Dr Siobhan Gargan
Postdoctoral Researcher, Trinity Translational Medicine Institute
- Research Institute:
Trinity Translational Medicine Institute
- Contact e-mail:
- Contact number:
- Thematic Area:
Translational Immunology Studies
Research Profile:
Siobhan Gargan completed her PhD investigating innate immune signalling pathways in Maynooth University. Since then, she has worked as a postdoctoral researcher in Trinity College Dublin where much of her research to date has focused on the immune evasion tactics employed by viruses including HIV-1, Hepatitis C Virus and coronaviruses.
COVID-19 Project: Investigating T cell responses to COVID-19
SARS-CoV-2 causes respiratory disease of varying severity and while many individuals are free of COVID-19 symptoms after a couple of weeks others can suffer from long-term side effects. We aim to investigate the protective and pathological adaptive immune responses to COVID-19 and in doing so we may potentially uncover an immune basis for symptoms associated with severe COVID-19. We aim to characterise T cell responses in mild versus severe disease and identify T cell signatures and associated novel pathways. We plan to characterise SARS-CoV-2 virus specific T cell responses in COVID-19 exposed individuals and characterise pathological T cell immune responses to SARS-CoV-2. We also aim to identify and characterise T cell immune responses associated with ‘long COVID-19’. By identifying T cell signatures and novel pathways we may uncover potential therapeutic targets that could be exploited for successful vaccination.
