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Dr. Cliona Ni Cheallaigh

Associate Professor Consultant (Clinical Medicine)
      
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Dr. Cliona Ni Cheallaigh

Associate Professor Consultant (Clinical Medicine)

 


  Addiction and substance abuse   Age related diseases   Ageing, memory and other cognitive processes   Gerontology   Host, Pathogen interactions   Identification and quantification of health care needs   Innate immunology   Intra and intercellular signalling   Patterns of health   Sociological influences on health
Project Title
 COVID-19 Immunology Research Partnership
From
To
Summary
Funding Agency
SFI
Project Title
 Premature Ageing in Long-Term Homeless Adults (PATH)
From
To
Summary
Funding Agency
HRB
Programme
Applied Partnership Award
Project Title
 Identifying Protective Immunity in Frontline Healthcare Staff During the COVID-19 Pandemic
From
To
Summary
A key issue during the ongoing SARS-CoV2 pandemic is to determine the proportion of the population possessing effective antibodies for virus clearance and long-term immunity. Screening post-infection immunity will identify key/frontline healthcare workers that can work without risk of re-infection. This assay will also be crucial to monitor the true scale of the pandemic as many infections will be mild/ asymptomatic without testing. Furthermore, with ongoing plasmapheresis trials using anti-SARS-CoV2 antibody-containing sera for critical COVID-19 patients, identifying donors with high levels of anti-viral antibody will be a valuable factor to assess. RNA-based qPCR diagnostic tests currently used in Ireland to detect SARS-COV2 viral RNA in a nose/throat swabs can sensitively detect active infection at an early stage of infection but cannot detect immunity to the virus after clearance. This can only be achieved using Immunoglobulin(Ig)-based tests for antibodies against key SARS-COV2 antigens (predominantly virion 'Spike' or S protein). While serological tests are in development for SARS-COV2 antibodies, few are approved for use and will likely be expensive with substantial delays in global distribution. A recent pre-print (Amanat et al., published 18 March 2020) described a novel assay for SARS-COV2 antibodies. The aim of this project is to establish this assay in Ireland, screen SARS-COV2 positive serum samples from Irish patients and determine its accuracy using a larger cohort of SARS-COV2 positive sera. If the method can be replicated, a non-accredited test could be developed to screen the Irish population for post-infection immunity in a rapid and cost-effective manner.
Funding Agency
SFI
Programme
COVID 19 Rapid Response
Project Title
 VIRCOA-TILDA
From
01/12/2020
To
30/11/2021
Summary
In this study, a comprehensive assessment of how past exposure to viruses impacts risk of COVID-19 in older people will be carried out and how it is linked to inflammageing and anti-viral immunity. A well-established longitudinal ageing cohort, TILDA, which has the detailed demographic, clinical and biomarker information - rich phenotyping data will be combined with a state-of-the-art approach, VirScanTM, to determine a person's complete viral exposure history.
Funding Agency
SFI
Programme
COVID-19 Rapid Response
Project Title
 Irish COVID-19 Vasculopathy Study (iCVS)
From
To
Summary
Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pneumonia is associated with significant mortalitypredominantly attributable to a progressive bilateral pneumonia, that ultimately progresses to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) which is refractory to standard therapies. Previous multivariate regression analysis studies performed in Wuhan have shown that elevated plasma levels of fibrin degradation D-dimers constitute a key independent biomarker of poor prognosis in COVID-19. Interestinglyhowever, despite this prognostic increase in D-dimers, COVID-19 patients do not typically develop systemic disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Nonetheless, post-mortem studies in COVID-19 infected patients have highlighted marked pathological changes restricted to within the lung microvasculature. These include disseminated micro-thrombi and haemorraghic necrosis. Cumulatively, these findings suggest that the refractory ARDS phenotype observed in COVID-19 is due in part to a novel pulmonary-specific vasculopathy. Critically however, pathobiological mechanisms underpinning this unique vasculopathy remain completely undefined.Although D-dimer levels are being used globally as prognostic marker in patients with COVID-19, no studies have sought to investigate why coagulation D-dimers areelevated, nor why D-dimer levels and coagulation activation correlate so strongly with clinical outcomes. In this cross-disciplinary IrishCOVID-19VasculopathyStudy (iCVS), we will systematically investigate the biological pathways that ultimately lead to elevated plasma D-dimer levels. These include (i) EC activation (ii) procoagulant cascade activation (iii) down-regulation of normal anticoagulant pathways (iv) fibrinolytic pathways (v) platelet activation respectively. The plan of investigation will define novel vascular biomarkers beyond crude D-dimers that can be used to betterdefine prognosis for COVID-19 patients and thereby prioritise ICU resources. In addition, elucidating the biology underlying the unique pulmonary vasculopathy involved in severe COVID-19 sepsis will identify subsets of patients likely to benefitfrom specific anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant and/or antiplatelet therapies respectively. Consequently, the proposed studies are not only of scientific interest,but directly address an important clinical unmet need.
Funding Agency
HRB
Programme
COVID 19

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Details Date From Date To
Infectious Diseases Society of Ireland
Carpenter, C. and O'Farrell, A. and Ní à inle, F. and Ní Cheallaigh, C. and Kevane, B., Retrospective cross-sectional analysis of concurrent VTE diagnosis in hospitalised socially excluded individuals in Ireland, BMJ Open, 14, (1), 2024, Notes: [cited By 0], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Dwivedi, A. and Mhaonaigh, A.U. and Carroll, M. and Khosravi, B. and Batten, I. and Ballantine, R.S. and Phelan, S.H. and O†Doherty, L. and George, A.M. and Sui, J. and Hawerkamp, H.C. and Fallon, P.G. and Noppe, E. and Mason, S. and Conlon, N. and Cheallaigh, C.N. and Finlay, C.M. and Little, M.A., Emergence of dysfunctional neutrophils with a defect in arginase-1 release in severe COVID-19, JCI Insight, 9, (17), 2024, Notes: [cited By 0], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Kennedy F, Ní Cheallaigh C, Romero-Ortuno R, Doyle SL, Broderick J, Outcomes of the LEAP feasibility trial - a low-threshold, exercise programme with protein supplementation to target frailty and poor physical functioning in people experiencing homelessness and addiction issues, PLOS ONE, 2024, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Greene C., Connolly R., Brennan D., Laffan A., O'Keeffe E., Zaporojan L., O'Callaghan J., Thomson B., Connolly E., Argue R., Meaney J.F.M., Martin-Loeches I., Long A., Cheallaigh C.N., Conlon N., Doherty C.P., Campbell M., Correction to: Blood"brain barrier disruption and sustained systemic inflammation in individuals with long COVID-associated cognitive impairment (Nature Neuroscience, (2024), 27, 3, (421-432), 10.1038/s41593-024-01576-9), Nature Neuroscience, 27, (5), 2024, p1019-, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Greene C, Connolly R, Brennan D, Laffan A, O'Keeffe E, Zaporojan L, O'Callaghan J, Thomson B, Connolly E, Argue R, Meaney JFM, Martin-Loeches I, Long A, Cheallaigh CN, Conlon N, Doherty CP, Campbell M., Blood-brain barrier disruption and sustained systemic inflammation in individuals with long COVID-associated cognitive impairment., Nature neuroscience, 27, (3), 2024, p421-432 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
White, Carla, Ní Cheallaigh, Clíona, Griffin, Brenda, Homeless patients requiring haemodialysis: incidence, caseload characteristics, and implications for care, HRB Open Research, 7, 2024, p56 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
F Kennedy, C Ní Cheallaigh, R Romero-Ortuno, D Murray, J Broderick, Acceptability and utility of a broad test battery to evaluate physical functioning and frailty in community-based settings for people experiencing homelessness and addiction-Findings from the LEAP trials, Physiotherapy, 2024, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Parker Sarah, Siersbaek Rikke, Mac Conghail Luisn, Burke Sara, Public Health Responses to Homelessness During COVID-19 in Ireland: Implications for Health Reform, International Journal for Equity in Health, 22, (1), 2023, p36-52-, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI  URL
Siersbaek Rikke, Ford John, Ní­ Cheallaigh Cliona, Thomas Steve, Burke Sara, How do health system factors (funding and performance) impact on access to healthcare for populations experiencing homelessness: a realist evaluation, International Journal for Equity in Health, 22, (1), 2023, p218-, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI  URL
Ryan, T.A.J. and Hooftman, A. and Rehill, A.M. and Johansen, M.D. and O†Brien, E.C. and Toller-Kawahisa, J.E. and Wilk, M.M. and Day, E.A. and Weiss, H.J. and Sarvari, P. and Vozza, E.G. and Schramm, F. and Peace, C.G. and Zotta, A. and Miemczyk, S. and Nalkurthi, C. and Hansbro, N.G. and McManus, G. and O†Doherty, L. and Gargan, S. and Long, A. and Dunne, J. and Cheallaigh, C.N. and Conlon, N. and Carty, M. and Fallon, P.G. and Mills, K.H.G. and Creagh, E.M. and O†Donnell, J.S. and Hertzog, P.J. and Hansbro, P.M. and McLoughlin, R.M. and Wygrecka, M. and Preston, R.J.S. and ZasÅ'ona, Z. and O†Neill, L.A.J., Publisher Correction: Dimethyl fumarate and 4-octyl itaconate are anticoagulants that suppress Tissue Factor in macrophages via inhibition of Type I Interferon (Nature Communications, (2023), 14, 1, (3513), 10.1038/s41467-023-39174-1), Nature Communications, 14, (1), 2023, Notes: [cited By 0], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
  

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McGarry, S., Swords, M., Vallières, F., Ward, M., Shields, D., Geary, U., Gardner, C., Ní Cheallaigh, C. and Lotty, M., The Transformational Simulation for Trauma-Informed Care (TS4TIC) Implementation Toolkit, June, 2024, Report, PUBLISHED
Eile Breslin, Daniel McCartney, Declan Byrne, Clíona Ní Cheallaigh, The relationship between vitamin D, biomarkers and clinical outcome in hospitalised Covid-19 patients, 2021, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
Pelleau, St{\'e, Serological reconstruction of COVID-19 epidemics through analysis of antibody kinetics to SARS-CoV-2 proteins, medRxiv, 2021, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Ms Niamh Murphy, Surveillance Scientist, HPSCDr Lelia Thornton (Chair), Specialist in Public Health Medicine, HPSCDr Kate O'Donnell, Surveillance Scientist, HPSCDr Derval Igoe, Specialist in Public Health Medicine, HPSCProfessor Joe Barry, HSE/CTL/Trinity College DublinDr Margaret Bourke, GP Co-ordinator HSE Addiction Services Dublin Mid-LeinsterMr Emmett Conroy, Irish Prison ServiceDr Des Crowley, Assistant National Director Substance Misuse Programme, ICGPDr Cillian de Gascun, Director NVRLDr Margaret Fitzgerald, Public Health Lead National Social Inclusion, HSE Mr Brian Galvin, Head of Ireland's Focal Point for European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, HRB Evidence Cent Aidan Horan, Caroline Hurley, Shay Keating, Eamon Keenan, Suzi Lyons, Seán Millar, Cliona Ni Cheallaigh, Sinead Woods, , Drug-related bloodborne viruses in Ireland, 2018, Dublin, September, 2018, Report, PUBLISHED