Dr. Michael Monaghan

Dr. Michael Monaghan is an Ussher Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering at Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin. His group's primary research areas are in biomaterials (in particular electroconductive biomaterials), advanced processing and rational design of biomaterials, cardiac tissue regeneration, and real-time imaging of extracellular matrix components and metabolism in differentiation and disease. He leads a number of interdiciplinary projects between other academic groups and industry ranging from immunometabolism, evaluation of fibrosis, biomaterial synthesis and induced pluripotent stem cell derivitisation of cardiac organoids.

Dr. Monaghan performed his Postdoctoral research in Germany as a recipient of a prestigious Marie Curie Individual Fellowship. His research was coordinated between the Department of Cell and Tissue Engineering in the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology and the Department of Women's Health in University Clinic Tubingen. During this period he has published a number of key papers in the field of human valvulogenesis, embryonic stem cell research, cardiomyocyte differentiation, biomaterials and non-invasive optical characterisation (Raman microspectroscopy, fluorescent lifetime imaging (FLIM), multiphoton and second harmonic generation (SHG) imaging). Dr. Monaghan received both his B.Eng (Biomedical) and Ph.D. (Biomedical Engineering) from the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG). During his Ph.D. Dr. Monaghan received a number of research awards such as travel awards from the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and the 2015 Julia Polak European Doctorate Award in recognition of the achievements made during his Ph.D.

Dr. Monaghan is actively involved in the tissue engineering and regenerative medicine international society (TERMIS); previously as Chair of the EU Student and Young Investigator Section, and recently promoted full EU Council Member. He is council member of Matrix Biology Ireland and acts as treasurer of this society. More details of his groups resources and research can be found on the groups website. Lab Website: www.monaghanlab.com

  2ND HARMONIC GENERATION   3D Imaging Analysis   Bioengineering and radiologic imaging   Biomaterials   COLLAGEN   CONFOCAL IMAGING   Confocal photoluminescence imaging   DRUG TARGETING   DRUG-DELIVERY SYSTEM   EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX (ECM)   GENE SILENCING   GENE-THERAPY   Regenerative Medicine   Tissue Engineering

Dr. Monaghan's research focus is the generation of cardiac tissue in vitro towards the purpose of disease modelling and therapeutic transplantation. Heart attacks are an increasing healthcare burden and despite many medical advances, once heart muscle dies following a heart attack it does not heal sufficiently, and becomes scarred, leading to reduced function and quality of health. It is possible to generate new heart muscle from stem cells and more recently from adult cells of the body (e.g. skin cells) but such new heart muscle is not fully functional or mature as it is not experiencing the natural environment of the heart. His research is focused on the use of tunable biomaterial scaffolds using both biomechanical and biomolecular stimuli to mimic the cardiac environment and achieve robust cardiomyocyte transdifferentiation. Dr. Monaghan research interests also include non-invasive microscopy. Multiphoton microscopy is a powerful method for the nondestructive evaluation of deep-tissue, cells and extracellular matrix (ECM) structures. By interacting with highly non-centrosymmetric molecular assemblies, the non-linear phenomenon of second harmonic generation (SHG) has also proven to be an important diagnostic tool for the visualization of collagen and myosin. Multiphoton microscopy can be additionally equipped with time correlated single photon counting boards which allow extensive analysis of the photons being emitted from any material due to excitation by a specific wavelength and provides a photon distribution analysis. Notably, this facilitates fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM), which produces images based on the differences in the exponential decay rate of the fluorescence from a fluorescent sample, where the lifetime of a fluorophore signal is used to create the image. This method reduces the effect of photon scattering in thick samples and also avoids sample bleaching and photo-induced toxicity. Investigated fluorophores can be naturally present in the cell (e.g. NAD(P)H, which is indicative of cellular metabolism), or fluorophores that we can introduce externally to understand cell pathways and signaling. Link to PubMed: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=monaghan+AND+(pandit+OR+Walles+OR+schenke-layland) Link to Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=X1mgIbEAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra