Dr Eimear Wallace

MSc, Ph.D.

Contact Details

Marie Curie Fellow
CURAM Centre
University of Galway
E: Eimear.Wallace@universityofgalway.ie
 
researcher
 

Biography

Doctor Eimear Wallace was awarded her PhD in Medicine from the University of Galway in 2023 where she developed a soft robotic drug delivery system for controlled release of VEGF under the supervision of Professor Garry Duffy, Doctor Liam Burke, and Doctor Gabriella Bellavia (Explora-Biotech, Italy). Prior to this, she graduated with a First Class Honours Masters Degree in Regenerative Medicine and a First Class Honours Bachelors Degree in Biomedical Science specialising in Pharmacology from the University of Galway.

Since completing her PhD, Eimear has worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Duffy Lab and CÚRAM to develop an innovative delivery device which uses the principles of soft robotics to improve local chemotherapy delivery for the treatment of glioblastoma. Eimear then joined the 
Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) project, VascuSense, as a postdoctoral research to develop a minimally invasive and intelligent crossing-atherectomy device for the treatment of critical limb ischaemia.

Her key research interests include regenerative medicine, medical devices, and drug delivery and so Eimear is now a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow on the MedTrain Industry-Academia Training, Career Development, and Mobility Fellowship Programme. As a MedTrain fellow, Eimear will be working with Doctor Eimear Dolan and Doctor Andrew Cameron (FeelTect) to develop drug delivery technologies for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers.

Research Interests

Eimear's research interests include regenerative medicine, medical devices, and drug delivery.

Peer Reviewed Journals

  Year Publication
(2022) 'Medical devices, smart drug delivery, wearables and technology for the treatment of Diabetes Mellitus'
Domingo-Lopez, D. A.*, Lattanzi, G.*, Schreiber, L. H. J.*, Wallace, E. J.*, Wylie, R., O'Sullivan, J., Dolan, E. B., & Duffy, G. P. (2022) 'Medical devices, smart drug delivery, wearables and technology for the treatment of Diabetes Mellitus'. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 185 (114280):1-32 [DOI] [Details]
(2021) 'The Foreign Body Response to an Implantable Therapeutic Reservoir in a Diabetic Rodent Model'
Beatty, R.*, Lu, C.*, Marzi, J., Levey, R. E., Berrio, D. C., Lattanzi, G., Wylie, R., Connor, R. O., Wallace, E., Ghersi, G., Salamone, M., Dolan, E. B., Layland, S. L., Schenke-Layland, K., & Duffy, G. P. (2021) 'The Foreign Body Response to an Implantable Therapeutic Reservoir in a Diabetic Rodent Model'. Tissue Engineering, Part C: Methods, 27 (10):515-528 [DOI] [Details]
(2019) 'Long QT Syndrome: Genetics and Future Perspective'
Wallace, E., Howard, L., Liu, M., O¿Brien, T., Ward, D., Shen, S., & Prendiville, T. (2019) 'Long QT Syndrome: Genetics and Future Perspective'. Pediatric Cardiology, 1957 :1419-1430 [DOI] [Details]

Conference Publications

  Year Publication
(2023) 28th Annual Conference of the Section of Bioengineering of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland (BinI)
Wallace, E.J., Bellavia, G., Straino, S., Cianfarani, F., Ciotti, G., Mitra, T., Duffy, G.P. (2023) Controlled Release of VEGF from a Mechanoresponsive Hydrogel Loaded Soft Robotic Drug Delivery Device to Pre-Vascularise Implant Sites 28th Annual Conference of the Section of Bioengineering of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland (BinI) [Details]
(2022) 15th International Conference on Advanced Technologies & Treatments for Diabetes (ATTD)
Wallace, E.J., Straino, S., Cianfarani, F. Ciotti, G., Mitra, T., Schreiber, L., Lattanzi, G., Bellavia, G., Duffy, G.P. (2022) Controlled Delivery of VEGF using an Implantable Hydrogel Loaded Soft Robotic Drug Delivery System to Prevascularise an Implant Site for Islet Transplantation 15th International Conference on Advanced Technologies & Treatments for Diabetes (ATTD) [Details]
(2022) 32nd Annual Conference of the European Society of Biomaterials (ESB)
Wallace, E.J., Schreiber, L., Lattanzi, G., Straino, S., Cianfarani, F. Ciotti, G., Mitra, T., G., Bellavia, G., Duffy, G.P. (2022) Stimulation of Neovascularisation by Controlled Delivery of VEGF using an Implantable Hydrogel Loaded Soft Robotic Drug Delivery System 32nd Annual Conference of the European Society of Biomaterials (ESB) [Details]
(2022) 27th Annual Conference of the Section of Bioengineering of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland (BinI)
Wallace, E.J., Straino, S., Cianfarani, F. Ciotti, G., Mitra, T., Schreiber, L., Lattanzi, G., Bellavia, G., Duffy, G.P. (2022) The Controlled Delivery of VEGF Using a Hydrogel Loaded Soft Robotic Drug Delivery System 27th Annual Conference of the Section of Bioengineering of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland (BinI) [Details]
(2022) United Kingdom and Ireland Control Release Society Symposium (UKICRS)
Wallace, E.J., Schreiber, L., Lattanzi, G., Straino, S., Cianfarani, F. Ciotti, G., Mitra, T., G., Bellavia, G., Duffy, G.P. (2022) Soft Robotic Drug Delivery System Controls Delivery of VEGF to Stimulate Neovascularisation at an Islet Transplantation Site United Kingdom and Ireland Control Release Society Symposium (UKICRS) [Details]
(2021) Congress of the International Pancreas and Islet Transplantation Association (IPITA)
Wallace, E.J., Mitra, T., Schreiber, L.H.J., Lattanzi, G., Bellavia, G., Duffy, G.P. (2021) Establishing the Controlled Delivery of VEGF using a Hydrogel Loaded Soft Robotic Drug Delivery System with the aim to Prevascularise Implant Site for Islet Transplantation Congress of the International Pancreas and Islet Transplantation Association (IPITA) [Details]
(2020) 26th Annual Conference of the Section of Bioengineering of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland (BinI)
Wallace, E., Levey, R.E., Lattanzi G., Robinson S.T., Maye E., Beatty, R., O¿Dwyer, J., Dolan, E.B., Duffy, G.P. (2020) Assessing Macrophage Response to an Actuatable Soft Reservoir 26th Annual Conference of the Section of Bioengineering of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland (BinI) [Details]

Honours and Awards

  Year Title Awarding Body
2023 1st Prize Oral Presentation in Biomaterials Category 28th Annual Conference of the Section of Bioengineering of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland
2022 1st Prize Oral Presentation 32nd Annual Conference European Society of Biomaterials
2022 Presidential Award for Volunteering University of Galway
2022 1st Prize Oral Presentation United Kingdom and Ireland Control Release Society Symposium
2020 Presidential Award for Volunteering University of Galway

Professional Associations

  Association Function From / To
Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland Ordinary Member 07-JUL-20 /
United Kingdom and Ireland Controlled Release Society Member 13-APR-22 /
Controlled Release Society Ordinary Member 23-MAR-23 /

Employment

  Employer Position From / To
Explora-Biotech Early Stage Researcher 01-SEP-19 / 31-AUG-22
University of Galway Postdoctoral Researcher 01-SEP-23 / 29-FEB-24
University of Galway MedTrain Postdoctoral Fellow 01-MAR-24 / 28-FEB-27
University of Galway Research Associate 01-SEP-22 / 31-AUG-23

Education

  Year Institution Qualification Subject
2023 University of Galway PhD Anatomy
2018 University of Galway MSc Regenerative Medicine
2017 University of Galway BSc Biomedical Science

Languages

  Language
English
Irish

Community Engagement

  Title Type From / To
Outreach Cell Explorers 01-SEP-19 /
Outreach ReelLIFE Science 05-OCT-20 /
Outreach STEM Ambassador 01-SEP-22 /

Teaching Interests

Eimear's teaching interests include the human body structure and function, biomedical devices and technologies to treat diseases.