DrAisling Coughlan

Dr. Coughlan completed her undergraduate degree in Genetics at TCD in 2013. She graduated top of the 2013 class with 1st Class Honours in Genetics, receiving a Gold Medal of honour for Outstanding achievement in degree examinations.

She went on to complete her PhD in Prof. Ken Wolfe’s group at UCD in 2018, focusing on genetics and genomics in yeast, and began her first post-doctoral position in the group of Prof. Giuseppe Testa at the European Institute of Oncology (IEO) in Milan in 2019, one of the top cancer research institutes in Europe. The focus of her research was the optimisation and application of the cutting-edge epigenetic profiling technique ‘CUT&Tag’ for use in primary ovarian cancer samples.

She returned to Ireland in 2022, joining Dr. Tríona Ní Chonghaile’s group at RCSI, focusing on epigenomics and apoptosis. Specifically, using CUT&Tag and BH3 profiling in primary multiple myeloma to identify epigenetic patterns underlying differential dependence on BCL-2 family members. For this project, she was awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action Postdoctoral Fellowship.

The Coughlan lab opened its doors in University College Dublin in April 2024, when Dr. Coughlan joined the School of Medicine as an Ad Astra Assistant Professor and fellow of the Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical research. Their research is focused on leveraging epigenomic and functional genomics methods to find new therapeutic avenues in difficult-to-treat cancers. With a particular focus on haematological malignancies, they are using CRISPR-Cas9 screening to uncover therapy resistance mechanisms, and to identify novel sensitizing drug targets tailored to individual patients.