DrGemma Leon

I am currently a Post Doctoral Researcher in the Preston Lab (https://www.prestonlab.com) within the Irish Centre for Vascular Biology (ICVB), School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences (PBS) in RCSI. Here, our current research focuses on the interplay between haemostasis and inflammation in autoimmune diseases such as MPN, with a view to improve therapeutics for patients.

I have recently been awarded an SFI-IRC Pathway Programme award and will be setting up an independent research group within the ICVB in RCSI later this year. Our research will explore the role of adaptive immunitiy in driving immunothrombosis in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).  IBD is an inflammatory intestinal disorder, largely caused by aberrant T-cell activity. IBD patients exhibit an increased risk of life-threatening blood clots, although the reasons underlying this are unknown. We recently uncovered that activated T cells, not previously linked to blood clotting, are increased in the inflamed guts of IBD patients and trigger clotting via Tissue Factor (TF)-pathway activity. Furthermore, we identified an anti-inflammatory blood enzyme (activated protein C) that can inhibit the clotting activity of T cells. In this project, we aim to determine how APC regulates T cell pro-thrombotic and pro-inflammatory activity, so we can harness this activity to reduce thrombotic risk in IBD patients.