Skip to main content

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Menu Search


Trinity College Dublin By using this website you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with the Trinity cookie policy. For more information on cookies see our cookie policy.

      
Profile Photo

Dr. Kiva Brennan

Research Assistant Professor (Trinity Inst. of Neurosciences (TCIN))
Research Assistant Professor (Clinical Medicine)
      
Profile Photo

Dr. Kiva Brennan

Research Assistant Professor (Trinity Inst. of Neurosciences (TCIN))

 Kiva.Brennan@tcd.ie

 

Research Assistant Professor (Clinical Medicine)


I lead the Paediatric Immunobiology Research Group in the School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin. My research interests are in paediatric immunology, obesity, innate immune regulation and evasion, ocular biology, and the role of the immune system in the pathogenesis of disease. I have a passion for pediatric research and vaccine adjuvant design. Over the past decade, I have engaged in extensive research focused on identifying and characterizing the activity of a family of receptors, including RIG-I, in primary human neonatal cells. This work has been critical in understanding how these receptors function within the immune responses of newborns, particularly in relation to their unique immune profiles compared to adults. By investigating the mechanisms of RIG-I and related receptors, we can gain insights into their roles in detecting viral infections and modulating the immune response, which may lead to improved strategies for paediatric vaccinations.
Mealy, Grace and Hempelmann Perez, Sofia and Brennan, Kiva and Callanan, Sophie and Saldova, Radka and Groeger, David and Van Sinderen, Douwe and Cotter, Paul D. and Doyle, Sarah L. and McAuliffe, Fionnuala M., Stress and depression risk in pregnancy associates with altered immune function, World Journal of Biological Psychiatry, 2025, Notes: [Cited by: 0], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Sophie Duignan, Kiva Brennan, Emma Connolly, Alan J. Watson, Declan Noone, Emma C. Dunne, Patrick J. Gavin, Aisling M. Flinn, Cilian Ó Maoldomhnaigh, Sarah Doyle, Colin J. McMahon, Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms and Their Association with Coronary Artery Aneurysms and IVIG Resistance in Kawasaki Disease in Ireland, Pediatric Cardiology, 2025, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Mealy, G. and Brennan, K. and Killeen, S.L. and Kilbane, M. and Yelverton, C. and Saldova, R. and Groeger, D. and VanSinderen, D. and Cotter, P.D. and Doyle, S.L. and McAuliffe, F.M., Impact of previous pregnancy and BMI on cellular and serum immune activity from early to late pregnancy, Scientific Reports, 14, (1), 2024, Notes: [cited By 0], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Connolly, E. and El-Farouki, G. and Brennan, K. and Cahill, M. and Doyle, S.L., Poor Response to Bevacizumab Correlates With Higher IL-6 and IL-8 Aqueous Cytokines in AMD, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science, 65, (11), 2024, p37 , Notes: [cited By 0], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Killeen, S.L. and Mealy, G. and Brennan, K. and Cotter, P.D. and Yelverton, C. and Saldova, R. and Groeger, D. and VanSinderen, D. and Doyle, S. and McAuliffe, F.M., Impact of Bifidobacterium longum1714® on maternal cytokine response in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, Cytokine, 174, (156458), 2024, Notes: [cited By 0], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
De Barra, C. and Khalil, M. and Mat, A. and O'Donnell, C. and Shaamile, F. and Brennan, K. and O'Shea, D. and Hogan, A.E., Glucagon-like peptide-1 therapy in people with obesity restores natural killer cell metabolism and effector function, Obesity, 31, (7), 2023, p1787-1797 , Notes: [cited By 14], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Jennifer Cable and Rino Rappuoli and Elizabeth J. Klemm and Gagandeep Kang and Ankur Mutreja and Gavin J. Wright and Mariagrazia Pizza and Sowmya Ajay Castro and Joseph P. Hoffmann and Galit Alter and Andrea Carfi and Andrew J. Pollard and Florian Krammer and Ravindra K. Gupta and Caroline E. Wagner and Viviane Machado and Kayvon Modjarrad and Lawrence Corey and Peter B. Gilbert and Gordon Dougan and Nicole Lurie and Pamela J. Bjorkman and Christopher Chiu and Elisa Nemes and Stephen B. Gordon and Andrew C. Steer and Thomas Rudel and Catherine A. Blish and John Tyler Sandberg and Kiva Brennan and Keith P. Klugman and Lynda M. Stuart and Shabir A. Madhi and Christopher L. Karp, Innovative vaccine approaches"a Keystone Symposia report, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1511, (1), 2022, p59--86 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Brennan, K, Craven, S., Cheung, M, Kane, D., Noone, E., O'Callaghan, J., Molloy, E.J., Walsh, P.T., McAuliffe, F.,Doyle, S.L. , Cytosolic dsRNA improves neonatal innate immune responses to adjuvants in use in paediatric vaccines., Journal of Leukocyte Biology, 2022, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Slattery K., Breheny M., Woods E., Keating S., Brennan K., Rooney C., Augustine S., Ryan A., Owens C., Gardiner C.M., Heightened metabolic responses in NK cells from patients with neuroblastoma suggests increased potential for immunotherapy, Frontiers in Oncology, 12, 2022, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Delaney, C. and Farrell, M. and Doherty, C.P. and Brennan, K. and O†Keeffe, E. and Greene, C. and Byrne, K. and Kelly, E. and Birmingham, N. and Hickey, P. and Cronin, S. and Savvides, S.N. and Doyle, S.L. and Campbell, M., Attenuated CSF-1R signalling drives cerebrovascular pathology, EMBO Molecular Medicine, 13, (2), 2021, Notes: [cited By 0], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
  

Page 1 of 3
1. K Mulfaul, E Ozaki, K Brennan, M Campbell, S Doyle, Investigating a role for Toll like receptor signaling in the pathogenesis of Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD). , Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, , ARVO, Seattle, 57 (12), (5010-5010), 2016, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED

  


Award Date
Research Boost Programme - Stream 1 HEREG 2025
BrightFocus Foundation RD Travel Awardee 2025
SFI IRC Pathways Awardee 2023 2023-2027
TCD Dean's Research Initiatives Award 2022 2021-2022
Trinity Med Research Award 2021 2021-2022