Dr FitzGerald is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and a funded Principal Investigator within CÚRAM, the SFI-funded National Centre for Research on Medical Devices. After graduating from NUI Galway with a BE (Industrial) in 1983 and an MSc in Biotechnology in 1985, she worked in the biotech sector for five years before returning to academia to complete a PhD in molecular biology at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. Dr FitzGerald returned to Ireland in 2003. Una's main research focus is on developing an understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative disorders - mainly multiple sclerosis (MS), but also Parkinsons disease, and using this knowledge to develop novel devices for monitoring and treatment of MS. Dr FitzGerald was the Director of the Galway Neuroscience (2019-2020) and represented MS Ireland on the MS International Federations International Medical and Scientific Board between 2020 and 2022. Representing the Galway Neuroscience Centre and CÚRAM, she joined the committee of the Dementia and Neurodegeneration Network, Ireland in 2020. Between May 2019 and January 2024, she coordinated a 3.9 million EU-funded project , collaborating with researchers from Denmark, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain and the Czech RePublic, to create new devices and treatments for multiple sclerosis. University of Galway PhD candidates Malgorzata Dabrowska, Daniela Costa, Jack Hampson, Mansoor Al-Waeel, and Yagmur Bozkurt, were funded through this project. With funding from the Hardiman and Irish Research Council postgraduate scholarship scheme, as well as the SFI-EPSRC-fundedLifETime Doctoral Training Network, and University of Galway Foundation office, Dr FitzGeralds team is also developing point-of-care devices for people with MS, with the aim of improving clinical management of this chronic, neurodegenerative disorder. The LifETime scheme is also funding the "MS-on-a-chip" project, which exploits cultures of different brain cell types within amicrofluidic device as a platform for screening candidate therapeutic compounds for MS. As part of the BrainMatTrain EU Innovative Training Network, researchers in the group developed an organotypic brain slice culture system that mimics the pro-dromal (non-symptomatic) phase of Parkinsons disease.

In effort to reduce the negative impact that lab research has on the environment, Dr FitzGerald initiated the Galway Green Labs effort at NUIG, triggering the implementation green practices the CÚRAM lab, in preparation for green lab certification (see mygreenlab.org), which was awarded in late 2019. For more information on this achievement, watch the short YouTube video "The time to green our labs is now" (https://youtu.be/9QuQ6XoEMKs).

Dr FitzGeralds leadership in lab sustainability has led to the a chairing role in SEAIs working group for Public Sector Labs (Jan 2020-Jan 2023). Out of the SEAI group, the Irish Green Labs network was formed and launched on Earth Day 2022. For more details, browsea irishgreenlabs.org. As a direct result of these actions, by February 2023, Ireland had the largest number of labs per capita in the world, that were pursuing My Green Labs green lab certification. In addition, the SFI-EPSRC-fundedLifETime Doctoral Training Network has also funded PhD candidate Paola Serrano Bravo. Paola will focus on Sustainability, Engagement andAdvocacy in Cell and Tissue Engineering. 

Videos of MS- & sustainability-related research can be found on CÚRAM's vimeo 'Case Studies' Channel. 

https://vimeo.com/showcase/11298101

Summary of Neuroscience Rearch TopicsThe overarching research theme is the investigation of the pathological processes occurring during multiple sclerosis (MS). We have completed many post-mortem MS tissue, pre-clinical and ex vivo studies, investigating endoplasmic reticulum stress signalling and modelling various aspects of disease pathology. Our current major focus is the progressive phase of MS. This is a stage where, 10-15 years after diagnosis, people with MS experience worsening symptoms, leading to reduced mobility, increased fatigue and disruptions in cognitive functions. We led an EU-wide Innovative Training Network Consortium that aimed to develop a new approach to treating progessive MS (Marie-Curie-Sklodovska PMSMatTrain project 813263). Collaborators in Denmark, Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, Spain and the Czech rePublic worked with Dr FitzGerald, Prof Abhay Pandit and Dr Nathan Quinlan to train 13 PhDs and two early-career MS researchers.

In a Parkinsons disease-focused EU-funded project, also an innovative training network (BrainMatTrain), the group has collaborated with a consortium of early-stage researchers and principal investigators, focused on the development of novel biomaterials-based therapies and disease models for Parkinsons disease. In the FitzGerald group, a novel brain slice/ex vivo model of prodromal Parkinsons disease has been developed.

Since 2021, we have completed a pilot MS Biomarker study using a range of body fluid samples. The end-goal is to design novel, sustainable, point-of-care device for disease monitoring primarily in MS, but with potential application in other brain disorders.

While neuroscience, brain function and neurodegenerative disorders are the primary focus of the FitzGerald group, the researchers are also striving to complete their work in a sustainable way. In November 2019, led by Dr FitzGerald, the CÚRAM lab became the first in Europe to gain Green Lab certification, from My Green Lab.  All CÚRAM researchers are now required to complete green lab training as part of lab induction.

Director of the MSc in Biomedical Science (via distance learningmodular). Lecturer on the MSc in Biomedical Science (FT, 2006-2017); MSc in Regenerative Medicine (2008-present); MSc in Biodiversity and Land-use Planning (2019-present); MSc in Environmental Leadership (2019-present). Contributor to MSc programmes in Physics (Workshop on Scientific Writing, 208-2024). Developer and owner of graduate module 'Green Lab Principles & Practice', BI5108, 5 ECTS and Microcrdential, Springboard funding-supported 'Green Lab Principles & Practice', BME5107, 10 ECTS module.