Prof. Patrick Kiely

Biography

Professor Pat Kiely is a Lecturer in the Department of Life Sciences, Principal Investigator of the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology, and member of the Materials and Surface Science Institute and Stokes Institute. Dr Kiely has a BSc. in Biomedical Science and a PhD in Biochemistry from University College Cork. Dr Kiely's work has led to a number of significant publications which were the foundation to the acquisition of several prestigious postdoctoral fellowships and international awards including European Association for Cancer Research (EACR) Young Scientist Award (2010), The Irish Cancer Society Research Fellowship (2009), The Roche Gold Medal for Postdoctoral researcher of the year (2007) The Pfizer Gold medal for Excellence in Research in 2007 and 2002, Career Development Fellowship (HRB, 2005) and Young Investigator of the Year 2006, awarded by the Biochemical Society, UK.

Research Interests:
The research emphasis in my laboratory is on deciphering the localized and transient signalling events which occur in cells during migration. Cell migration is orchestrated by a series of complex signalling cascades which requires crosstalk between cell surface receptors and components of the cell cytoskeleton. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that regulate cell migration is of important intellectual and clinical interest, and we believe this work may reveal fresh approaches to target cancer as well as developmental and neurodegenerative diseases.

Research projects ongoing in the laboratory range from the most fundamental, where the development of a better understanding of the molecular mechanism(s) regulating cell migration is the goal, to the very applied, where the identification of novel therapeutic targets and the design and synthesis of novel materials and surfaces to study cell behavior is the desired endpoint. To help us achieve our goals, we are using a series of complimentary and synergistic cellular and molecular approaches and novel technologies including: 3D cell culture models, neuronal models, 2D ESI MS/MS, peptide array technology, interferometry, label free live cell monitoring, qPCR and droplet qPCR, SEM, TEM, con-focal microscopy, and electro spinning of materials. In collaboration with Dr Tara Daltons group (Stokes Institute) we are applying novel gene expression techniques and droplet technology to decipher signaling pathways in breast and colon cancer.