Early Career Researchers Network: ECRN Committee members
Ciara Walsh
Ciara Walsh is the current NSI-ECRN Vice-President and third year PhD student in the School of medicine at University College Dublin. Her research focuses on developing a biomaterial-based delivery system for immunomodulatory therapeutics in preclinical spinal cord injury. When she’s not in the lab, you can find Ciara eating good food, hiking in the mountains or listening to her favourite true crime podcasts.
Ross Oglesby
Ross Oglesby is the current NSI-ECRN Secretary, and is a Research Assistant at Ulysses Neuroscience Ltd., based at their facilities at Maynooth University. After graduating he was eager to further develop his research and EEG skills, while also wanting to experience what it is like to carry out research in an industry setting, which led to him joining the Ulysses team. Here he is mainly involved in pre-clinical research which combines in-vivo EEG and behavioural pharmacology to explore new therapies for Major Depressive Disorder, Parkinson’s Disease, and other disorders/diseases. Outside of research Ross plays football, enjoys reading, and has recently developed a love for surfing. He is also a massive Marvel fan and can regularly be found re-watching his favourite Marvel films.
Daniela Costa
Daniela Costa is the current NSI-ECRN outreach officer, and is a fourth year PhD student at University of Galway. As part of the EU ITN PMSMatTrain consortium, Daniela is trying to pinpoint the vulnerability of neuronal subpopulations in models mimicking the cortical pathology of Progressive Multiple Sclerosis. Born and raised in Portugal, soon her academic journey led her to explore new countries: France, Germany, and now Ireland. Her role in Science goes beyond the bench. Daniela is a very active person in SciCom. Daniela is part of the Neuroscience SciCom project named “Fala-me Neuro” (“Talk Neuro to me” in English), aiming to make neurosciences more approachable to Portuguese-speaking people. When Daniela drops the lab coat, you can definitely find her dancing, goofing around with her friends and helping the ones around her. She is very enthusiastic about football, comedy and art.
Ishita Virmani
Ishita Virmani is a passionate toxicologist and fourth-year PhD researcher in the Cell and Tissue Toxicology group at RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Czech Republic. Her research is dedicated to assessing male reproductive toxicity using alternative methods. She is inspired by the words of Swiss physician Paracelsus, “Dose differentiates between poison and remedy”. Having grown up in India, she has gained international experience in the UK, Europe, and the USA. In 2021, she got a chance to work the developmental neurotoxicity using brain organoids at CAAT, Johns Hopkins University. Reading and travelling are some of her favourite pastimes outside the lab.
Jade Duffy
Jade Duffy is the current NSI-ECRN PRO officer, and is a first-year PhD student at Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience. Through psychophysical tasks, EEG, and computational modelling, her work aims to identify a set of innovative neural-behavioural metrics that indicate particular, quantifiable aspects of the computations that result in the decisions of individuals. Outside of the lab, Jade enjoys practising jiu-jitsu and watching football.
Emmanuelle Damilola Aiyegbus
Emmanuelle Damilola Aiyegbusi is currently a second year PhD student at University College Dublin in the School of Medicine. Her research focuses on understanding the polarisation mechanisms of microglia in the context of neuroinflammation via stem cell biology. Outside of university, she can be found in a boba shop, Asian fusion restaurant, or a Pilates class. Emmanuelle is passionate about the promotion of women in STEM as well as scientific outreach to primary and secondary school students.
Mary Glass
Mary Glass is a Senior Research Assistant at Ulysses Neuroscience Ltd, a private research and development neuroscience company based out of Trinity College Dublin. She currently conducts pre-clinical research, primarily studying the interferon-alpha model of neuroinflammation and depression. Overall, she has a strong interest in the pathophysiology and treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. In her free time, Mary enjoys running, strength training, and traveling around Ireland and Europe.
Ruth Colbert
Ruth Colbert is a first year PhD student and anatomy demonstrator at University College Dublin. Her research centres around neuroinflammation in spinal cord injury, with a particular focus on the role of microglia. Aside from neuroscience, Ruth also loves long-distance running, sea swimming and live music.
Bianca Castelli
Bianca Castelli did her BSc in Biotechnology at the University of Milan (Università degli Studi di Milano) and then moved to Galway to do her MSc in Regenerative Medicine. She is currently doing her PhD as part of the lifETIME CDT program, focusing on neurodegeneration (Multiple Sclerosis) and the development of a point of care (POC) device to detect biomarkers of neurodegeneration. Her supervisor is Dr Una FitzGerald (University of Galway), and her secondary supervisor is Prof John Cooper (University of Glasgow).
E-mail: nsi.ecrn@gmail.com
Twitter: YoungNeuroIrl
LinkedIn: NSI-ECRN