Fionnuala Lundy

My research theme focuses on pain and inflammation in the oral cavity and respiratory tract. I have developed non-animal models, including neuronal models differentiated from adult human dental pulp stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to gain a better insight into neuronal responses that reflect human physiology. My work on pain and neurogenic inflammation, and the neuro-inflammatory response to infection, has naturally extended into the related field of transient receptor potential (TRP) channel research and the modulation of these important channels during the inflammatory and regenerative processes. I am particularly interested in the interplay between the innate immune response to infection, and the reparative and regenerative potential of adult stem cells. I also have an interest in studying the stability of host defence peptides and proteins in the inflammatory milieu, and in the design of peptide mimetics with resistance to proteinases and enhanced efficacy against bacterial and fungal pathogens in biofilm form. I have published >70 peer reviewed articles in learned journals and have been successful in obtaining competitive research grant income from a range of funding agencies such as EU INTERREG, NC3Rs, MRC, Pain Relief Foundation, Animal Free Research, HSC R&D Office and the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. I currently chair the successful regenerative medicine (REMERGE) group, a multidisciplinary team of academic and clinical researchers, with a focus on using regenerative medicine techniques to study and treat a range of clinical conditions.