Gillian Johnson, Ph.D Email and Phone Number

IRC funded Structured PhD. Research carried out within the Mechanical, Aeronautical and Bio-medical engineering (MABE) department University of Limerick and Trinity Centre for BioEngineering, includes investigating the role of AC6 in loading-induced bone adaptation both in vitro and in vivo.

Development of a new bar-coding system for bull semen straws with the NCBC and University of Limerick. New system will help to track individual ejaculates, essential for future field trials. Evaluation of bull sperm binding to cow oviductal epithelia will be carried out in the University of Limerick. This project utilises techniques such; as tissue culture, fluorescent staining and semen evaluation

Awarded an externally funded Undergraduate Summer Bursary from the Wellcome trust in the UK which she completed in Teagasc, Grange, Co Meath. Project was entitled ‘Comparative Genomic Identification and Characterisation of a Novel β-Defensin Gene Cluster in the Equine Genome’. This project used a combination of bioinformatic (BLAT, BLAST, phylogenetic analysis) and laboratory techniques (RNA extraction, qRT-PCR, gel electrophoresis) to investigate the expression of a cluster of 13 completely… Show more Awarded an externally funded Undergraduate Summer Bursary from the Wellcome trust in the UK which she completed in Teagasc, Grange, Co Meath. Project was entitled ‘Comparative Genomic Identification and Characterisation of a Novel β-Defensin Gene Cluster in the Equine Genome’. This project used a combination of bioinformatic (BLAT, BLAST, phylogenetic analysis) and laboratory techniques (RNA extraction, qRT-PCR, gel electrophoresis) to investigate the expression of a cluster of 13 completely novel β-defensin genes. This work has been published as a journal article in Reproduction, Fertility and Development. Show less

Performed research investigating the traits in antibody responses in equines, to various strains of equine influenza virus (EIV). The serum of the horses were tested using the serial radial heamolysis (SRH) test. Further research into Equine Heroes Virus (EHV) was also be carried out, using the complement fixation test (CFT). This work has been developed into a journal article, which is currently under review in the Equine Veterinary Journal.

Received a research bursary investigating the binding of stallion sperm to equine oviductal epithelial cells. Laboratory techniques, such as tissue culture was used to culture the oviductal epithelial cells. Frozen thawed semen was used to investigate the characteristics of the sperm binging to said cells. The semen investigated was treated with various extenders.