AProf. Sheila Donnelly received her PhDin 1992,studying the neuro-immunology of viral infections, from Trinity College Dublin, under the supervision of Prof. Atkins. Then,a postdoctoral position with Prof. Mills at the National University of Ireland Maynooth followed, focusing primarily on understanding the neuro-immunological response to vaccination; investigating the links between the administration of whole cell vaccines and the induction of seizure behaviour. In 2001, she moved to Dublin City University, to work with Prof. John Dalton on the isolation and characterisation of immune modulating proteins secreted by helminth parasites. This research established her interest in understanding the host-parasite relationship, with a particular focus on the impacts to the host innate immune response. Following a move to the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Australia in 2004, Sheila then established a research group, investigating the mechanisms by which helminth derived proteins and microRNAs regulate host immune cells; and applied this knowledge to develop novel therapeutics for the treatment of human immune-mediated disease. In 2023, Sheila re-joined Prof. Dalton at MPL, Galway to continue their long-standing collaboration.She remains an adjunct A/Prof. at UTS

Parasitology, The innate immune response, Host-parasite interactions, miRNA cross communication, Helminth-derived therapeutics

Director of the MSc Biotechnology; teaching Frontiers in Biotechnology (BG5101), Vaccinology (BG5113), Scientific Communication (BES5119)