental biology using the zebrafish as a model for cardiovascular development and disease; the role of signalling, via cell-cell adhesion molecules, in heart development; effects of neuroactive drugs on embryo development.

Dr. David Finn
david.finn@nuigalway.ie
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Neurochemical, neuroendocrine and molecular mechanisms underlying pain, anxiety and depression; neuropharmacology of cannabinoid and opioid receptors; imidazoline binding sites, brain monoamines and the stress response; neuroimmune mechanisms of relevance to pain, inflammation and mood disorders.

Dr. Eilís Dowd
eilis.dowd@nuigalway.ie
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Development and functional validation of novel therapies for Parkinson’s disease including novel pharmacological, gene, and cell therapies.

Dr. Howard Fearnhead
howard.fearnhead@nuigalway.ie
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
The role of caspases in apoptosis and cellular differentiation, investigating how caspases are activated, the downstream effects of activation and the consequences of a failure of the apoptotic program; a particular focus is the role of apoptosis and caspases in cancer chemotherapy.

Dr. Declan McKernan
Declan.mckernan@nuigalway.ie
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
The role of Toll-like receptors in brain-gut signalling particularly in visceral hypersensitivity, the effects of stress on intestinal inflammation with focus on TLR expression/activity in distinct regions of the gut as well as the role of Toll-like receptors in psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and depression.

• Neurotoxicity, neurodegeneration and neuroprotection
• Reproductive physiology
• Liver microcirculation and regeneration
• Skeletal muscle plasticity and muscular dystrophy
• Epithelial physiology and electrophysiology
• Neuroinflammation, mood disorders and pain
• Gastric function; Diabetes Mellitus

Dr. Karen Doyle
karen.doyle@nuigalway.ie
www.nuigalway.ie/faculties_departments/physiology/StaffMain.html#Karen
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Neurotoxicity; neurodegeneration; cell stress and neuroprotection; Neurological and psychiatric disorders of the central nervous system

Dr. Ailish Hynes
ailish.hynes@nuigalway.ie
www.nuigalway.ie/faculties_departments/physiology/StaffMain.html#Ailish
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Reproductive physiology; follicle growth and development; ovulation control; preimplantation embryo growth and development.

Dr. Beth Mallard
beth.mallard@nuigalway.ie
www.nuigalway.ie/faculties_departments/physiology/StaffMain.html#Beth
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Liver microcirculation; intravital fluorescence microscopy; liver regeneration.

Dr. Karl McCullagh
Karl.mccullagh@nuigalway.ie
www.nuigalway.ie/faculties_departments/physiology/StaffMain.html#Karl
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Skeletal muscle biology from basic cellular mechanisms to disease states such as muscular dystrophy; gene and stem cell therapy for muscular and neuromuscular disorders.

Dr. Leo Quinlan
leo.quinlan@nuigalway.ie
www.nuigalway.ie/faculties_departments/physiology/StaffMain.html#Leo
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Epithelial physiology (inflammation and dyregulation in oviduct, colon and bladder), Stem cells, neuronal noise (neuro-modulation), electrophysiology (Ussing chambers, patch clamp, brain slice), Cell signalling (inositol, purinoceptors)

Dr. Michelle Roche
Michelle.roche@nuigalway.ie
www.nuigalway.ie/faculties_departments/physiology/StaffMain.html#Michelle
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
My research interests focus on increasing understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underpinning neuroinflammation, mood disorders (anxiety and depression) and pain.

Dr. Amir Shafat
amir.shafat@nuigalway.ie
http://www.nuigalway.ie/faculties_departments/physiology/StaffMain.html#Amir
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Nutritional regulation of gastric emptying rates; Glucose oxidation test as a biomarker for type 2 diabetes mellitus; Stable isotope techniques e.g. 13CO2 breath test.

Prof. Antony Wheatley
antony.wheatley@nuigalway.ie
http://www.nuigalway.ie/faculties_departments/physiology/StaffMain.html#Tony
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
(i) intravital fluorescence microscopy for investigation of the microcirculation of the organs/tissues; (ii) liver regeneration (iii) immune-mediated liver injury (iv) gut permeability