In 2015 I received a degree (Hons) in Science specialising in Microbiology and Biochemistry from the National University of Ireland, Galway. Rep. of Ireland. I studied for a Masters (Sci) in Biomedical Science and Drug Design at Edinburgh Napier University. Scotland U.K and undertook a 3 month placement at the Roslin Institute on the impact of mutations of the prion protein that induces chronic wasting disease in deer. From here I studied for a PhD in Avian Immunology, characterising the biological activity of chicken cytokines as possible vaccine adjuvants in conjunction with an industrial partner.  Having a keen interest in avian transgenics, I undertook a Post-Doc position at Ludwig Maximillian University in Munich studying B cell development using the heavy chain KO-chickens. I returned to the Roslin Institute in 2016 to undertake a Research Fellow position on fundamental avian immunology focusing on antigen-presenting cells, mucosal immunology and vaccine targeting.

I come from a farming background and have grown up around a farming community in Ireland. I have personally observed the effects of disease outbreaks and their economic and social consequences. My research aims to make a significant contribution to the understanding of avian immunology which will contribute towards better vaccine design and targeting. As an early-career researcher I was awarded a Pump-Priming Grant from IVVN in 2018, in collaboration with an industrial partner, where my fundamental avian research was used to investigate the ability to target oral vaccines to the mucosal immune system.