Dr RóisínDwyer is Associate Professor in Translational Science and a PI in the Discipline of Surgery at NUI Galway. Her research focuses on cell communication in the breast tumour microenvironment, with a view to harnessing this knowledge for development of novel gene therapy approaches for advanced breast cancer. Tumours actively recruit stromal cells including Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSCs), and stromal-epithelial crosstalk plays a critical role in tumour development and progression. Dr Dwyer is interested in paracrine and autocrine mediators of this crosstalk, including chemokinescytokines, microRNAs and extracellular vesicles (EVs). Understanding this environment will facilitate harnessing the potential of MSCs or their secreted EVs as vehicles for targeted delivery of therapy to breast tumours. In Vivo imaging to track MSCEV migration is an important element of this.Multidisciplinary collaboration is key to Dr Dwyers work and she is a member of national and international research consortia, including Precision Oncology Ireland and the Celtic Advanced Life Science Innovation Network (CALIN). Her research has been recognised through a variety of honours including the inaugural Irish Cancer Society Researcher of the Year award. She has published gt;60 papers in respected journals such as Clinical Cancer Research, Molecular Therapy and Oncogene. She is a named inventor on patents, and works closely with industry collaborators to develop therapeutic EVs for a range of disease indications.Along with a current team of 6 PhD students and three postdoctoral scientists, Dr Dwyer has supervised 12 PhD and 5MD and 1 MRes students to completion as primary supervisor, and mentored postdoctoral scientists and research assistants. Her team also hosts MSc students, and undergraduate research students annually. Dr Dwyer is actively involved in science outreach and routinely communicates research progress with patients, school children and the general Public - No restriction.

Róisíns current research, in collaboration with both national and international research groups, focuses on novel approaches to breast cancer therapy. Her work investigates the potential to engineer adult stem cells and secreted extracellular vesicles as vehicles for targeted delivery of therapeutic agents to breast tumours, with a specific interest in imaging modalities to track migration In Vivo . Other areas of interest include cellular interactions in the breast tumour microenvironment mediated by extracellular vesicles and microRNAs, and the potential to harness secreted factors as biomarkers of disease.