Triona Ni Chonghaile

Dr. Triona Ni Chonghaile is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology and Medical Physics at RCSI, with a secondary appointment in the Centre for Systems Medicine. She leads the Targeted Therapeutics in Cancer (TTC) Lab, focusing on understanding apoptosis resistance mechanisms in cancers like leukemia and breast cancer. Her research employs BH3 profiling and innovative drug discovery approaches, including HDAC6 inhibitors and PROTACs.

Education: B.Sc. in Biomedical Science (National University of Ireland, Galway, 2002), PhD in Biochemistry (2008, NUI Galway), and postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School and University College Dublin.

Research emphasizes mitochondrial apoptosis pathways, epigenetic regulation, and microenvironmental influences on cancer drug response. Key achievements include discovering a novel HDAC6 inhibitor and developing a HDAC6 PROTAC with potential therapeutic applications.

Awards: L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award (2015), Wellcome Trust Grant (2016), and multiple grants from Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council. Her work has been featured in Science, Cancer Discovery, and Science Advances.

Teaching roles include co-ordinating the Renal and Endocrine Biology module for medical students and directing the Intercalated MSc in Translational Research. Active in editorial roles for FEBS Journal and Science Translational Medicine.

Current grants include funding for metabolism-driven immunotherapy, HDAC6/NSCLC research, and drug development projects.