Rachelle Irwin

Dr. Rachelle Irwin is a Lecturer in Genomic Medicine and Principal Investigator at Ulster University's Centre for Genomic Medicine. She holds a BSc (First Class Hons) and PhD from Ulster University, where she studied maternal programming of neural gene methylation. Dr. Irwin teaches undergraduate/postgraduate courses and directs the BSc Biology program, which achieved Royal Society of Biology accreditation under her leadership.

Her research focuses on epigenetic epidemiology, particularly DNA methylation's role in health and disease. Key interests include:

• Nutrient-epigenome interactions (folic acid/folate)
• Neural development and aging
• Methylome analysis techniques
• Clinical translation of epigenetic biomarkers

Recent publications explore active learning pedagogies (2024), epigenetic effects of B vitamins (2023), and senescence signatures in COVID-19 (2024). Her work consistently demonstrates interdisciplinary integration of molecular biology with public health.

Awards & Recognition:

• Irish Society of Human Genetics Best Talk (2017)
• Ulster Immunology Group Student Prize (2012)

As a principal investigator, she leads the Centre for Genomic Medicine and supervises five PhD researchers. She secured research funding from BBSRC/ESRC and Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke. Dr. Irwin maintains editorial roles at Frontiers in Genetics, Frontiers in Endocrinology, and the Journal of Childhood and Adolescent Trauma.