2024 The role of T cells in Central Nervous System remyelination

Denise completed her B.Sc. in Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics at University College Dublin (1996-2000) where she then went on to pursue her PhD in Immunology under the mentorship of Prof. Alan Baird (2000-2004). During this time Denise developed a keen interest in demyelinating diseases of the CNS and in 2004 she moved to Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia to pursue postdoctoral training in MS research.

During that time, Denise was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (USA) which supported her commitment to researching CNS demyelination. In 2009, Denise moved to Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) to start her own independent research group.

In 2015 she became Northern Ireland’s first recipient of a Wellcome Trust Investigator Award and became Professor of Neuroimmunology in 2018. She was awarded the QUB Vice-Chancellors prize for Research Innovation (2017) and the QUB Staff Excellence Award for Outstanding Leadership (2018). Her work on immune-mediated myelin regeneration was awarded the 2018 UK MS Society’s Annual Research Prize. The focus of her research team is uncovering mechanisms of how the immune system influences tissue regeneration in the Central Nervous System.