Team
We are always looking for passionate, motivated and talented researchers to join our team!
European Iron Club Meeting, Oxford 2022
Principal Investigator
Suzanne Cloonan PhD
Dr. Cloonan is a Professor in Respiratory Biochemistry in the School of Medicine Trinity College Dublin and Tallaght University Hospital Dublin, Ireland and an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry in Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York City. Dr. Cloonan received her PhD in Biochemistry in 2010 from the University of Dublin, Trinity College Dublin Ireland. From 2011-2014, she carried out her Post-Doctoral training with Dr. Augustine MK Choi in The Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston followed by an Instructorship of Biochemistry in Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine (2014-2016).
Meet the Team
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Claire Healy
Senior Research Fellow
Claire Healy is a Research Assistant Professor who joined the lab in Dublin in May 2020. Claire completed her undergraduate studies at Trinity College Dublin (Microbiology). She completed her PhD at University College Dublin in 2014 in the lab of Prof Stephen Gordon. From 2014 to 2020 Claire carried out postdoctoral work at Weill Cornell Medicine (NYC, USA) in the lab of Prof Sabine Ehrt. Claire is a microbiologist whose research has focused on molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis, an infectious disease that primarily affects the lungs. Her primary research focus in the lab is to investigate host-pathogen interactions in opportunistic non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) lung infections in COPD and has just started her independent research program upon receiving an SFI-IRC Pathways award.
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Bill Zhang
Assistant Professor
William Zhang is currently an Assistant Professor in the division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the New York Presbyterian – Weill Cornell Medical Center. He completed his undergraduate studies at Johns Hopkins University and graduated from New York University School of Medicine in 2012. He has been at Cornell since then, finishing his internal medicine residency training in 2015 and then served an additional year as a Chief Resident. His research interest is in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), in particular the role of iron metabolism in disease pathogenesis and progression, and his work includes multiple translational and foundational projects in this area. His work is currently funded by a K08 Award from the NHLBI and is a previous recipient of a Parker B Francis Award, an ALA Biomedical Research Grant, a COPD research grant from the CHEST Foundation as well as the Stony Wold-Herbert Fund.
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Lynne Faherty
Ph.D. Student
Lynne has been a Ph.D. student in the Cloonan Lab since September 2020. She graduated from University College Dublin with a BSc in Genetics in May 2020. Her primary research focus in the lab is to investigate the contribution of mitochondrial iron dysregulation to bacterial infection in COPD. Lynne is an Irish Research Council Post Graduate Scholar having received this scholarship for her work in 2021.
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Sarah Kenny
Ph.D. Student
Sarah has been a Ph.D. candidate in the Cloonan lab since 2020. Sarah graduated in May of 2020 with a degree in Genetics from Trinity College Dublin. Her Ph.D. and her research interests center around mitochondrial iron transport and function in alveolar type II epithelial cells. Apart from science, Sarah has a passion for sport and is no stranger to some outdoor adventures.
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Ruaraidhri Jordan
Ph.D. Student
Ruaraidhri Jordan joined the Cloonan Laboratory as a PhD candidate in September 2022. He is a graduate of Human Health and Disease B.Sc. at Trinity College Dublin. Ruaraidhri's research is focused on the impact of iron binding therapeutics on macrophages and pathogens in chronic pulmonary disease.
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Sophia Wugk
Ph.D Student
Sophia Wugk joined the lab in September 2023. She graduated in May 2023 from Trinity College Dublin with a BSc in Human Health and Disease for which she completed her final year research project in the Cloonan lab, and continued here as a temporary research assistant before starting her Ph.D. Sophia is interested in understanding the interactions between iron-loaded alveolar macrophages and alveolar epithelial cells in the context of COPD.
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Sonia Gesmundo
Research Assistant
Sonia has been a Research Assistant at Cloonan Lab since October 2023. She graduated from Trinity College Dublin in May 2023 with a B.Sc in Biochemistry. Sonia's strong foundation in biochemistry and her unwavering enthusiasm and eagerness keep the Cloonan lab running smoothly with some fun along the way!
Alumni
Niamh Williams PhD
Niamh Williams was a Research Fellow in the Cloonan lab at Trinity College Dublin from 2020-2023. Niamh graduated in 2015 with a degree in Biochemistry from Trinity College Dublin. Niamh graduated in 2020 with a Phd in immunometabolism in the Lab of Professor Luke O’Neill, Trinity College Dublin. Niamh is currently working in Industry.
Elizabeth Perez B.A.
Elizabeth Perez was a Senior Research Technician in the Cloonan lab from 2015-2020. Elizabeth has a degree in Biochemistry from Hunter College, New York City. She currently works in Industry in the New York Area.
Sarah Ann Kikkers B.Sc
Sarah Ann received her Bachelors degree in Human Health and Disease from Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. Upon graduating, Sarah Ann worked in the Cloonan lab for two years (2016-2018). Sarah Ann is currently a Digital Health Consultant at HealthXL, Ireland.
Ziling Huang M.D. PhD
Ziling (Erin) completed her M.D. at Nanjing Medical University, her Master’s Degree in Pathology from Guangxi Medical University and her PhD in Surgical Pathology from Tongji University. Erin worked in the Cloonan lab Cornell from 2017 to 2019 coming from China on a research fellowship supported by the China Scholarship Council. Her research interest is in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), in particular the pathogenic role of iron metabolism in type II alveolar cells and the development of IPF. She is currently completing her Residency training in pathology at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center (FUSCC).
Kihwan Kim Bsc
Kihwan was a Research Technician in the Cloonan lab at Weill Cornell from 2018-2023. Kihwan graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry. He is currently working in Industry.
Jonathan Baker PhD
Dr Jonathan Baker completed his undergraduate and post graduate studies in Biochemistry at Newcastle University. His research interests involve the investigation of oxidative stress induced miRNAs and their regulation of the accelerated ageing phenotype in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), understanding how they may regulate cellular senescence. Jonathan visited the Cloonan lab in 2019 on a European Respiratory Society Short term Fellowship.
Maria Pabon MD
Maria completed her MD at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia. In 2014 she moved to New York City as a Research Fellow in the lab of Dr. Augustine M.K Choi in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, where she was co-mentored by Dr.’s Mary Choi and Suzanne Cloonan. In 2017, she started her medical residency in Internal Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine where she is currently Chief Resident. In July 2020 Maria began her fellowship training in cardiology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital with the goal of continuing her basic science research as a life career.
Short-term Trainee Alumni
2023 Lauren Devitt, Intercalated Masters Student, Trinity College Dublin
2023 Silvie de Simone, Biochemistry Undergraduate Research Thesis, Trinity College Dublin
2023 Sophia Wugk, Human Health and Disease Undergraduate Research Thesis, Trinity College Dublin
2022 Aleksandra Elwertowska, Erasmus Research Student, Bachelor Thesis in Medical Science with a Major in Biomedicine, The Karolinska Institute
2021 Sarah Abdelhafeez, Intercalated Masters Student, Trinity College Dublin
2018 Youmana Abdelganhy, Resident, Weill Cornell, New York Presbyterian Hospital Research Elective.
2018 Sumaya Al-Maraghi, Visiting Summer Student, Weill Cornell Medicine, Qatar
2018 Russel Simon, Resident, Weill Cornell, New York Presbyterian Hospital Research Elective
2018 Iseult Jackson, Trinity College Dublin genetics summer scholarships, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City
2017/2018 James Butler, Royal College of Surgeons, Summer Research project, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City
Lab Fun
Contact us.
Postdoctoral Researcher Associates and Fellows
To apply for a position as a Postdoctoral Researcher or Fellow, please send an email to Dr. Cloonan with a CV, cover letter describing your career goals, and a clear description of what interests you about our science. Post Doctoral Candidates should have a Ph.D. in a related discipline and should have published at least one first-author research paper. We welcome Pulmonary/Respiratory Fellows with an interest in research and highly encourage clinically translatable research projects. We also host:
European Respiratory Society ERS Short or Long Term Fellowships
The European Respiratory Society RESPIRE Program
Irish Research Council Post Doctoral Research Program
Graduate Students
Prospective Ph.D. students should make informal enquires to Dr. Cloonan and include a CV, cover letter, and a summary of scientific interests and reasons for being interested in our research group.
We are currently hiring Ph.D. students for 2020. Full details of graduate student applications to Trinity College Dublin can be found here.
Prospective candidates are also encouraged to explore applying for funding to support their studies. Examples include the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering & Technology (IRCSET),
Undergraduate Students
Each year the lab will host a limited number of undergraduate students.
High School Students
Each year the lab will host a limited number of high school/ secondary school students.
