Speaker: Alison Reynolds
Location: Biomedical Sciences Building, University of Galway
Date: Wednesday, 16th April 2025
Lifetime-CDT is pleased to welcome Dr Alison Reynolds (University College Dublin) for a seminar on Ocular Disease Modelling.
Dr Reynolds’ research focuses on developing and characterising ocular disease models to improve understanding of eye function in both healthy and diseased states, with the aim of identifying potential therapies. She obtained a BA (Mod) in Genetics from Trinity College Dublin in 2000 before completing a PhD in ocular genetics under Prof Pete Humphries, where she identified genetic modifiers of visual function in inbred mouse strains. She later conducted postdoctoral research at UCD’s Conway Institute, generating and characterising zebrafish models of inherited retinal degeneration (IRD).
Dr Reynolds has worked on commercialising small-molecule anti-angiogenic compounds for neovascular eye diseases, securing multiple patents. Since 2016, she has led a research team at UCD’s School of Veterinary Medicine, focusing on dry eye disease, IRD modelling, and drug retinotoxicity. Her work employs in vitro (cells, iPSC-derived organoids), ex vivo, and in vivo (zebrafish, mammals) models to study disease pathophysiology. She is currently developing novel anti-inflammatory compounds formulated in lipid nanoparticles for dry eye disease, supported by Enterprise Ireland.
In addition to her research, she serves as Associate Dean for Research, Innovation, and Impact and is a board member of Fighting Blindness.
The event is hosted by Thomas Ritter and Lifetime-CDT.
