Dr. Clíona Ní Cheallaigh
Clíona Ní Cheallaigh is an Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine physician. She graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 2003 with a first-class honors degree and a TCD Gold Medal. She started her specialist training in Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine in 2007. In 2008, she was a recipient of an Irish Health Research Board/Health Services Executive National SpR Academic Fellowship Award, which funded integrated training as a clinical academic. She completed her specialist training in Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine in 2016. Clíona Ní Cheallaigh is an infectious diseases and internal medicine physician in St James’s Hospital, Dublin, and Senior Lecturer in Medical Gerontology. She brings to TILDA clinical and research expertise in immunology, social determinants of health, health equity, and implementation.
Clíona Ní Cheallaigh’s research seeks to look at the effect of socio-economic status/ psychosocial stress on ageing. She hypothesizes that this is through stress causing chronic low grade activation of the innate immune system. Her cellular biology work is informed by her doctorate studies in the Department of Immunology at Trinity College Dublin, culminating in the Immunity publication of findings on a novel role for the signaling adaptor protein, Mal. Her immunological interests lie within innate immunity – particularly autophagy – and with examining the mechanisms through which psychosocial stress causes immune activation and through which low-grade chronic inflammation affects brain health and aging.
Dr Ní Cheallaigh is also Clinical Lead of a pilot Inclusion Health Service in St James’s Hospital dedicated to improving access to specialist hospital care for homeless and other marginalized individuals. She is developing an adaptation of TILDA methodology to study premature ageing in long-term homeless adults in Dublin.
Publications
Ni Cheallaigh C, Kieran J, Cullivan C, Browne J, Kenny R, Bergin C, Byrne D. Usage of Unscheduled Hospital Care by Homeless Individuals in Dublin, Ireland: A Cross-Sectional Study. BMJ Open. (in press)
Ni Cheallaigh C, O’Leary A, Sears J, Keenan E, Singleton A, Keating S, Arora S, Bergin C, Norris S. Telementoring with Project ECHO: A Pilot Study in Europe. BMJ Innovations, August 2017
Sheedy F, Ni Cheallaigh C. Shields Up - Systemic protection provided by miR-21 during sepsis?. Critical Care Medicine. July 2017.
Cole-man M, Basdeo S, Ní Cheallaigh C, Dunne P, Harris J, Keane J. All-trans Retinoic Acid Augments Autophagy during Intracellular Bacterial Infection. Manuscript under review with J. Immunology
Ni Cheallaigh C, Sheedy F, Harris J, Lee J, West K, Hearnden C., Peral de Castro C., Golenbock D, Kornfeld H, Gordon S., O’Neill L., Lavelle E., Keane J. A common mutation in MyD88-adaptor-like (Mal) regulates IFN-γ signalling. Immunity, 2016 (Impact Factor 21.6)
Killick KE, Ni Cheallaigh C, O’Farrelly C, Hokamp K, Machugh DE, Harris. Receptor-mediated recognition of mycobacterial pathogens. J. Cell Microbiol, 2013; 15(9): 1484-95
Ni Cheallaigh, C., Fitzgerald, I., Grace, J., Singh, G.J., El-Eraki, N., Gibbons, N., Keane, J., Rogers, T.R., Clarke, S., and Bergin, C. Interferon gamma release assays for the diagnosis of latent TB infection in HIV-infected individuals in a low TB burden country. (2013). PLoS One 8, e53330.
Peral de Castro, C., Jones, S.A., Ní Cheallaigh, C., Hearnden, C.A., Williams, L., Winter, J., Lavelle, E.C., Mills, K.H.G., and Harris, J. Autophagy Regulates IL-23 Secretion and Innate T Cell Responses through Effects on IL-1 Secretion. J Immunol. 2012 189:4144-4153
Ní Cheallaigh, C., Peral de Castro, C., Coleman, M. M., Hope, J. C. & Harris, J. Macrophages and Tuberculosis. In R. Takahashi, H. Kai (eds.) Handbook of Macrophages: Life Cycle, Functions and Diseases (2012). Nova Publishers, New York.
Ni Cheallaigh C., Keane J., Lavelle EC., Hope JC., Harris J. Autophagy in the Immune Response to Tuberculosis: Clinical Perspectives. Clin Exp Immunol. 2011 Jun; 164(3): 291-300
Sopp P, Coad M, Whelan A, Vordermeier HM, Hewinson G, Howard CJ, Ni Cheallaigh C, Keane J, Harris J and Hope JC. Development of a Simple, Sensitive, Rapid Test which Accurately Discriminates BCG Vaccinated from Mycobacterium bovis Infected Cattle. Vaccine. Oct 2008
Keane J, Ni Cheallaigh C. Making Tumour Necrosis Factor Blockers Safer: A Prescriber Consumptive Challenge. The Journal of Rheumatology. July 2008