Áine Heffernan

Áine is a PhD student based in the lab of Professor Siddharthan Chandran. Her work focuses on exploring the cellular and molecular mechanisms of neuro-glial interactions in neurodegenerative diseases. The goal of her PhD is to use a human stem cell model to understand differences in astrocytes, a star shaped brain cell, between those with Parkinson’s and healthy individuals.

Áine graduated with a first-class BA (Hons) Science Degree (Moderatorship in Neuroscience) from Trinity College Dublin. Her interest in neurodegenerative research began after a 3 month internship at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, followed by her honours research project which characterised human stem cell derived astrocytes expressing different Alzheimer’s risk genes.