DrHilary McMahon

After obtaining a first class honours B.Sc. degree from University College Dublin Dr. McMahon undertook a PhD in the area of protein biochemistry and was conferred with the degree of PhD from UCD in 1998. Dr. McMahon's work in Prion diseases commenced in 1999 as a research associate (Jan 1999 to October 2000) at the IGH du CNRS, Montpellier, France. She returned to UCD as a college lecturer in October 2000 and was appointed to the faculty of Science in October 2002, and became a tenured academic staff member. The group of Dr. McMahon has identified a number of new potential antiprion therapeutics including the cyclodextrins and new amphotericin derivatives. Her group has also recently identified new potential cellular sites that could be targeted for the development of treatments for prion disorders and other disorders that we know are controlled by these sites. She identified a novel link between Prion diseases and Alzheimer's disease through the neuronal adaptor protein, X11alpha. For more information on most recent advances in prion diseases and the links between prion diseases and Alzheimer's disease see the research section. Dr. McMahon's research group currently studies: The biochemical mechanisms behind Prion diseases Therapeutic approaches to treat these disorders The link between Prion disorders and Alzheimer's disease Research Links: SBBS Research | Biotechnology & Synthetic Biology Research in SBBS | Mechanisms of Disease Research in SBBS | Infection Biology Research in SBBS Prion, scrapie, Alzheimer's, amyloid, Hilary McMahon, aging, oxidative, Drug, UCD, Conway