Sarah Foley

Dr Sarah Foley is a Post Doctoral Research Fellow at South East Technological University's Department of Science, specializing in gene therapy for Canavan Disease through directed evolution techniques. She is affiliated with the PMBRC (Pharmaceutical and Molecular Biotechnology Research Centre).

• Education:
• BSc (Hons) in Molecular Biology with Biopharmaceutical Science (SETU, 2014–2018)
• PhD in Science (SETU, 2022)

Her research focuses on enhancing aspartoacylase (ASPA) enzyme activity via directed evolution to develop novel gene therapies for Canavan Disease, collaborating with the Horae Gene Therapy Centre at University of Massachusetts Medical School using AAV viral vectors. She has contributed to interdisciplinary work in molecular channel coding schemes for bacterial communication systems.

Her scientific activities include organizing the SETU Postgraduate Research Conference (2023), co-organizing research seminars, and serving on the Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Committee (2021–2022). Her work aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals in health and education.

• Scientific Awards:
  • Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship

She has participated in international conferences (ASGCT, SenSys) and contributes to technical committees, with publications spanning gene therapy, molecular biology, and computational communication systems.