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Professor Aisling Dunne

Professor in Neuroinflammation (Biochemistry)
Professor in Neuroinflammation (Physiology)
 (3531896) 2437
      
Profile Photo

Professor Aisling Dunne

Professor in Neuroinflammation (Biochemistry)

 aidunne@tcd.ie

 3531896 2437

Professor in Neuroinflammation (Physiology)

 (3531896) 2437


Project Title
 Pre-clinical assessment of novel Heme Oxygenase inducers
From
2024
To
2028
Summary
Funding Agency
Research Ireland
Programme
Frontiers of the Future Project Award
Project Type
Basic Research
Person Months
48
Project Title
 Evaluation of novel modulators of oxidative stress as add-on pharmacotherapies for rheumatic disease.
From
2024
To
2028
Summary
Funding Agency
Health Research Board
Programme
Investigator Led Project

Details Date
External PhD Examiner - University of Limerick 2025
External PhD Examiner - NUI Maynooth 2015
External PhD Examiner - NUI Maynooth 2014
External PhD Examiner - University of Cambridge 2013
Details Date From Date To
Executive Committee Member and Treasurer: Irish Society of Immunology 2019 2023
Standing Committee Member: Irish Society of Immunology 2018 present
British Society of Immunology Member 2011
Polyphenols and the control of immunometabolism as a pharmacological targe in, Pharmacological targets in metabolic disease, Academic Press, 2026, pp365-382 , [Conon, G, Campbell N, O'Rourke, SA, Dunne, A.], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED
1. O"Rourke, S.A., Suku, M., Petrousek, S., Hoey, D.A., Dunne, A* and Monaghan, M.G*, Electromodulation of human monocyte-derived macrophages drives a regenerative phenotype and impedes inflammation., Cell Reports Physical sciences, 6, (9), 2025, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Petrousek SR, Kronemberger GS, O'Brien G, Hughes C, O'Rourke SA, Lally C, Dunne A, Kelly DJ, Hoey DA., Mechano-immunomodulation of macrophages influences the regenerative environment of fracture healing through the regulation of angiogenesis and osteogenesis., Acta Biomaterialia, 200, 2025, p187-201 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Vozza, E.G. and Kelly, A.M. and Daly, C.M. and O†Rourke, S.A. and Carlile, S.R. and Morris, B. and Dunne, A. and McLoughlin, R.M., Type 1 interferons promote Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization by inducing phagocyte apoptosis, Cell Death Discovery, 10, (1), 2024, Notes: [cited By 0], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Vozza, E.G. and Daly, C.M. and O'Rourke, S.A. and Fitzgerald, H.K. and Dunne, A. and McLoughlin, R.M., Staphylococcus aureus suppresses the pentose phosphate pathway in human neutrophils via the adenosine receptor A2aR to enhance intracellular survival, mBio, 15, (1), 2024, Notes: [cited By 0], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Petrousek SR, Kronemberger GS, O'Rourke SA, Shanley LC, Dunne A, Kelly DJ, Hoey DA., Human macrophage polarisation and regulation of angiogenesis and osteogenesis is dependent on culture extracellular matrix and dimensionality., Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 735, 2024, p150835-, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
O'Rourke SA, Shanley LC, Dunne A., The Nrf2-HO-1 system and inflammaging, Frontiers in Immunology, (15), 2024, p1457010.-, Review Article, PUBLISHED
Shanley, L.C. and Mahon, O.R. and O'Rourke, S.A. and Neto, N.G.B. and Monaghan, M.G. and Kelly, D.J. and Dunne, A., Macrophage metabolic profile is altered by hydroxyapatite particle size, Acta Biomaterialia, 2023, Notes: [cited By 0], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Shanley, L.C. and Fitzgerald, H.K. and O†Rourke, S.A. and Dunne, A., Endogenous drivers of altered immune cell metabolism, Experimental Biology and Medicine, 247, (24), 2022, p2192-2200 , Notes: [cited By 2], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
O'Rourke SA, Neto NGB, Devilly E, Shanley LC, Fitzgerald HK, Monaghan MG*, Dunne A.*, Cholesterol crystals drive metabolic reprogramming and M1 macrophage polarisation in primary human macrophages, Atherosclerosis, 352, 2022, p35 - 45, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
  

Page 1 of 8
Connolly SA, Walsh A, Ledwith AE, McCarthy KN, O'Rourke SA, Murphy DM, Blasinska A, Dunne A, Fletcher JM, Mills KHG, McManus R, Sheedy FJ, Basdeo SA., BNT162b2 mRNA vaccination attenuates innate immune function in humans., Clinical Immunology, 276, 2025, p110488-, Journal Article, PUBLISHED

  


Award Date
Trinity Innovation Awards 2018: 'Inventors' Category Nominee. This category recognized academics whose innovative research has led to commercial success. Dec 2018
Faculty of Health Sciences Deans Teaching Innovation 2017 Award to develop `Immunoview" " an online teaching innovation for Immunology. (Jean Fletcher, Aisling Dunne & Stephen Smith) 2018
In recent decades, much has been revealed about the nature of the host innate immune response to microorganisms, with the identification of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), which are conserved microbial structures sensed by these receptors. It is now apparent that these same PRRs can also be activated by non-microbial signals, many of which are considered as damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). The sterile inflammation that ensues either resolves the initial insult or leads to disease. A key focus of my research has been to identify the mechanisms via which PAMPs and DAMPs activate specific host immune responses and to identify new strategies to treat inflammatory disease. Our work to date on novel PAMPs, for example from Bordetella pertussis (the causative agent of whooping cough), has implications for vaccine design. We have identified a vaccine candidate that acts both as an adjuvant (to boost innate immune responses) and as an antigen (to target the adaptive immune system). Antigens containing both of these properties have never before been described for B.pertussis. This work has been patent protected and we are taking steps to commercialise the products of this research. My work in the field of sterile inflammation has focused on DAMPs that are implicated in osteoarthritis (OA), atherosclerosis and neurodegenerative disease. In particular, my group has carried out a significant amount of work delineating the molecular and inflammatory pathways driven by OA disease-associated particulates. We have identified potential new therapeutic targets to treat OA-associated inflammation and have now extended our work to assess immune responses to orthopedic implant materials which can cause a form of sterile inflammation known as periprosthetic osteolysis. Furthermore, we are collaborating extensively with the Trinity Centre for Engineering and AMBER to assess immune responses to novel biomaterials which are intended to replace traditional biomaterials.