Michael Freeley
Assoc. Prof
Michael Freeley is an Assistant Professor in Precision Medicine at Dublin City University (DCU) and is the Programme Chair
of the M.Sc. in Diagnostics and Precision Medicine. He obtained a first class honours
degree in Biotechnology from Dublin City University in 1999 and subsequently
graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) in 2004 with a
PhD in Biochemistry and Immunology. His PhD thesis investigated the role of
Protein Kinase C isoforms in T-cell activation. After working in RCSI as a
postdoctoral researcher for two years, he took up the position of Research
Fellow in Trinity College Dublin (TCD) in 2005 where he investigated the
molecular mechanisms of T-cell activation and migration. In addition to this,
he served as Course Coordinator of the Ph.D. training programme in Molecular
Medicine (2008-2012) and Course Coordinator/Lecturer on the M.Sc. in Molecular
Medicine programme (2013-2016) in TCD.
Michael joined DCU as a Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences in 2016, where in addition to teaching and conducting research, his responsibilities also involved serving as Programme Chair of the M.Sc. in Biomedical Diagnostics programme. He led the development of the new M.Sc. in Diagnostics and Precision Medicine programme which commenced in September 2018. He was awarded with his current role of Assistant Professor in Precision Medicine in May 2019.
Research interests: Migration of T-cells from the blood into tissues such as the skin or gut and the production of inflammatory molecules is a normal response to infection that protects us from pathogens (elimination of the pathogen while leaving our own cells alone). However, T-cells produce an unregulated inflammatory response in autoimmune/inflammatory disease, therefore blocking this inflammatory response is beneficial in this regard. We are looking at the key pathways and genes that T-cells use for migration/activation and investigating how we can manipulate these pathways for therapeutic effect in autoimmune/inflammatory diseases. Michael's research findings have been published in high impact, peer-reviewed international journals including J. Immunology, Biochemical J, J. Biol. Chem. and Cell Signalling. He has successfully secured funding for his research, including an award from TCD Med Day for identification of novel therapeutic targets in T cells for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (2014), international travel awards from Ulysses (2007) and Enterprise Ireland (2004), and was awarded a Government of Ireland Academic Mobility grant in 2017 to develop teaching and research initiatives in Precision Medicine with Hamad Bin Khalifa University (Doha, Qatar). He has also received a number of national and international awards for his research.
Michael joined DCU as a Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences in 2016, where in addition to teaching and conducting research, his responsibilities also involved serving as Programme Chair of the M.Sc. in Biomedical Diagnostics programme. He led the development of the new M.Sc. in Diagnostics and Precision Medicine programme which commenced in September 2018. He was awarded with his current role of Assistant Professor in Precision Medicine in May 2019.
Research interests: Migration of T-cells from the blood into tissues such as the skin or gut and the production of inflammatory molecules is a normal response to infection that protects us from pathogens (elimination of the pathogen while leaving our own cells alone). However, T-cells produce an unregulated inflammatory response in autoimmune/inflammatory disease, therefore blocking this inflammatory response is beneficial in this regard. We are looking at the key pathways and genes that T-cells use for migration/activation and investigating how we can manipulate these pathways for therapeutic effect in autoimmune/inflammatory diseases. Michael's research findings have been published in high impact, peer-reviewed international journals including J. Immunology, Biochemical J, J. Biol. Chem. and Cell Signalling. He has successfully secured funding for his research, including an award from TCD Med Day for identification of novel therapeutic targets in T cells for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (2014), international travel awards from Ulysses (2007) and Enterprise Ireland (2004), and was awarded a Government of Ireland Academic Mobility grant in 2017 to develop teaching and research initiatives in Precision Medicine with Hamad Bin Khalifa University (Doha, Qatar). He has also received a number of national and international awards for his research.
Book Chapter
Peer Reviewed Journal
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | freeley m;foran e;long a (2022) 'L-plastin Expression in HCT 116 Colorectal Cells Increases Migration and ROS in an NADPH Oxidase-Dependent Manner'. Journal of Carcinogenesis, . [DOI] | |
| 2021 | Quilty, F.;Freeley, M.;Gargan, S.;Gilmer, J.;Long, A. (2021) 'Deoxycholic acid induces proinflammatory cytokine production by model oesophageal cells via lipid rafts'. Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 214 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2018 | Dunne PJ, Maher CO, Freeley M, Dunne K, Petrasca A, Orikiiriza J, Dunne MR, Reidy D, O'Dea S, Loy A, Woo J, Long A, Rogers TR, Mulcahy F, Doherty DG. (2018) 'CD3ε Expression Defines Functionally Distinct Subsets of Vδ1 T Cells in Patients With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection'. Journal of Immunology, 9 . | |
| 2018 | Day JP;Whiteley E;Freeley M;Long A;Malacrida B;Kiely P;Baillie GS; (2018) 'RAB40C regulates RACK1 stability via the ubiquitin-proteasome system'. Future Science Oa, 4 (7). [DOI] | |
| 2016 | Aherne, ST;Smyth, P;Freeley, M;Smith, L;Spillane, C;O'leary, J;Sheils, O (2016) 'Altered expression of mir-222 and mir-25 influences diverse gene expression changes in transformed normal and anaplastic thyroid cells, and impacts on MEK and TRAIL protein expression'. International Journal of Molecular Medicine, 38 :433-445. [DOI] | |
| 2016 | Smith SM;Freeley M;Moynagh PN;Kelleher DP; (2016) 'Differential modulation of Helicobacter pylori lipopolysaccharide-mediated TLR2 signaling by individual Pellino proteins'. Helicobacter, . [DOI] | |
| 2016 | Verma NK;Fazil MH;Ong ST;Chalasani ML;Low JH;Kottaiswamy A;P P;Kizhakeyil A;Kumar S;Panda AK;Freeley M;Smith SM;Boehm BO;Kelleher D; (2016) 'LFA-1/ICAM-1 Ligation in Human T Cells Promotes Th1 Polarization through a GSK3β Signaling-Dependent Notch Pathway'. Journal of Immunology, 197 (1). [DOI] | |
| 2015 | Molloy B;Freeley M;Long A;McManus R; (2015) 'Candidate Gene Knockdown in Celiac Disease'. Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.), 1326 . [DOI] | |
| 2015 | Freeley M;Derrick E;Dempsey E;Hoff A;Davies A;Leake D;Vermeulen A;Kelleher D;Long A; (2015) 'RNAi Screening with Self-Delivering, Synthetic siRNAs for Identification of Genes That Regulate Primary Human T Cell Migration'. Journal of Biomolecular Screening, 20 (8). [DOI] | |
| 2014 | Long A;Freeley M; (2014) 'Protein kinase C: a regulator of cytoskeleton remodelling and T-cell migration'. Biochemical Society Transactions, 42 (6). [DOI] | |
| 2014 | Ong ST;Freeley M;Skubis-Zegadło J;Fazil MH;Kelleher D;Fresser F;Baier G;Verma NK;Long A; (2014) 'Phosphorylation of Rab5a protein by protein kinase Cϵ is crucial for T-cell migration'. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 289 (28). [DOI] | |
| 2013 | Byrne G;Freeley M;Feighery C;Whelan A;Long A; (2013) 'Protein kinase C delta is a substrate of tissue transglutaminase and a novel autoantigen in coeliac disease'. Clinical Immunology, 147 (1). [DOI] | |
| 2013 | Freeley M;Long A; (2013) 'Advances in siRNA delivery to T-cells: potential clinical applications for inflammatory disease, cancer and infection'. Biochemical Journal, 455 (2). [DOI] | |
| 2013 | Freeley M;Long A; (2013) 'The two hit hypothesis: an improved method for siRNA-mediated gene silencing in stimulated primary human T cells'. Journal of Immunological Methods, 396 (1-2). [DOI] | |
| 2012 | Freeley M;Long A; (2012) 'Regulating the Regulator: Phosphorylation of PKC θ in T Cells'. Frontiers in Immunology, 3 . [DOI] | |
| 2012 | Freeley M;O'Dowd F;Paul T;Kashanin D;Davies A;Kelleher D;Long A; (2012) 'L-plastin regulates polarization and migration in chemokine-stimulated human T lymphocytes'. Journal of Immunology, 188 (12). [DOI] | |
| 2011 | Verma NK;Dempsey E;Freeley M;Botting CH;Long A;Kelleher D;Volkov Y; (2011) 'Analysis of dynamic tyrosine phosphoproteome in LFA-1 triggered migrating T-cells'. Journal of Cellular Physiology, 226 (6). [DOI] | |
| 2011 | Freeley M;Kelleher D;Long A; (2011) 'Regulation of Protein Kinase C function by phosphorylation on conserved and non-conserved sites'. Cellular Signalling, 23 (5). [DOI] | |
| 2011 | Petrovic D;Stamataki Z;Dempsey E;Golden-Mason L;Freeley M;Doherty D;Prichard D;Keogh C;Conroy J;Mitchell S;Volkov Y;McKeating JA;O'Farrelly C;Kelleher D;Long A; (2011) 'Hepatitis C virus targets the T cell secretory machinery as a mechanism of immune evasion'. Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.), 53 (6). [DOI] | |
| 2010 | Freeley M;Bakos G;Davies A;Kelleher D;Long A;Dunican DJ; (2010) 'A high-content analysis toolbox permits dissection of diverse signaling pathways for T lymphocyte polarization'. Journal of Biomolecular Screening, 15 (5). [DOI] | |
| 2007 | Freeley M;Park J;Yang KJ;Wange RL;Volkov Y;Kelleher D;Long A; (2007) 'Loss of PTEN expression does not contribute to PDK-1 activity and PKC activation-loop phosphorylation in Jurkat leukaemic T cells'. Cellular Signalling, 19 (12). [DOI] | |
| 2006 | Gruber T;Freeley M;Thuille N;Heit I;Shaw S;Long A;Baier G; (2006) 'Comment on PDK1 nucleates T cell receptor-induced signaling complex for NF-kappaB activation'. Science, 312 (5770). [DOI] | |
| 2006 | Volkov Y;Long A;Freeley M;Golden-Mason L;O'Farrelly C;Murphy A;Kelleher D; (2006) 'The hepatitis C envelope 2 protein inhibits LFA-1-transduced protein kinase C signaling for T-lymphocyte migration'. Gastroenterology, 130 (2). [DOI] | |
| 2006 | Hazenberg JG;Freeley M;Foran E;Lee TC;Taylor D; (2006) 'Microdamage: a cell transducing mechanism based on ruptured osteocyte processes'. Journal of Biomechanics, 39 (11). [DOI] | |
| 2005 | Fanning A;Volkov Y;Freeley M;Kelleher D;Long A; (2005) 'CD44 cross-linking induces protein kinase C-regulated migration of human T lymphocytes'. International Immunology, 17 (4). [DOI] | |
| 2005 | Freeley M;Volkov Y;Kelleher D;Long A; (2005) 'Stimulus-induced phosphorylation of PKC theta at the C-terminal hydrophobic-motif in human T lymphocytes'. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 334 (2). [DOI] |
Editorial
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Freeley M. (2020) Current postgraduate training programs and online courses in precision medicine. ED [DOI] |
Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2023) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.
Honors and Awards
Employment
Research Interests
Migration
of T-cells from the blood into tissues such as the skin or gut and the
production of inflammatory molecules is a normal response to infection that
protects us from pathogens (elimination of the pathogen while leaving our own
cells alone). However, T-cells produce an unregulated inflammatory response in
autoimmune/inflammatory disease, therefore blocking this inflammatory response
is beneficial in this regard. Using small interfering RNA (siRNA) knockdown and pharmacological approaches, we are looking at the key pathways and genes that
T-cells use for migration/activation and investigating how we can manipulate
these pathways for therapeutic effect in autoimmune/inflammatory diseases.