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Profile Photo

Professor Michael Monaghan

Professor In (Mechanical, Manuf & Biomedical Eng)
PARSONS BUILDING
      
Profile Photo

Professor Michael Monaghan

Professor In (Mechanical, Manuf & Biomedical Eng)
PARSONS BUILDING

 monaghmi@tcd.ie

 3531896 8582


Dr. Michael Monaghan- 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, induced pluripotent stem cells and their differentiation into tissue specific (notably cardiac) models. He also leads significant research projects in advanced imaging modalities; fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) and Brillouin microscopy. 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 at 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 findings 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. He is council member of Matrix Biology Ireland and acts as treasurer of this society. Since 2023 he serves as a board member on the International BioBrillouin Society.
He and his group have received notable prestigious awards including the Robert Browne Early Career Investigator Award issued by the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS-EU Chapter, 2023) and Engineers Ireland Medal (Matteo Solazzo, 2022). Currently at TCD he is coordinating a Horizon2020 MSCA-Doctoral Network (flimagin3D-DN) worth €3.1 million and in 2023 was awarded a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant worth €2.58 million. Lab Website: www.monaghanlab.com
  2ND HARMONIC GENERATION   3D Imaging Analysis   Angiogenesis, oncology, cardiovascular biology, inflammation   Bioengineering   Bioengineering and radiologic imaging   Biomaterials   Biomedical Engineering   Biomedical Research, Multidisciplinary   CELL BIOMECHANICS   COLLAGEN   DRUG TARGETING   DRUG-DELIVERY SYSTEM   EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX (ECM)   FIBROSIS   FLIM   GENE SILENCING   GENE-THERAPY   IMMUNE-RESPONSE   In vitro alternatives to animal studies   innate immunity and macrophage cell biology   MECHANOBIOLOGY   MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS   MICROSCOPY   MYOCARDIAL-INFARCTION   organoids   Photovoltaics   Regenerative Medicine   SCAFFOLD   STEM-CELLS   Tissue Engineering   ZEBRAFISH
Project Title
 RINN Medical Devices (Research Ireland Centre)
From
September 2027
To
August 2031
Summary
I am a PI in the Research Ireland RINN Centre for Medical devices, funded directly through three projects. 1.Biomaterials delivering potent anti-inflammatory metabolites to engaging innate and adaptive immunity for the improvement of wound healing and fibrosis 2.Biomimetic aortic test rigs 3.Bioprinted heart tissues with native fibre architecture and a piezoelectric interface for electromechanical integration with host myocardium
Funding Agency
Research Ireland
Programme
Research Ireland Centres
Project Type
Research in Medical Devices
Person Months
48
Project Title
 Living with a hereditary risk of sudden cardiac death: From patients to cells and psychology " Collaborate2Thrive
From
September 2026
To
August 2030
Summary
The project forms an innovative framework that conceptualises SCD risk as both a physiological and a bio"psychosocial phenomenon. It is based on clinical and genetic investigations of affected families by highly experienced Consultants in hereditary cardiac conditions. Furthermore, a patient advocacy group (Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) Ireland), and a Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) committee will be established. Four PhD candidates will be recruited during this project, who will be collaborating across all the work packages.
Funding Agency
Trinity College Dublin
Programme
Trinity Research Doctoral Awards- Group Project
Person Months
48
Project Title
 BRILLFLIM
From
June 2024
To
May 2028
Summary
Optimised design of biomaterial implants to modulate the immunity-directed foreign body response bymachine learning of single-cell macrophage stiffness and metabolic adaptations using noninvasive imaging modalities
Funding Agency
Research Ireland
Programme
Frontiers for the Future
Project Type
Project
Person Months
48
Project Title
 PiezoMac
From
June 2024
To
May 2029
Summary
Piezoceutical biomaterial scaffolds for immunomodulatory-based myocardial repair
Funding Agency
European Commission
Programme
European Research Council
Project Type
Consolidator Grant
Person Months
60
Project Title
 Zebrisome: : Regeneration Permissive Matrisome From Zebra Fish Heart For Cardiac Healing After Heart Attack
From
April 2024
To
April 2027
Summary
Funding Agency
MSCA-COFUND (EU Commission and SFI Centre CURAM for Medical Devices)
Programme
MSCA-Postdoctoral Cofund
Project Type
Postdoctoral Research (Remya Komeri)
Person Months
36

Page 1 of 5
Details Date
Elected Treasurer- Matrix Biology Ireland 2017 Meeting 30 Nov 2016- Present
Elected Council Member -Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (EU Chapter) January 2024- Present
International BioBrillouin Society: Board Member 1st June 2023
Reviewer for leading journals in the fields of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering (selection only): Biomaterials, RSC Biomaterials Science, Advanced Optical Materials, ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Macromolecular Materials and Engineering, Small, Macromolecular Bioscience, Advanced Functional Materials, Advanced NanoBiomed Research, Advanced Materials Technologies, Journal of Controlled Release, Molecular Therapy, Advanced Healthcare Materials, Tissue Engineering Part A, Tissue Engineering Part B, Acta Biomaterialia, ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, Lab on a Chip, Nature Scientific Reports, Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, npj 2D Materials and Applications 2015-Present
External Examiner PhD Thesis Progress- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland 2017
Grant Reviewer for National and International Granting Bodies Including: European Research Council ADVANCED GRANTS European Research Council Starting Grants Wellcome Trust (2020-Present) MRC-AMED Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research Initiative (2020- Present) Israel Science Foundation (2020-Present) Marie Sklowdowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (2019-Present) Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) (2029-Present) Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) through the John R. Evans Leaders Fund (2021) 2018
Editorial Board Member: Elsevier-Biomaterials and Living Medicine for Pharmaceutics January 2026-Present
Editorial Board Member: Tissue Engineering: Part C Dec 2023- Present
Editorial Board Member: IEEE Journal of Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine November 2022 - Present
Language Skill Reading Skill Writing Skill Speaking
English Fluent Fluent Fluent
German Medium Medium Medium
Details Date From Date To
Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland (RAMI)- Bioengineering Section 2017 Present
MBI- Matrix Biology Ireland (elected council member and Society Treasurer) 2016 Present
ESB- European Society for Biomaterials 2010 Present
TERMIS - Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Society 2009 Present
DGMB-German Matrix Biology Society 2013 2016
International BioBrillouin Society 2023 Present
Funded Investigator: SFI Funded Centre AMBER (Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research) 2019 Present
Funded Investigator: SFI Funded Centre CÚRAM (Designing The Next Generation of 'Smart' Medical Devices) 2019 Present
Rajiv Borah, Joseph Christakiran Moses, Jnanendra Upadhyay, Jitu Moni Das, Biman B. Mandal, Non-mulberry silk fibroin functionalization enhances charge-transfer efficiency in aligned polypyrrole-silk composites for electrically stimulated neurite outgrowth, Advanced Materials Interfaces, 13, (6), 2026, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Rajiv Borah, Julia O'Sullivan, Dahnan Spurling, Aoife McLoughlin, Diana Eveline Sanchez Amador, Meenakshi Suku, Valeria Nicolosi, Antonella Motta, Maeve A. Caldwell, Michael G. Monaghan, Harnessing wireless electrical stimulation and silk-based conductive hydrogels to boost iPSC-derived astrocytes neuroprotection and guide macrophage polarisation in vitro for spinal cord repair, Biomaterials, 330, 2026, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Michele Cervellera, Hang Zhou, Guangchen Wang, Michael G. Monaghan, Ruslan I. Dmitriev, BPS2026-Deciphering calcium dynamics in intestinal organoids using FLIM-FRET microscopy and functional clustering, Biophysical Journal, 125, (4), 2026, p12a - 12a, p12a-12a , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Grace Ruddin, Tess McCann, Joanna J. Kaylor, Michelle M. Fox, John D. Fehilly, Rebecca Ward, Adam Faulkner, Ailís L. Moran, Kieran Wynne, Roxana A. Radu, Michael G. Monaghan, Stephen D. Thorpe, Gabriel H. Travis, Breandán N. Kennedy, Dual Knockout Models of the Spatially and Functionally Conserved rgra and rgrb Zebrafish Genes Reveal the Requirement of RGR for the Integrity of Cone-Mediated Photopic Vision, the Photopic Visual Cycle and Bruch's Membrane Morphology, The FASEB Journal, 40, (10), 2026, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Aliaa Sherif Karam, Gabriela S. Kronembergera, Kaoutar Chattahya, Diana Eveline Sanchez-Amador, Michael G. Monaghana, Daniel J. Kellya, Embedded cell-only bioprinting to engineer structurally aligned meniscal fibrocartilage, Materials Today Bio, 39, 2026, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Grace Ruddin; Tess McCann; Joanna J Kaylor; Michelle M Fox; John Fehilly; Rebecca Ward; Ailis L Moran; Adam Faulkner; Jodie Kearney; Kieran Wynne; Roxana A Radu; Michael G Monaghan; Stephen D Thorpe; Gabriel H Travis; Breandán Kennedy, Novel CRISPR-generated double knockout zebrafish models of rgra and rgrb demonstrate the in vivo role of RGR in the photopic visual cycle and cone-mediated visual behaviou, Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 67, (7), 2026, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  URL
O'Leary, C. J., Corbezzolo, S., Newton, A., Benny, A., Scanlan, E. M., Kolodziejczak, K., Monaghan, M. G., & McGouran, J. F, Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of a ß-galactosidase-activated glycopeptide analogue of somatostatin, RSC Advance, 2026, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Aoife Mc Loughlin, Meenakshi Suku, Matteo Nosè, Michael Monaghan, Electrical stimulation promotes polarisation of primary human macrophages to pro-regenerative phenotypes, Termis26, Majorca, Spain, 21-24 April, 2026, Oral Presentation, PUBLISHED
Annalisa Rovinelli, Sara Corbezzolo, Guangchen Wang, Meenakshi Suku, Teresa Baldissera, Julia Marzi, Katja Shenke-Layland, Michael Monaghan, Photonic Profiling of Human iPSCs-derived Cardiac Models by 2P-FLIM, Raman Microspectroscopy and Brillouin Microscopy, ELMI26, Coimbra, Portugal, 16-19 June, 2026, Oral Presentation, PUBLISHED
Annalisa Rovinelli, Sara Corbezzolo, Guangchen Wang, Meenakshi Suku, Teresa Baldissera, Julia Marzi, Katja Shenke-Layland, Michael Monaghan, Photonic Profiling of Human iPSCs-derived Cardiac Models by 2P-FLIM, Raman Microspectroscopy and Brillouin Microscopy, ELMI26, Coimbra, Portugal, 2026, Poster, PUBLISHED
  

Page 1 of 20
Nosè M., Sanchez-Amador D.E., Wang G., Mcloughlin A., Zhang M. Monaghan M, Brillouin microscopy to unravel the relationship of macrophage polarization with metabolic demands and mechanotransduction in response to biomaterial stiffness, Trinity Centre for Biomedical Engineer Annual Research Day 2025, Dublin, Ireland, 19 December, 2026, Poster, PUBLISHED
Monaghan, M., Synergistic generation of cardiac resident-like macrophages and cardiomyocyte maturation in tissue engineered platforms, SFB Chicago, Chicago, United States, 2025, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
Monaghan, M., Bioelectricity in Tissue Engineering: The role of electrical stimulation and electroconductive biomaterials in macrophage function and spinal cord therapeutics, Porto FBPS, Porto, Portugal, 15th September, 2025, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
Monaghan, M., Emerging frontiers in cardiac tissue engineering: electroactive materials and macrophages, 2025 Materials for Medical Devices workshop, Nottingham, UK, 21 January, 2025, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
Rajiv Borah, Julia O'Sullivan, Dahnan Spurling, Aoife McLoughlin, Diana Eveline Sanchez Amador, Meenakshi Suku, Valeria Nicolosi, Antonella Motta, Maeve A. Caldwell, Michael G. Monaghan, Harnessing wireless electrical stimulation and silk-based conductive hydrogels to boost iPSC-derived astrocytes neuroprotection and guide macrophage polarisation for advanced neural repair, ECME 2025, Cambridge, UK, 21 August, 2025, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
Monaghan, M., Synergistic generation of cardiac resident-like macrophages and cardiomyocyte maturation in tissue engineered platforms, SFB 2025, Seattle, US, 12 April, 2025, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
Corbezzolo, S., Suku, M., Monaghan, M. G., Non-invasive FLIM photonics metabolic profiling of multicellular engineered heart tissues (EHTs), Third flIMAGIN3D Network-Wide Event, Milan, Italy, 16-18 June, 2025, Oral Presentation, PUBLISHED
Annalisa Rovinelli, Sara Corbezzolo, Guangchen Wang, Meenakshi Suku, Mimi Zhang, Michael G, Development of isotropic light sheet FLIM for 3D-resolution imaging in cardiac models, Third flIMAGIN3D Network-Wide Event, Milan, Italy, 16-18 June, 2025, Oral Presentation, PUBLISHED
Wang, G., M., Monaghan, M. G, Automated Machine Learning Pipeline for Classifying Cell Behaviour and Phenotype: An Active Learning Approach, Third flIMAGIN3D Network-Wide Event, Milan, Italy, 16-18 June, 2025, Oral Presentation, PUBLISHED
Michael Monaghan, Conductive Biomaterials for Tissue Engineering- Application of Conductive Polymers and 2D Nanomaterials, World Biomaterials Congress, Daegu, South Korea, 26-31st May, 2024, World Biomaterials Congress Scientific Advisory Committee, Invited Talk, ACCEPTED

  


Page 1 of 4
Award Date
European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant [PiezoMac] 2023
Elected to Fellowship- Trinity College Dublin 2024
Naughton Foundation Faculty Fellowship 2023
TCD Excellence in Research Supervision Award (nominee) 2023
The Robert Brown Early Career Investigator Award- Issued by the EU Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) 2023
Senior author on paper awarded 1st prize in the in the Regenerative Medicine track section at the Bioengineering in Ireland Conference, Enfield, Ireland. Awarded to Meenakshi Suku, 2023. 2023
Nominated 'One to Watch' Trinity Innovation Awards 2021
Senior author on paper awarded the 'Engineers Ireland Biomedical Research Medal' from the Society of Engineers Ireland. Awarded to Dr Matteo Solazzo 2022
European Doctoral Award, Issued by the European Society of Biomaterials 2015
Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst, Short Term Travel Award to conduct research in University Hospital Tübingen 2012
EMBO Short Term Travel Award to conduct research in Fraunhofer IGB Stuttgart 2011
Roche Best Poster Award, NCBES Research day 2008
NUI Galway College of Engineering and Informatics Research Fellow 2007
University Scholar (Based on end of term results) NUI Galway 2005
The focus of the Monaghan lab (www.monaghanlab.com) is the development of novel biomaterial design-based strategies to regenerate or repair damaged tissues and restore biomechanical function using informed and optimised design approaches. Core Research Areas: . Cardiac tissue engineering and cell derivitisation from multi/pluripotent stem cell sources . Macrophage assessment and inclusion in advanced biomaterial culture platforms. . In silico predictive modelling and optimisation of biomaterial geometries . Electroconductive biomaterial synthesis, fabrication and applications . Advanced non-linear microscopy using multiphoton microscopy for non-invasive imaging of extracellular matrix . Brillouin microscopy . Advanced fluoresecent lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) in the assessment of cellular metabolism during disease, differentiation and regeneration. . Melt-electrowriting development, optimisation and application Our lab is leading new approaches for biomaterial fabrication and design using advanced biomaterials, tissue engineering, biofabrication and in silico predictive modelling. This workis creating a paradigm shift in which the scientific community, industry partners and clinical investigators approach biomaterial design. Our lab is recognised internationally as world class where we am regularly invited to deliver keynote talks at major international meetings, and our papers have received awards for being most downloaded in our field. Members of the team have also been awarded prizes at national/international level in recognition of the scientific quality of our labs work. I have coordinated and elevated the Med3DP initiative over the past five years (www.med3dp.com) which develops medical devices for healthcare using 3D printing technology, demonstrating research led teaching and student led learning. Our lab also has collaborative funding with small-medium enterprises such as Spraybase® (Bioprinting; next generation implantable devices) and I am a funded investigator in the Research Ireland funded centres AMBER and CURAM. My work spans across and engages with several disciplines which includes Physics and Chemistry, Computer Science, Biochemistry and Immunology, Pharmacy, Surgery, Oncology and Endocrinology. This is strongly reflective in our illustrious repertoire of publications. Link to Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=X1mgIbEAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra