Staff Profiles

Dr. Emer Bourke

PhD, BSc

Biography

Dr. Emer Bourke was awarded her B.Sc. and Ph.D. by the Department of Pharmacology, University College Dublin. Her first postdoctoral position was funded as a Marie Curie Association European Individual Postdoctoral Fellow in the Istituto Mario Negri in Milan, Italy. Following this she returned to Ireland, this time as a Marie Curie European Reintegration Postdoctoral Fellow, working in the Centre for Chromosome Biology (CCB) at NUI Galway. During her time at the CCB, she advanced becoming a HRB-funded Senior postdoctoral fellow. As a self-funded postdoctoral fellow, she published in prestigious journals such as Blood, EMBO journal, Oncogene and Cell Stem Cell.

In 2010, she was appointed as a Lecturer in Biomolecular Science in the Institute of Technology Sligo, before returning to NUI Galway to take up the position as a Lecturer and group leader within the Discipline of Pathology. Her research group focuses on investigating mechanisms of genomic instability in breast cancer and is funded by a Millennium Research Fund Award and Hardiman Scholarship.

Research Interests

The centrosome is a cellular organelle which duplicates once per cell cycle to direct the formation of the bipolar spindle during cell division. Excessive centrosome number (>2 centrosomes per cell; termed centrosome amplification) is a characteristic of most human tumours. The phenomenon is triggered by DNA damage and in turn, perpetuates genomic instability by inducing errors during cell division. Recent studies have shown that the induction of extra centrosomes drives an oncogene-like transformation of breast cells into a malignant invasive phenotype capable of metastasis to other sites in the body. Current work in my lab characterizes this tumourigenic transformation in breast cell lines and patient tissue samples. We hypothesise that centrosome amplification is one of the key pathways linking genomic instability to structural and intracellular changes which promote tumour progression.

Peer Reviewed Journals

	Year	Publication
	(2023)	'Centrosome amplification promotes cell invasion via cell-cell contact disruption and Rap-1 activation' Prakash A, Paunikar S, Webber M, McDermott E, Vellanki SH, Thompson K, Dockery P, Jahns H, Brown JAL, Hopkins AM, Bourke E. (2023) 'Centrosome amplification promotes cell invasion via cell-cell contact disruption and Rap-1 activation'. Journal Of Cell Science, [DOI] [Details]
	(2022)	'Peripheral Blood Cell Ratios as Prognostic Indicators in a Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy-Treated Breast Cancer Cohort' Jalali A, Miresse D, Fahey MR, Ni Mhaonaigh N, McGuire A, Bourke E, Kerin MJ, Brown JAL. (2022) 'Peripheral Blood Cell Ratios as Prognostic Indicators in a Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy-Treated Breast Cancer Cohort'. Cellular Oncology, 29 (10):7512-7523 [DOI] [Details]
	(2021)	'Recent Advances in the role of DDR1/DDR2 in Breast and Ovarian Cancer' Chen L, Kong X, Wang X, Li S, Zhou X, Li S, Brown JAL, Bourke E, Fang Y, Wang J. (2021) 'Recent Advances in the role of DDR1/DDR2 in Breast and Ovarian Cancer'. Frontiers In Cell And Developmental Biology*, [DOI] [Details]
	(2019)	'Quantifying Argonaute 2 (Ago2) expression to stratify breast cancer' Casey, MC,Prakash, A,Holian, E,McGuire, A,Kalinina, O,Shalaby, A,Curran, C,Webber, M,Callagy, G,Bourke, E,Kerin, MJ,Brown, JA (2019) 'Quantifying Argonaute 2 (Ago2) expression to stratify breast cancer'. BMC Cancer, 19 [DOI] [Details]
	(2019)	'Large expert-curated database for benchmarking document similarity detection in biomedical literature search' Brown, P et al (2019) 'Large expert-curated database for benchmarking document similarity detection in biomedical literature search'. Database-The Journal Of Biological Databases And Curation, [DOI] [Details]
	(2019)	'Quantifying Tip60 (Kat5) stratifies breast cancer' McGuire, A,Casey, MC,Shalaby, A,Kalinina, O,Curran, C,Webber, M,Callagy, G,Holian, E,Bourke, E,Kerin, MJ,Brown, JAL (2019) 'Quantifying Tip60 (Kat5) stratifies breast cancer'. Scientific Reports, 9 [DOI] [Details]
	(2018)	'Clinically Applicable Inhibitors Impacting Genome Stability' Prakash A, Garcia-Moreno JF, Brown JAL, Bourke E. (2018) 'Clinically Applicable Inhibitors Impacting Genome Stability'. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 23 (5) [DOI] [Details]
	(2017)	'Practical Bioinformatics Analysis of MiRNA Data Using Online Tools' Brown, JAL;Bourke, E (2017) 'Practical Bioinformatics Analysis of MiRNA Data Using Online Tools'. Methods in Molecular Biology, 1509 :195-208 [DOI] [Details]
	(2016)	'Targeting cancer using KAT inhibitors to mimic lethal knockouts' Brown, J. A.,Bourke, E.,Eriksson, L. A.,Kerin, M. J. (2016) 'Targeting cancer using KAT inhibitors to mimic lethal knockouts'. Biochem Soc Trans, 44 (44):979-86 [Details]
	(2015)	'ROCK activity and the G beta gamma complex mediate chemotactic migration of mouse bone marrow-derived stromal cells' Ryan, CM,Brown, JAL,Bourke, E,Prendergast, AM,Kavanagh, C,Liu, ZL,Owens, P,Shaw, G,Kolch, W,O'Brien, T,Barry, FP (2015) 'ROCK activity and the G beta gamma complex mediate chemotactic migration of mouse bone marrow-derived stromal cells'. Stem Cell Research & Therapy, 6 [DOI] [Details]
	(2014)	'Rational design and validation of a Tip60 histone acetyltransferase inhibitor' Gao C, Bourke E, Scobie M, Famme MA, Koolmeister T, Helleday T, Eriksson LA, Lowndes NF, Brown JA. (2014) 'Rational design and validation of a Tip60 histone acetyltransferase inhibitor'. Scientific Reports, [Details]
	(2010)	'Hematopoietic Stem Cell Quiescence Promotes Error-Prone DNA Repair and Mutagenesis' Mohrin, M;Bourke, E;Alexander, D;Warr, MR;Barry-Holson, K;Le Beau, MM;Morrison, CG;Passegue, E (2010) 'Hematopoietic Stem Cell Quiescence Promotes Error-Prone DNA Repair and Mutagenesis'. Cell Stem Cell, 7 :174-185 [DOI] [Details]
	(2010)	'DNA damage induces Chk1-dependent threonine-160 phosphorylation and activation of Cdk2' Bourke, E., Brown J.A., Takeda, S., Hochegger, H. and Morrison C.G. (2010) 'DNA damage induces Chk1-dependent threonine-160 phosphorylation and activation of Cdk2'. Oncogene, 29 :616-624 [Details]
	(2010)	'MCPH1/BRIT1 limits ionizing radiation-induced centrosome amplification' Brown, JAL,Bourke, E,Liptrot, C,Dockery, P,Morrison, CG (2010) 'MCPH1/BRIT1 limits ionizing radiation-induced centrosome amplification'. Oncogene, 29 :5537-5544 [DOI] [Details]
	(2009)	'Centriole separation in DNA damage-induced centrosome amplification' Saladino C, Bourke E, Conroy PC, Morrison CG (2009) 'Centriole separation in DNA damage-induced centrosome amplification'. Environmental And Molecular Mutagenesis, 50 (8):725-732 [DOI] [Details]
	(2007)	'DNA damage induces Chk1-dependent centrosome amplification' Bourke, E;Dodson, H;Merdes, A;Cuffe, L;Zachos, G;Walker, M;Gillespie, D;Morrison, CG (2007) 'DNA damage induces Chk1-dependent centrosome amplification'. Embo Reports, 8 :603-609 [DOI] [Details]
	(2008)	'Ku70 prevents genome instability resulting from heterozygosity of the telomerase RNA component in a vertebrate tumour line' Faure, V,Wenner, T,Cooley, C,Bourke, E,Farr, CJ,Takeda, S,Morrison, CG (2008) 'Ku70 prevents genome instability resulting from heterozygosity of the telomerase RNA component in a vertebrate tumour line'. Dna Repair, 7 :713-724 [DOI] [Details]
	(2004)	'Centrosome amplification induced by DNA damage occurs during a prolonged G2 phase and involves ATM' Dodson, H;Bourke, E;Jeffers, LJ;Vagnarelli, P;Sonoda, E;Takeda, S;Earnshaw, WC;Merdes, A;Morrison, C (2004) 'Centrosome amplification induced by DNA damage occurs during a prolonged G2 phase and involves ATM'. Embo Journal, 23 :3864-3873 [DOI] [Details]
	(2003)	'The toll-like receptor repertoire of human B lymphocytes: inducible and selective expression of TLR9 and TLR10 in normal and transformed cells' Bourke E, Bosisio, D, Golay, J, Polentarutti, N & Mantovani, A (2003) 'The toll-like receptor repertoire of human B lymphocytes: inducible and selective expression of TLR9 and TLR10 in normal and transformed cells'. Blood, 102 (3):956-963 [Details]
	(2003)	'IL-1 beta scavenging by the type II IL-1 decoy receptor in human neutrophils' Bourke E, Cassetti A, Villa A, Fadlon E, Colotta F, Mantovani A (2003) 'IL-1 beta scavenging by the type II IL-1 decoy receptor in human neutrophils'. Journal Of Immunology, 170 (12):5999-6005 [Details]
	(2000)	'Loss of Ikappa B-beta is associated with prolonged NF-kappa B activity in human glial cells' Bourke E, Kennedy, EJ & Moynagh, PN (2000) 'Loss of Ikappa B-beta is associated with prolonged NF-kappa B activity in human glial cells'. Journal Of Biological Chemistry, 275 (51):39996-40002 [Details]
	(1999)	'Antiinflammatory effects of glucocorticoids in brain cells, independent of NF-kappa B' Bourke E. & Moynagh PN (1999) 'Antiinflammatory effects of glucocorticoids in brain cells, independent of NF-kappa B'. Journal Of Immunology, 163 (4):2113-2119 [Details]

Book Chapters

	Year	Publication
	(2017)	'Practical Bioinformatics Analysis of MiRNA Data Using Online Tools' Brown, JAL,Bourke, E,Rani, S (2017) 'Practical Bioinformatics Analysis of MiRNA Data Using Online Tools' In: MicroRNA profiling. :195-208 Switzerland: Springer Nature. [DOI] [Details]
	(2012)	'Centrosomes, DNA Damage and Aneuploidy' Chiara Saladino, Emer Bourke, Ciaran Morrison (2012) 'Centrosomes, DNA Damage and Aneuploidy' In: The Centrosome. Springer. [Details]

Abstract

	Year	Publication
	(2015)	Assessing Argonaute-2 as A Biomarker For Breast Cancer. Casey, MC,McGuire, A,Shalaby, A,Webber, M,Curran, C,Callagy, G,Bourke, E,Brown, JAL,Kerin, MJ (2015) Assessing Argonaute-2 as A Biomarker For Breast Cancer. Abstract [Details]
	(2010)	DNA damage-induced centriole disengagement. Saladino, C,Conroy, P,Inanc, B,Dodson, H,Bourke, E,Morrison, C (2010) DNA damage-induced centriole disengagement. Abstract [Details]
	(2008)	How Can Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Myeloid Progenitors Become Transformed?. Mohrin, M,Bourke, E,Morrison, C,Passegue, E (2008) How Can Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Myeloid Progenitors Become Transformed?. Abstract [Details]
	(2008)	DNA repair capacity of hematopoietic stem and myeloid progenitor cells. Mohrin, M,Bourke, E,Morrison, C,Passegue, E (2008) DNA repair capacity of hematopoietic stem and myeloid progenitor cells. Abstract [Details]
	(2007)	The role of apoptosis and DNA repair in normal and abnormal hematopoiesis. Mohrin, ME,Bourke, E,Morrison, C,Passegue, EA (2007) The role of apoptosis and DNA repair in normal and abnormal hematopoiesis. Abstract [Details]

Editorial

	Year	Publication
	(2022)	Mechanisms guarding the genome. Brown JAL, Bourke E, Hancock WW, Richard DJ. (2022) Mechanisms guarding the genome. Editorial [DOI] [Details]

Honours and Awards

Year	Title	Awarding Body
2012	National University of Ireland Galway Millennium Research Fund Award	National University of Ireland Galway
2005	Health Research Board Ireland, Senior Postdoctoral research fellowship	Health Research Board
2004	European Commission Framework Programme 6, Marie Curie European Reintegration grant	European Commission
2000	European Commission Framework Programme 5, Marie Curie Association European Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship	European Commission

Committees

	Committee	Function	From / To
	Irish Association for Cancer Research	Committee member responsible for organisation of annual IACR conference	01-MAY-13 / 28-FEB-17

Education

	Year	Institution	Qualification	Subject
	2012	National University of Ireland Galway	Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Teaching	Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Modules Taught

Term/Year	Module Title	Module Code	Subject / Desc
2012-present	Biological Sciences	NU2200
2013	Biomedical Science Seminar and Written Review	BM-201	Students will perform a literature search on a current area of research in Biomedical Science using both library journals and web-based methods, and organize the information for a seminar presentation and for a written review.
2012-present	Elements of Pathology	PA405	Bioengineering
2012-Present: Semester 1	MSc in Clinical Oncology and Haematology	BI-461	Students will learn about the underlying pathogenesis of cancer, nomenclature of tumours, clinical diagnostics and the latest clinical treatments
2011-Present: Semester 1	Health & Disease II	MD-302	3rd year Medical Students will learn to understand the common disease processes affecting different organ systems and their clinical implications.
2011-Present Semester 2	Health&Disease I	MD-201	2nd Year Medical Students will learn about the molecular, cellular, microbiological and environmental mechanisms which underpin the development and progression of disease

Internal Collaborators

	Name	Description of Collaboration
	Internal Collaborators	Dr Terri McVeigh, Dr Nicola Miller and Dr James Brown in Prof Michael Kerin's research group, Discipline of Surgery.Prof. Noel Lowndes & Prof. Ciaran Morrison, Centre for Chromosome Biology, Discipline of Biochemistry.

External Collaborators

	Name	Organisation / Institute	Country	Description of Collaboration
	External Collaborators			Dr Ann Hopkins, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin.Dr Leif Ericsson, Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, 405 30, Göteborg, Sweden.Prof. Martin Scobie, Science for Life Laboratory, Division of Translational Medicine and Chemical Biology, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.