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Dr. John Walsh

Associate Professor (Pharmacy)
25/6/7 WESTLAND ROW
      
Profile Photo

Dr. John Walsh

Associate Professor (Pharmacy)
25/6/7 WESTLAND ROW

 jjwalsh@tcd.ie

 3531896 2806


John J. Walsh, BA (Mod.), PhD (TCD), is an Associate Professor of Pharmacognosy and Associate Director of the NatPro Centre for Natural Product Research in Trinity College Dublin. A particular theme of his research is the evaluation of plant-based metabolites for potential use in the treatment of inflammatory conditions, microbial and insect-related infections, allergies and cancer. In parallel, he also runs drug design based projects with particular emphasis on the design, synthesis and evaluation of hybrid-based compounds and designed multiple ligands as potential therapies for both malaria and cancer. As Senior Author he has published widely across many of the leading journals in his field. including Journal of Natural Products, European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, British Journal of Pharmacology, Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, Angiogenesis, Current Pharmaceutical Design, Pharmaceutical Research, Current Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmaceutics and Chemical Communications. Funding for his research has been secured from Enterprise Ireland, Cancer Research Ireland, Research Ireland, Higher Education Authority and Department of Justice, Ireland. As principal supervisor he has supervised 20 PhD and 4 MSc students to completion. He is a very strong advocate of research-led teaching and has published eight papers in the Journal of Chemical Education on miniaturised and sustainable methods for the isolation of medicinally important natural products. He is a former Director of Undergraduate Teaching and Learning in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and is currently a member of Committee 13B (Phytochemistry) of the European Pharmacopoeia.
  ALLERGY   ASSAY   BASOPHILS   DRUG DISCOVERY   ENDOTHELIAL CELLS   HISTAMINE   MALARIA   MAST-CELLS   NATURAL PRODUCT SYNTHESIS   PROTEASES   VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTOR (VEGF)
Project Title
 Pre-clinical Development of Novel Anti-allergic Compounds
From
Oct 2004
To
Mar 2009
Summary
The work involved synthesis of lead compounds and evaluation of their effects in vitro and in vivo against passive cutaneous anaphylaxis.
Funding Agency
Enterprise Ireland
Programme
EI-CFTD/04/115: Commercialisation Fund Technology Development Phase
Project Type
Allergy Research
Person Months
120
Project Title
 Design of Tumour Homing Vasculature Targeting Agents
From
01-10-2008
To
30-09-2011
Summary
The project involved the synthesis of designed multiple ligands with homing properties to tumour vasculature.
Funding Agency
Irish Research Council for Science Engineering and Technology
Programme
EMBARK Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme 2008
Project Type
Cancer
Person Months
36
Project Title
 Design of Hybrid-based Tumour Homing Anti-angiogenesis Agents
From
01-10-2008
To
30-09-2011
Summary
The purpose of this work was to design, synthesise and evaluate the homing properties of hybrid-based anti cancer compounds.
Funding Agency
Irish Research Council for Science Engineering and Technology
Programme
EMBARK Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme 2008
Project Type
Cancer
Person Months
36
Project Title
 Studies on Novel Mast Cell Stabilising Compounds
From
01-10-2008
To
30-09-2009
Summary
The project involved in vitro and in vivo studies on novel mast cell stabilising compounds.
Funding Agency
Irish Research Council For Science Engineering and Technology
Programme
EMBARK Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme 2008
Project Type
Allergy
Person Months
12
Project Title
 Synthesis and evaluation of tunable cyclolactams for antimalarial therapy
From
Jan. 2004
To
Apr. 2005
Summary
The project involved the synthesis of peptide-based tunable cyclolactams and their in vitro evaluation against Plasmodium falciparum. In collaboration with Dr Angus Bell, Department of Microbiology, TCD.
Funding Agency
Enterprise Ireland
Programme
Proof of Concept
Project Type
Malaria Research
Person Months
16

Page 1 of 2
Details Date
Ireland representative on Committee 13b of the European Pharmacopoeia, Strasbourg. 2016
Details Date From Date To
The Society for Medicinal Plant Research 2022 date
Phytochemical Society of Europe 1998 date
European Histamine Research Society 2002 date
Mark J. Lyons, Brendan Twamley, John J. Walsh, CCDC 2554447: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination, Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre, 2026, Dataset, PUBLISHED  DOI
Nagar, S., Pigott, M., Kukula-Koch, W., Sheridan, H., & Walsh, J., NMR Data of Lichenic Acids From Irish Cladonia Portentosa, nmrXiv, 2026, Dataset, PUBLISHED  URL
Whyms SE, Sheridan H, Walsh JJ, Design Considerations for Essential Oil Formulations: Emulsification, Encapsulation and Stabilisation Strategies, Pharmaceutics, 18, (8), 2026, p953 - 995, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Ronan R. McCarthy, Kavita Gadar, John Walsh, Wildflower once used to treat wounds and sore throats shows promise in fighting dangerous superbugs, The Conversation, 2026, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Kavita Gadar; Maria Pigott; Cillian Jacques Gately; Ismael Obaidi; Shipra Nagar; John J. Walsh; Helen Sheridan; Ronan R McCarthy, Bogland plant Tormentil inhibits multidrug-resistant pathogen growth and potentiates antibiotics by disrupting iron homeostasis, Microbiology (Reading), 172, (3), 2026, p1 - 14, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Khadijah Jabal, Phytochemical studies on Lusitanian heath species and their effects on angiogenesis and melanogenesis (PhD Thesis), Trinity College Dublin, 2026, Thesis, PUBLISHED  URL
Mark Lyons, Optimisation of analytical, biological, and synthetic methods relevant to the pre-clinical development of orellanine as a targeted therapeutic for renal cell carcinoma (PhD Thesis), Trinity College Dublin, 2026, Thesis, PUBLISHED  URL
Jabal, Khadijah A. and Pigott, Maria and Sheridan, Helen and Walsh, John J., Mediterranean Basin Erica Species: Traditional Uses, Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Properties, Molecules, 30, (12), 2025, Notes: [Cited by: 0], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Erol, Ã-zlem and Nagar, Shipra and Selo, Mohammed Ali and Obaidi, Ismael and Walsh, John J. and Sheridan, Helen and Choi, Young Hae, Identification of anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial compounds from leaves and rhizome of Iris pseudacorus collected in Ireland bogland using chemical profiling techniques, Fitoterapia, 185, 2025, Notes: [Cited by: 0], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Minchao Guo, Muhammad Waleed Baig, Shane Carney, Ferdia O'Malley, Joshua Odidison, Amirul Helmi Idris, Stacey Li Hi Shing, John O'Brien, James W. Barlow, John Walsh, Studies on the Isolation and Structure Elucidation of Berberine, (")-ß-Hydrastine, and Jatrorrhizine from Goldenseal Root (Hydrastis canadensis L.) and Mahonia x media `Winter Sun" Stem Bark, Journal of Chemical Education, 102, (4), 2025, p1643 - 1650, p1643-1650 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
  

Page 1 of 9
Whyms SE, Nagar S, Luker HA, Lopez AD, Pigott M, Hodkinson TR, Sheridan H, Hansen IA & Walsh JJ, Repellent activity against Aedes aegypti and metabolomic profiling of Myrica gale L. essential oils from Irish boglands, Scientific Reports, 2026, phttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Samuel Collyer, Design and Synthesis of Potent and Selective Anticancer Compounds Targeting Tubulin Polymerisation and Aminopeptidase N (Ph.D. Thesis), 2025, Thesis, PUBLISHED
O'Dwyer M, Ryan T, Ryder S, D'Arcy DM, Walsh J. , Innovative Development and Evaluation of Professional Attributes through Integration of Science and Practice at First Year Pharmacy Level , Irish Network of Healthcare Educators Conference, TBSI, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland , February 2020, 2020, Oral Presentation, PRESENTED
CG Clerkin, M Matzinger, MA Selo, BN Talbot, JJ Walsh, C Ehrhardt, Nucleophilic substitution reactions of ergothioneine might be a novel xenobiotic deactivation mechanism, 32nd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for the Study of Xenobiotics, Tokyo, Japan, 29/11-01/12/2017, 2017, Oral Presentation, PRESENTED
C Ehrhardt, S Nickel, MA Selo, CG Clerkin, JJ Salomon, B Talbot, JJ Walsh, OCTN1-mediated ergothioneine uptake protects lung epithelial cells from tobacco smoke-induced damage, FASEB J, Experimental Biology Meeting 2015, Boston, MA, 28/03-01/04/2015, 29, 2015, pp970.7 , Meeting Abstract, PUBLISHED
Adrian Coogan, Design and synthesis of tubulin-binding agents, and their incorporation into novel dual-acting hybrid molecules targeting the tumour vasculature (Ph.D. Thesis), 2013, Thesis, PUBLISHED
Elaine Breen, The design, synthesis and preliminary evaluation of prodrugs and hybrid drugs with tubulin polymerisation inhibitory activity and anti-proliferative activity (Ph.D. Thesis), 2013, Thesis, PUBLISHED
Ekatherine M. Prokopiou, Preclinical evaluation of novel tumour vasculature disrupting agents (Ph.D. Thesis), 2013, Thesis, PUBLISHED
Deirdre Finn, Studies on the design, synthesis and stability of novel anti-allergy agents, 2012, Thesis, PUBLISHED
Tao Zhang, The synthesis of novel mast cell stabilisers from benzocycloalkanones (Ph.D. Thesis)), Trinity College Dublin, 2010, Thesis, PUBLISHED

  


Page 1 of 2
Award Date
Henkel Award (Organic Chemistry) 1988
Deans Award for Innovation in Teaching 2015
Commendation for being shortlisted for a Provost's Teaching Award 2013
My research is multidisciplinary, spanning pharmacognosy, chemical/pharmacological sciences, and educational research. This breadth is reflected in my publications as Senior Author, including papers in Chemical Communications, European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Current Pharmaceutical Design, Current Medicinal Chemistry, Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, Scientific Reports, Journal of Natural Products, European Journal of Pharmacology, British Journal of Pharmacology, Angiogenesis, Pharmaceutical Research, and Pharmaceutics, as well as in Journal of Chemical Education and Pharmacy . To date, funding for my research has been secured from Enterprise Ireland, Cancer Research Ireland, Research Ireland, the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology, the Higher Education Authority, and the Department of Justice, Ireland. Support has also included funded PhD studentships from students" home institutions. As primary/sole supervisor, I have mentored and trained 19 PhD students to completion and a further student as secondary supervisor. In addition, I supervised five Pakistani-registered PhD students who completed substantial parts of their research during a six-month secondment to my laboratory. For the next four years, my research is supported through funding secured from Research Ireland. Looking ahead, herbal medicinal plant production must increasingly shift from wild cultivation to plant biotechnological production, as climate change is already destabilizing both supply and quality. This is evident from my work with the European Pharmacopoeia, where specifications for certain plant-based medicines needed to be revised to ensure regulatory compliance. In this regard, I am collaborating with the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST, https://www.list.lu/) and other EU partners on large-scale (300 L) biotechnological production of Irish medicinal and agriculturally important plants. We are in the final stages, with a 17 September deadline, of submitting a Horizon grant application titled "Forging solutions for agricultural applications through scalable plant cell factories." The requested total budget is €4 million, including €574,000 allocated to my work packages.