Denise Fitzgerald
@deefitzgerald.bsky.social
Interested in how the immune system influences tissue damage and regeneration in the central nervous system. Prof of Neuroimmunology at Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland. Particular interest in oligodendrocytes, myelin, Tregs. Views my own.
Reposted by Denise Fitzgerald
I am delighted to see this work published. A big thanks to everyone, particularly the excellent supervision of @lyons-lab.bsky.social, the work of co-first author @juliavdkorput.bsky.social and wonderful collaborators in Amsterdam and Oregon.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Myelin sheaths in the central nervous system can withstand damage and dynamically remodel
Myelin damage is a hallmark of several neurological disorders, but how it occurs remains to be fully understood. In this study, we found that early damage in zebrafish and rodent demyelination models ...
www.science.org
February 13, 2026 at 10:23 AM
I am delighted to see this work published. A big thanks to everyone, particularly the excellent supervision of @lyons-lab.bsky.social, the work of co-first author @juliavdkorput.bsky.social and wonderful collaborators in Amsterdam and Oregon.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Excellent advice
Include a writing retreat in your 2026 plans patthomson.net/2026/02/07/w...
why go on a writing retreat
I’ve been thinking about all the writing that I need to get done this year. There’s three book contracts, yes three, and a host of papers which are undoubtedly going to need revising. Looking…
patthomson.net
February 8, 2026 at 8:49 AM
Excellent advice
Recommendations for where to advertise Postdoc jobs for wide reach these days? Free and fee-based suggestions welcomed. Jobs based Ireland in neuroimmunology.Thanks!
February 6, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Recommendations for where to advertise Postdoc jobs for wide reach these days? Free and fee-based suggestions welcomed. Jobs based Ireland in neuroimmunology.Thanks!
Reposted by Denise Fitzgerald
Overjoyed to share our new work exploring the antigen specificity of CSF-expanded CD8+ T cells in #multiplesclerosis #EBV in @natimmunol.nature.com #immunology 🧪🧵1/
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Antigen specificity of clonally enriched CD8+ T cells in multiple sclerosis - Nature Immunology
Sabatino and colleagues examine expanded CD8+ T cell clonotypes from a small cohort of multiple sclerosis patients. They identified several cognate peptide epitopes that derive from Epstein–Barr virus...
www.nature.com
February 5, 2026 at 10:20 AM
Overjoyed to share our new work exploring the antigen specificity of CSF-expanded CD8+ T cells in #multiplesclerosis #EBV in @natimmunol.nature.com #immunology 🧪🧵1/
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Denise Fitzgerald
Among almost 60,000 women aged 18 - 45 in one Swedish county, #Covid #Vaccination did not affect the chance of getting or staying #pregnant.
I know of at least a dozen studies that have shown this, but this is by far the biggest! I spoke to @lizszabo.bsky.social
I know of at least a dozen studies that have shown this, but this is by far the biggest! I spoke to @lizszabo.bsky.social
Large study finds COVID-19 shots don’t affect fertility
www.cidrap.umn.edu
February 6, 2026 at 5:34 PM
Among almost 60,000 women aged 18 - 45 in one Swedish county, #Covid #Vaccination did not affect the chance of getting or staying #pregnant.
I know of at least a dozen studies that have shown this, but this is by far the biggest! I spoke to @lizszabo.bsky.social
I know of at least a dozen studies that have shown this, but this is by far the biggest! I spoke to @lizszabo.bsky.social
Reposted by Denise Fitzgerald
🧪 Want to discover what science really does for your health? Join the Love Your Health event on Sat 14 Feb, 1–4:30pm! Meet local scientists, try hands-on activities & explore research that matters to ALL ages. 💡👨👩👧👦 #NIScienceFest nisciencefestival.com/event/love-y...
Love Your Health: | NI Science Festival
nisciencefestival.com
January 28, 2026 at 9:15 AM
🧪 Want to discover what science really does for your health? Join the Love Your Health event on Sat 14 Feb, 1–4:30pm! Meet local scientists, try hands-on activities & explore research that matters to ALL ages. 💡👨👩👧👦 #NIScienceFest nisciencefestival.com/event/love-y...
Reposted by Denise Fitzgerald
We want to develop a Centre of Excellence for MS Research in Northern Ireland, and we want to hear your opinions!
Please share!
Next Meeting: 29th January 2026
You will be reimbursed for travel expenses.
For more information, contact: info@msresearchni.co.uk
#multiplesclerosis
#MSResearchNI
Please share!
Next Meeting: 29th January 2026
You will be reimbursed for travel expenses.
For more information, contact: info@msresearchni.co.uk
#multiplesclerosis
#MSResearchNI
January 19, 2026 at 11:44 AM
We want to develop a Centre of Excellence for MS Research in Northern Ireland, and we want to hear your opinions!
Please share!
Next Meeting: 29th January 2026
You will be reimbursed for travel expenses.
For more information, contact: info@msresearchni.co.uk
#multiplesclerosis
#MSResearchNI
Please share!
Next Meeting: 29th January 2026
You will be reimbursed for travel expenses.
For more information, contact: info@msresearchni.co.uk
#multiplesclerosis
#MSResearchNI
Reposted by Denise Fitzgerald
🎂 What a nice b-day surprise: 🏆 Congrats to Chengyu Zou on this timely and outstanding Cell Perspective on regulatory T cells.
🧬 Perfectly aligned with the Nobel spotlight on Tregs.
Source:
Zou C. et al., Cell (2026).
authors.elsevier.com/c/1mPZDL7PXu...
🧬 Perfectly aligned with the Nobel spotlight on Tregs.
Source:
Zou C. et al., Cell (2026).
authors.elsevier.com/c/1mPZDL7PXu...
January 8, 2026 at 4:43 PM
🎂 What a nice b-day surprise: 🏆 Congrats to Chengyu Zou on this timely and outstanding Cell Perspective on regulatory T cells.
🧬 Perfectly aligned with the Nobel spotlight on Tregs.
Source:
Zou C. et al., Cell (2026).
authors.elsevier.com/c/1mPZDL7PXu...
🧬 Perfectly aligned with the Nobel spotlight on Tregs.
Source:
Zou C. et al., Cell (2026).
authors.elsevier.com/c/1mPZDL7PXu...
Reposted by Denise Fitzgerald
🔬 PhD Opportunity in Cancer Cell Biology 🔬
Are you an enthusiastic and ambitious scientist looking for a PhD project in cancer cell biology? Apply to join as a PhD student in Emma Evergren's group to help tackle fundamental questions in cancer cell biology.
Apply by 30 January
lnkd.in/eDrBp-J9
Are you an enthusiastic and ambitious scientist looking for a PhD project in cancer cell biology? Apply to join as a PhD student in Emma Evergren's group to help tackle fundamental questions in cancer cell biology.
Apply by 30 January
lnkd.in/eDrBp-J9
January 5, 2026 at 9:16 AM
🔬 PhD Opportunity in Cancer Cell Biology 🔬
Are you an enthusiastic and ambitious scientist looking for a PhD project in cancer cell biology? Apply to join as a PhD student in Emma Evergren's group to help tackle fundamental questions in cancer cell biology.
Apply by 30 January
lnkd.in/eDrBp-J9
Are you an enthusiastic and ambitious scientist looking for a PhD project in cancer cell biology? Apply to join as a PhD student in Emma Evergren's group to help tackle fundamental questions in cancer cell biology.
Apply by 30 January
lnkd.in/eDrBp-J9
Reposted by Denise Fitzgerald
We're delighted that Professor Sarah Tabrizi (@uclqsion.bsky.social) is part of Nature’s 10, a list of people who shaped science in 2025.
Her team's global trial at @ucl-hd.bsky.social showed a new Huntington’s treatment could slow progression by 75%.
Her team's global trial at @ucl-hd.bsky.social showed a new Huntington’s treatment could slow progression by 75%.
‘Giant step forward’ for Huntington’s — the scientist behind the first gene therapy
Sarah Tabrizi is part of Nature’s 10, a list of people who shaped science in 2025.
www.nature.com
December 10, 2025 at 11:08 AM
We're delighted that Professor Sarah Tabrizi (@uclqsion.bsky.social) is part of Nature’s 10, a list of people who shaped science in 2025.
Her team's global trial at @ucl-hd.bsky.social showed a new Huntington’s treatment could slow progression by 75%.
Her team's global trial at @ucl-hd.bsky.social showed a new Huntington’s treatment could slow progression by 75%.
Reposted by Denise Fitzgerald
In the year that Tregs get the respect they deserve - here is our contribution to help understand what regulates their homeostasis. One for lovers of cytokines and Tregs! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
December 10, 2025 at 12:16 PM
In the year that Tregs get the respect they deserve - here is our contribution to help understand what regulates their homeostasis. One for lovers of cytokines and Tregs! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Denise Fitzgerald
At AIMSRN2025, our team highlighted why the eye matters in MS research. Catch up on the talks via the YouTube links below - worth a watch!
Dr Gavin McDonnell
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUtm...
Dr. Michelle Naughton
www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-f4...
Dr Lajos Csincsik
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE5D...
Dr Gavin McDonnell
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUtm...
Dr. Michelle Naughton
www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-f4...
Dr Lajos Csincsik
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE5D...
Could the eye be a window to the brain in MS? Dr. Michelle Naughton, Queens University Belfast
YouTube video by ALL Institute
www.youtube.com
July 19, 2025 at 2:32 PM
At AIMSRN2025, our team highlighted why the eye matters in MS research. Catch up on the talks via the YouTube links below - worth a watch!
Dr Gavin McDonnell
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUtm...
Dr. Michelle Naughton
www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-f4...
Dr Lajos Csincsik
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE5D...
Dr Gavin McDonnell
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUtm...
Dr. Michelle Naughton
www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-f4...
Dr Lajos Csincsik
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE5D...
Reposted by Denise Fitzgerald
Earlier this month, we trained on the new M2OCT at the NI Clinical Research Facility-thanks to Imagine Eyes! This hi-res tech will boost eye research in MS, glaucoma, Alzheimer’s & more, led by Queen’s University Belfast. Thanks to our funders incl. Jules Thorn Trust & iREACH Health! #MSResearchNI
July 19, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Earlier this month, we trained on the new M2OCT at the NI Clinical Research Facility-thanks to Imagine Eyes! This hi-res tech will boost eye research in MS, glaucoma, Alzheimer’s & more, led by Queen’s University Belfast. Thanks to our funders incl. Jules Thorn Trust & iREACH Health! #MSResearchNI
Reposted by Denise Fitzgerald
Last week, Prof. Imre Lengyel and Dr. Lajos Csincsik joined the Eyes on the Brain meeting hosted by Optos in Edinburgh to explore how eye imaging and AI could help detect and monitor brain and nerve conditions, including MS. Thanks to Optos for the invitation and inspiring discussions!
#MS #retina
#MS #retina
November 6, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Reposted by Denise Fitzgerald
🔬 Last month, our NI MS Research Hub team shared how the retina may help us better understand Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
We presented at the World Sight Day & Pan-Ireland Ophthalmic Meeting in Belfast — a great chance to link eye and brain health to support people with MS. 👁️🧠
#MSResearchNI #WSD2025
We presented at the World Sight Day & Pan-Ireland Ophthalmic Meeting in Belfast — a great chance to link eye and brain health to support people with MS. 👁️🧠
#MSResearchNI #WSD2025
November 6, 2025 at 6:02 PM
🔬 Last month, our NI MS Research Hub team shared how the retina may help us better understand Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
We presented at the World Sight Day & Pan-Ireland Ophthalmic Meeting in Belfast — a great chance to link eye and brain health to support people with MS. 👁️🧠
#MSResearchNI #WSD2025
We presented at the World Sight Day & Pan-Ireland Ophthalmic Meeting in Belfast — a great chance to link eye and brain health to support people with MS. 👁️🧠
#MSResearchNI #WSD2025
Reposted by Denise Fitzgerald
🎉 Huge congrats to Nira for winning Best Postdoctoral Research Talk at the Irish Society of Immunology Conference in Galway! 👏
She presented exciting work on how the brain repairs itself in MS, highlighting immune receptors that support remyelination.
#MSResearchNI @qubelfastofficial.bsky.social
She presented exciting work on how the brain repairs itself in MS, highlighting immune receptors that support remyelination.
#MSResearchNI @qubelfastofficial.bsky.social
November 6, 2025 at 6:07 PM
🎉 Huge congrats to Nira for winning Best Postdoctoral Research Talk at the Irish Society of Immunology Conference in Galway! 👏
She presented exciting work on how the brain repairs itself in MS, highlighting immune receptors that support remyelination.
#MSResearchNI @qubelfastofficial.bsky.social
She presented exciting work on how the brain repairs itself in MS, highlighting immune receptors that support remyelination.
#MSResearchNI @qubelfastofficial.bsky.social
Reposted by Denise Fitzgerald
Join the Glia community on bluesky go.bsky.app/Lyzro3M
November 15, 2024 at 10:31 AM
Join the Glia community on bluesky go.bsky.app/Lyzro3M
Reposted by Denise Fitzgerald
I hope this Nobel Prize gets people talking meaningfully about our amazing immune systems and the importance of basic research to human health (and funding basic research).
I am also glad young women get to see that women can not only work at this level, but that those who do can get recognized.
I am also glad young women get to see that women can not only work at this level, but that those who do can get recognized.
October 7, 2025 at 8:50 PM
I hope this Nobel Prize gets people talking meaningfully about our amazing immune systems and the importance of basic research to human health (and funding basic research).
I am also glad young women get to see that women can not only work at this level, but that those who do can get recognized.
I am also glad young women get to see that women can not only work at this level, but that those who do can get recognized.
Reposted by Denise Fitzgerald
Oh how sad
Really a towering figure, whose work laid the ground for stem cells, regenerative biology etc
I go to know him well over many years and he was definitely one-of a-kind...
Really a towering figure, whose work laid the ground for stem cells, regenerative biology etc
I go to know him well over many years and he was definitely one-of a-kind...
October 8, 2025 at 7:28 AM
Oh how sad
Really a towering figure, whose work laid the ground for stem cells, regenerative biology etc
I go to know him well over many years and he was definitely one-of a-kind...
Really a towering figure, whose work laid the ground for stem cells, regenerative biology etc
I go to know him well over many years and he was definitely one-of a-kind...
Great summary on the back story to this year's Nobel Prize
A small primer on the #NobelPrize awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi today. This prize was for combining two separate fields of immunology research - genetic research on IPEX and immunology research of regulatory T cells (#Tregs), with enormous impact on biology/medicine
October 6, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Great summary on the back story to this year's Nobel Prize
Phenomenal achievement
🧵 BREAKING: Gene therapy shows promise in slowing Huntington’s disease progression. A major milestone in neurodegenerative disease research. @uclqsion.bsky.social @ucl-hd.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Huntington's disease successfully treated for first time
One of the most devastating diseases finally has a treatment that can slow its progression and transform lives, tearful doctors tell BBC.
www.bbc.co.uk
September 24, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Phenomenal achievement
Fantastic thread on budgeting from @labliston.bsky.social . Great advice for new (and not so new!) PIs. I would add awareness of how psychology impacts spending based on moving from low budget to high budget setting and vice versa....
🧵How to write and manage your first research budgets
The point of funding is to convert it into quality research. A well-spent research budget should fund the idea it was raised on, plus revision experiments, plus preliminary data for the next grant. So you need to spend, while avoiding waste.
The point of funding is to convert it into quality research. A well-spent research budget should fund the idea it was raised on, plus revision experiments, plus preliminary data for the next grant. So you need to spend, while avoiding waste.
September 20, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Fantastic thread on budgeting from @labliston.bsky.social . Great advice for new (and not so new!) PIs. I would add awareness of how psychology impacts spending based on moving from low budget to high budget setting and vice versa....
Reposted by Denise Fitzgerald
For our #flowcytometry peeps, would you like to have a single fix/perm protocol that is optimised for everything? One that preserves fluorophores while allowing simultaneous TF and cytokine staining? How about 100-fold cheaper?
You got it:
currentprotocols.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
You got it:
currentprotocols.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
currentprotocols.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
September 19, 2025 at 2:39 PM
For our #flowcytometry peeps, would you like to have a single fix/perm protocol that is optimised for everything? One that preserves fluorophores while allowing simultaneous TF and cytokine staining? How about 100-fold cheaper?
You got it:
currentprotocols.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
You got it:
currentprotocols.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Reposted by Denise Fitzgerald
Step inside an immersive experience to learn about the global threat of antimicrobial resistant infections, how bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics and the research from @wwiem-qub.bsky.social at @qubelfastofficial.bsky.social to fight it.
Where: W5, 2 Queens Quay Belfast
When: 1st-15th Sep
Where: W5, 2 Queens Quay Belfast
When: 1st-15th Sep
August 26, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Step inside an immersive experience to learn about the global threat of antimicrobial resistant infections, how bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics and the research from @wwiem-qub.bsky.social at @qubelfastofficial.bsky.social to fight it.
Where: W5, 2 Queens Quay Belfast
When: 1st-15th Sep
Where: W5, 2 Queens Quay Belfast
When: 1st-15th Sep
Reposted by Denise Fitzgerald
Very promising news on the next seven-year EU budget, with a proposed substantial increase for Horizon Europe including the ERC.
We are analysing the other parts of this proposal in more detail.
@Vonderleyen @EZaharievaEU
research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/news/all-res...
We are analysing the other parts of this proposal in more detail.
@Vonderleyen @EZaharievaEU
research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/news/all-res...
Horizon Europe 2028 - 2034: twice bigger, simpler, faster and more impactful
Research and innovation news alert: As part of the next long-term EU budget 2028-2034, the Commission is proposing to double the budget of the research and innovation framework programme to €175 billi...
research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu
July 23, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Very promising news on the next seven-year EU budget, with a proposed substantial increase for Horizon Europe including the ERC.
We are analysing the other parts of this proposal in more detail.
@Vonderleyen @EZaharievaEU
research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/news/all-res...
We are analysing the other parts of this proposal in more detail.
@Vonderleyen @EZaharievaEU
research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/news/all-res...