Mary completed an undergraduate degree and Ph.D. in Microbiology from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. She then stayed on as a senior postdoctoral fellow analysing the structure/function relationships and protective potentials of major ligand-binding proteins of Gram-positive bacteria. Most of the research was focused on a major protective fibrinogen-binding protein of Streptococcus equi, the causative agent of strangles in horses. In 2006, Mary moved to the Irish Meningitis and Sepsis Reference Laboratory (IMSRL) located at Children’s Health Ireland at Temple Street, Dublin where she has continued her interest in Streptococci. Mary set up and currently runs the Irish typing service for invasive isolates of Streptococcus agalactiae and Streptococcus pyogenes using genotyping/serotyping and, emm typing methods, respectively. These data are submitted to the Health Protective Surveillance Centre to inform on national surveillance. In addition to the national typing service, the rest of Mary's time is focused on research with interests in the distribution of antimicrobial resistance mechanisms and virulence factors among invasive and non-invasive isolates and their association with particular lineages. Recently, this research has moved from PCR-based analysis to high-resolution whole genome sequence analysis with a view to enhancing surveillance and understanding of the population biology of these two important human pathogens.
Senior Researcher
Children's University Hospital
Temple Street
Irish Meningitis and Sepsis Reference Laboratory