Professor Orla Sheils
Dean- Faculty of Health Sciences, Professor of Molecular Diagnostics, Trinity Translational Medicine Institute
- Research Institute:
Trinity Translational Medicine Institute
- Contact e-mail:
- Contact number:
- Thematic Area:
Diagnostic / Screening Assays
Research Profile:
Professor Sheils has a PhD in Molecular Pathology from Trinity College Dublin and a MA in Medical Law and Ethics from Kings College London. The underlying theme of her research is to understand the causes and molecular basis of the development of disease, and to apply this knowledge to improving disease prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment. She has a particular interest in developing novel molecular diagnostics. Translational research is the common theme throughout Prof Sheils’ research, linking identification of disease processes with targets for early disease detection or classification. She works closely with industry bringing novel technologies and applications to the translational research setting.
COVID-19 Project: Trini-Screen-Covid-Surveillance Screening of Staff and Students for SARS-CoV-2 in Trinity College Dublin
This study is focused on testing self-collected saliva samples for the presence of COVID-19. The pilot study focussed on students living in College Residence(s) but the study has been expanded to include other students and staff from the college.
The study will help to:
- Make decisions about how to control the spread of the infection and how to make College a safer environment
- Help us understand if other factors contribute to infection acquisition and help us understand why some students become infected while others do not.
The project also aims to optimise the chemistry used in the LAMP assay, to see how far the sensitivity can be stretched and to increase the throughput of the assay while still generating valid results. This data will help Trinity’s efforts to keep everyone safe while living and working on campus.
