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Conway Fellow hosts 2012 Dobbin Research Scholar

Conway Fellow, Dr Gerard Cagney is hosting a University of British Columbia scholar who is visiting UCD on a Dobbin research scholarship provided by the Ireland Canada University Foundation.

Dr Maria Aristizabal is working with Dr Cagney to determining the requirement of RNAPII CTD length in protein-protein interactions dynamics. The C-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II is composed of repeats of a seven amino acid sequence: 26 repeats in yeast. Her goal is to determine the dynamics of CTD-interacting proteins. In particular, she is interested in whether they bind anywhere along the length of the CTD or if they have preferred binding sites.

Dr Gerard Cagney and his resarch team use protein-protein and gene-gene interaction mapping to understand biological pathways. They are expert in proteomics and mass spectrometry and enjoy the challenge of developing new methods. Their main interest is chromatin and the biology of gene expression. Dr Cagney collaborates successfully with many research groups, in UCD, Ireland and overseas.

Since 1995, the Ireland Canada University Foundation (ICUF) has, on an annual basis, awarded Dobbin Scholarships to both Irish and Canadian scholars and academics whose research contributes to the rich academic and cultural links between Canada and Ireland. The awards are named after Craig Dobbin, whose initial most generous donation in 1993 led to the foundation of the Ireland Canada University Foundation. In 2012, twenty scholars received these awards.

Pictured: Dobbin research scholar, Dr Maria Aristizabal with her host, Dr Gerard Cagney