Gareth McKay

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Gareth McKay

Dr

 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8197-6280

  • Room 03.020 - Clinical Science B

    United Kingdom

Accepting PhD Students

PhD projects

Open to wide-ranging PhD applications from candidates with a basic science or clinical background.
Fields of research interests include: Kidney research, Diabetic complications, biomarker discovery, stratified medicine and ageing, multiomic approaches.
Previous research experience is desirable although not essential.

1997 …2025

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Research Statement

My main research interests include biomarker discovery associated with early microvascular decline in ‘at risk’ individuals associated with kidney disease, diabetic complications, dementia and other chronic diseases, including nutrigenomics, socioeconomic factors and carotenoid and antioxidant levels, particularly vitamin E and its associated impact with disease. 

I am PI on several projects using multiomic approaches to investigate diabetic kidney disease and renal transplant outcomes including genetic (whole genome sequencing), epigenetic (methylation arrays), proteomic screening (Olink and Mass Spec approaches), metabolomic (Biocrates and Nightingale Health) and transcriptomic approaches (RNA seq). These projects include evaluation of data from several multi-centre collections, including UK Biobank, the Northern Ireland Cohort of Longitudinal Ageing (NICOLA), and international cohorts from other European countries, the Americas and Asia.

Currently, I am Director of Operations for the NICOLA study and chair the Data Access Committee; I am scientific advisor for the Northern Ireland Kidney Research Fund; I hold a visiting scholar position with the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand; and I sit on several funding panels for the Research Executive Agency (REA) and The Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA) of the European Commission.

Research support provided by the Medical Research Council, Innovate UK, Diabetes UK, Northern Ireland R&D Office, the Irish Clinical Academic Training Network, the Northern Ireland Kidney Research Fund, the Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland, Fight for Sight, the Macular Society, Belfast Trust Charitable Funds and Guide Dogs for the Blind.

I have co-authored >160 peer-reviewed publications which can be viewed here in PubMed.

Teaching

I have developed and coordinate clinical genetics modules for both undergraduate Medicine (MED1021) and Biomedical Science (BMS2111) degree programmes. I also coordinate a postgraduate module on Genomics and Human Disease (SCM8095) on our MSc in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. Additional teaching commitments include participation in standard setting, exam boards, progress reviews and postgraduate research boards. Postgraduate supervision has included successful completion of 9 PhD and 5 Master's studentships. I have undertaken external examiner roles at the following institutions: U of Edinburgh (Scotland, 2016. 2023, 2024), U of Dundee (Scotland, 2021, 2023), U College Dublin (Ireland, 2017), Royal College of Surgeons (Ireland, 2020), North West University (South Afrrica, 2021), King's College London (2023), University College London (2024) and Monash University Malaysia (2024).

Achievements

I was an invited expert advisor to Boehringer Ingelheim, Germany (2017). I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an Editorial Board Member for the journals, Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group), the International Journal of Molecular Epidemiology and Genetics (e-Century Publishing Corporation) and the Journal of Diabetes Research (Hindawi Publishing Group).

Administrative and Managerial roles

I have been an expert panel member for multiple EU Horizon 2020 research programmes including Innovative Medicines Initiative 2, Use of Real World Data for the Management of Complex Chronic Conditions, and Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (Doctoral Training Networks and Fellowship Awards). Expert roles within the European Commission have expanded further as part of the Horizon Europe research programme for both the European Research Exeuctive Agency and the Health and Digital Executive Agency, including sub-panel chair roles for 'Biomarkers and Public Health'.

I am one of three QUB 'Designated Individuals' for the University Human Tissue Act licence (#12059) and sit on the University Human Tissue Steering Group.  I am Health and Safety chair for the Centre for Public Health, a member of the Centre Senior Management Team and the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sceince  Health and Safety Committee. 

Other

Outreach Activities

I am the scientific advisor for the Northern Ireland Kidney Research Fund. In addition, I support patient advocacy groups including Alzheimer's Research UK and Diabetes UK through communication and dissemination activities to promote science and research. Additional outreach activities include the promotion of STEM subjects to local schoolchildren and through the Northern Ireland Science Festivals. My lab has hosted work-placement students and provided learning opportunities through the Nuffield Research Placement Programme for Northern Ireland (2020, 2021) and the Sentinus Research Academy (2022). 

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
  • SDG 4 - Quality Education
  • SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities

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