Speakers - Joint Seminars

Prof. Róisín Dwyer is a PI in the Discipline of Surgery at University of Galway. Her research focuses on cell communication in the breast tumour microenvironment, with a view to harnessing this knowledge for development of novel gene therapy approaches for advanced breast cancer.  Róisín’s work investigates the potential to engineer adult stem cells and their products, including secreted extracellular vesicles, as vehicles for targeted delivery of therapeutic agents to breast tumours. Other areas of interest include cellular interactions in the breast tumour microenvironment mediated by extracellular vesicles and microRNAs, and the potential to harness secreted factors as biomarkers of disease.  Multidisciplinary collaboration is key to Prof. Dwyer’s work and she is a member of national and international research consortia, including Precision Oncology Ireland and the Biseach Initiative. Her research has been recognised through a variety of honours including the inaugural Irish Cancer Society Researcher of the Year award. She has published >60 papers in respected journals such as Clinical Cancer Research, Molecular Therapy and Oncogene and . She is a named inventor on patents, and works closely with industry collaborators to develop therapeutic EVs for a range of disease indications.  Along with a current team of 5 PhD students and three postdoctoral scientists, Prof Dwyer has supervised 12 PhD, 5MD and 1 MRes students to completion as primary supervisor, and mentored postdoctoral scientists and research assistants. 

Dr Carolina de Marco Verissimo graduated in Biomedical Pathology and obtained her Master’s degree in Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology in Brazil. Carolina received a joint-PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology from PUCRS, Brazil and Griffith University, Australia. Her research focused on the characterization of glycans from helminth parasites to improve the diagnosis of angistrongyliasis and schistosimiasis infections. Carolina joined the Molecular Parasitology Laboratory in 2017, at Queen’s University Belfast, and continued her work within the group at University of Galway mainly studying parasite (helminth) proteins and glycans involved in processes of infection, host immune regulation and pathology. Recently, Carolina was awarded a 4-year IRC Starting Laureate grant to independently develop her research on how worm parasites deal with the host complement system. She will be working at University of Galway and continue to collaborate with the Molecular Parasitology research group.

Dr Elaine Breslin is Director of Operations of the Institute for Clinical Trials at the University of Galway, where she provides strategic and operational leadership for the University's clinical research infrastructure. With more than 20 years of experience spanning clinical trial operations, regulatory affairs, quality management, and research leadership, she has played a central role in strengthening clinical trial capacity and research excellence across the Irish healthcare system.  Through her leadership, Elaine continues to champion collaboration across academia, healthcare, industry, and government, helping to position Ireland as a leading destination for clinical research while ensuring that innovation translates into meaningful benefits for patients and health services.

Dr Nina Wemken is a Senior Research Support Officer in the Office of the Vice-President for Research and Innovation at the University of Galway, specialising in national research funding. She supports researchers within the School of Engineering to identify funding opportunities, navigate eligibility and funder requirements, and develop competitive research funding applications. Nina previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the School of Physics, where her research focused on exposure science.