Brendan Higgins

Dr. Brendan Higgins is Lecturer in Lung Biology in the Discipline of Physiology at the Human Biology Building (HBB), NUI Galway. He holds a BSc in Physiology (NUI Galway) and a PhD (2002) for a thesis entitled An investigation of myo -inositol transport in mouse embryos and embryonic stem cells (NUI Galway). As a post-doctoral researcher in the Discipline of Anaesthesiology, NUI Galway, he studied the efficacy of hypercapnia in the treatment of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). He was also involved in the utilisation of new medical devices for airway management as well as cardiovascular research studying the effects of anaesthetic agents on placenta chorionic plate arteries. Under the mentorship of Prof. John Laffey in Anaesthesiology, he studied novel therapeutic approaches in the treatment of ARDS and sepsis using a number of approaches including hypercapnia and gene therapy mediated by viral vectors, in cooperation with the Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI) at NUI Galway, combining biochemical modifications and basic lung physiology. He was also heavily involved in a programme studying the translational therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cells in Ventilator Induced Lung Injury. In 2012, Dr Higgins was awarded a Post-Doctoral Translational Medicine research fellowship by the Health Research Board to study the potential of biomaterial nanosphere-mediated delivery of superoxide dismutase gene and sepsis-induced lung injury. Since moving to his current role within the Discipline of Physiology at NUI Galway, Dr. Higgins has extended his interest in the field of drug delivery to the lung epithelium with an ongoing research in conjunction with Aerogen Inc., Galway. This also coincides with Dr. Higgins involvement in the CÚRAM research centre and the ongoing development of a novel recombinant superoxide dismutase fusion protein to improve drug retention time in the lung and therefore outcomes in ARDS and, potentially, other serious conditions. To date Dr. Higgins has co-authored over 25 papers in peer reviewed journals as well as numerous poster and conference presentations.