Dr Jean Dunne
Laboratory Director, Immunology Dept, St James Hospital and Trinity Translational Medicine Institute
- Research Institute:
St James Hospital and Trinity Translational Medicine Institute
- Contact e-mail:
- Thematic Area:
Diagnostic / Screening Assays
Research Profile:
With a background in immunodeficiency and a focus on translation diagnostic developments Dr. Dunne has been involved in a number of successful biomarker identification projects in disorders ranging from primary immunodeficiency, coeliac disease, ANCA associated vasculitis, autoimmune encephalitis and COVID-19 associated morbidity.
COVID-19 Project: Biomarkers of COVID-19 disease severity and markers of successful responses to vaccination:
Detailed immunophenotyping and inflammatory cytokine measurement has been used to profile COVID-19 patients with disease severity ranging from mild to severe. An artificial intelligence model for prediction of disease progression has been developed. The protocol has been used to profile ‘Long COVID’ and patients with underlying conditions receiving immunosuppression. Longitudinal analysis will yield important information on the response of immunosuppressed patients to COVID-19 infection and, in the future, vaccination.
In vitro stimulation of whole blood and PBMC with Spike protein and a peptide mix are being used to assess the specific responses to COVID-19 infection. In this cohort the dynamic relationship between immunoglobulin responses, T-cell response and the cytokine profile will be examined. This protocol will aid in the assessment of individual response to vaccination in at risk patients, including those that are immunosuppressed and immunodeficient.
