Reproduction, Development & Aging

 

development

The disclipine of Physiology has a long standing research interest in the areas of reproduction and development which has expanded and continued to grow with the addition of new researchers.  Evaluation of novel means to improve reproductive physiology, support a healthy lifestyle and understand age-related health issues is key to much of the ongoing research. For example, irreversible muscle loss during ageing (sarcopenia) is a major issue leading to frailty, hospitalisation and loss of independence.  There are currently no therapeutics for muscle wasting however research within the disclipine has provided evidence that that epigenetics mechanisms may play a key role in muscle wasting.

Click on the principal investigator names below to learn more about their research interests.

The Principal Investigators in this group are:

 Dr Brendan Higgins: My research interest focus is on development of novel therapeutic approaches in the treatment of ARDS and sepsis combining biochemical modifications, innovative devices and basic lung physiology

Dr Louise Horrigan: My research interest focus is on nutritional physiology and the physiological functions of foods. 

Dr Ailish Hynes: My research interest focus is on reproduction and development

Dr Karl McCullagh: My research interest focus is on muscle biology, neuromuscular disease and gene therapy

Dr Brian Mc Donagh: My research interest focus is on Redox signalling and mitochondrial dynamics in skeletal muscle ageing and exercise

Dr Amir Shafat: My laboratory is investigating the role of the stomach in regulating the absorption of carbohydrates and lipids. Specifically, I am interested in how diet and exercise change gastrointestinal transit. We frequently use carbon thirteen breath tests to measure gastric emptying, glucose metabolism and the hormones that regulate appetite, digestion and absorption in health and disease.

Prof Antony Wheatley: My research interest focus is on angiogenesis, microcirculation and liver regeneration

Dr. Katarzyna Goljanek-Whysall: My research group studies how changes in the levels of microRNAs, epigenetic regulators of gene expression, regulate muscle wasting during ageing . Using omics and functional approaches,we aim to establish the potential of microRNA-based intervention to ameliorate loss of muscle mass and function and provide evidence for the use of circulating microRNAs as biomarkers of muscle wasting.