Karen Doyle is Professor in the School of Pharmacy & Medical Sciences and Principal Investigator. Her research involves studying neurovascular stress and investigating novel strategies to protect brain tissue from damage. Prof Doyle's focus is on understanding the pathophysoiology of occlusive stroke and the characteristics of human blood clots that cause occlusive strokes. Professor Doyle is a co-Director of CURAM and a member of the CURAM Executive committee. Prof Doyle was President of Neuroscience Ireland (2021 - 2024), is the Founder and first Director of Galway Neuroscience Centre (2004 - 2009), and previously served as Vice Dean for Graduate Studies in the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Galway (2011 - 2015). She represented Irish neuroscience in Europe and globally as a member of the Governing Council of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS; 2021 - 2024) and the Governing Council of International Brain Research Organisation (IBRO; 2021 - 2024). Prof Doyle was also a member of the European Stroke Organisation Membership Committee (2020 - 2024) and is on the Editorial Board of Frontiers in Stroke, Frontiers in Neurology and PlosOne. She is a member ofthe FENS Committee for Higher Education and Training (FENS-CHET; 2022 - present) and a member of the Dementia Research Network Ireland Management Committee (DRNI; 2023- present). Prof Doyle is a previous recipient of the Presidents Award for Teaching Excellence in University ofGalway (2015) and winner of a National Teaching Experts Award, from the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (2015).

Research Interests: My research focus is on understanding neurovascular stress, the pathophysiology of stroke and the characteristics of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) blood clots.The composition of blood clots can vary considerably, and clot composition has an immense impact on how readily an AIS clot can be dissolved by thrombolytics, or physically removed by mechanical thrombectomy medical devices. My current work through CURAM, working with clinical collaborators and medical device company Cerenovus (J and J MedTech), correlates biomarkers we have identified inacute ischemic stroke (AIS) blood clots with clinical procedural data and patient outcomes. The aim of this work is to identify biomarkers that will guide clinical interventionists on the best approach in order to most efficiently remove a clot following a stroke, and to inform future medical device design, particularly to improve the recanalization of cerebral vessels blocked by difficult to remove clots. I also collaborate with a medical device company in Paris, Sensome, to develop an electrical impedance sensor capable of predicting clot structure in advance of acute stroke treatment. My research also focuses on understanding the causes of neuronal death, and novel neuroprotective strategies to prevent neuronal death, particularly related to stroke.

Neurophysiology, Central Nervous System, Advanced Neurophysiology, Scientific Writing and Communication