Interest in gut microbiota of the elderly human population, neuroactive medications, dietary supplements, and cognitive function. Use of in vitro, in vivo and in silico tools.Overview:PhD research focuses on providing insights into the link between the gut microbiota and cognitive function in ageing. Changes in gut microbiota composition have been described associated with ageing and with neurodegenerative diseases in the elderly, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Using various lab-based and bioinformatic approaches I investigate the microbiota-gut-brain axis in the elderly. We hope to contribute to the understanding of neurodegenerative disease onset and progression, and ultimately contribute to the development of new diagnostic tools and more effective therapies.Interests:Microbiome, Microbial ecosystems, Infection, Immunology & Inflammation, Pathogen-host interaction, Microbial pathogenesis, Microbial evolution and ecology, Symbiosis and minimal genomes, Viral oncogenes, Human behavioral biology, Host-microbiome interactions, Sustainability.Supervised and advised by Professors Paul O'Toole, John Cryan and Ted Dinan.

NU-AGE - New dietary strategies addressing the specific needs of elderly population for a healthy ageing in Europe.RA in Professor Paul O'Toole's grouphttp://apc.ucc.ie/paul_otoole/

http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/iii/people/DrugDiscovery/dr-rana-lonnen"Streptococcus pneumoniae causes a very high number of cases of pneumonia, meningitis and bacteraemia, worldwide. Despite using antibiotics that kill the bacterium, a large number of patients still die and in meningitis, many survivors have profound neurological handicap. This is because the bacterium produces a very damaging virulence factor that is not inhibited by antibiotics.This problem constitutes an unmet medical need that Professor Peter Andrew and colleagues from the University of Leicester are proposing to fulfill. They have identified that small molecules can inhibit this virulence factor and are effective in vivo. The team have been awarded funding through the Seeding Drug Discovery initiative to identify new small molecules and through a programme of medicinal chemistry, combined with in vitro and in vivo testing, to identify lead compounds with appropriate efficacy, pharmacokinetics and toxicology. The aim is that giving such molecules will reduce the number of patients that die or suffer handicap as a result." from https://wellcome.ac.uk/what-we-do/directories/seeding-drug-discovery-projects-funded

MSc in Medical Microbiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (UK).Developed a research project at the Pathogen Molecular Biology Department at LSHTM investigating the role of Camplylobacter jejuni outer membrane vesicles in bacterial secretion of virulence factors under the supervision of Nick Dorrell (PhD).

Developed a research project studying the value of viral factors of infection with HPV16 and HPV18 as molecular markers for the diagnosis and early detection of cervical cancer, under the supervision of Ângela Pista (PhD) at the National Reference Laboratory of Sexually Transmitted Infections for Human Papillomavirus, Poliomavirus and Genital Herpes Virus, Department of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health, Lisbon, Portugal.Produced project report entitled “New approaches for cervical cancer screening and for the clinical practice: Importance of molecular markers of Human Papillomavirus infection” and presented the results obtained in a Viva.

My degree in Microbiology resulted from a collaboration between the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon.Subjects: Plant Biology Animal Biology; Chemistry; Biochemistry; Instrumental Methods in Chemical and Biochemical Analysis; Biostatistics; Bioinformatics; Epidemiology; Introduction to Management; Comunication in Science; Bioethics; General Microbiology; Biology of the Cell; Molecular Biology; Microbial Genetics; Microbial Biotechnology; Microbial Taxonomy; Food Microbiology; Environmental Microbiology; Bacteriology; Virology; Parasitology; Mycology; Human Anatomy and Physiology; Immunology; Pathology; Infectiology; Clinical Microbiology; Microbial Pathogenesis; Cell Cullture.In my final year I did a year-long full-time internship at the Microbiology and Biotechnology Lab of BioFIG (Center for Biodiversity, Functional and Integrative Genomics) under the supervision of Rogério Tenreiro (PhD).During that time I was involved in various projects studying the microbial diversity of salt marshes, acidophilic yeasts of portuguese mines and the molecular diversity of obligatory and facultative symbionts of cycadas.