BSc (Hons) Genetics, PhD
Research Fellow
- About
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- Email Address
- g.mcilroy@abdn.ac.uk
- Office Address
- School/Department
- School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition
Biography
09/2021 - Present: Diabetes UK RD Lawrence Fellow, University of Aberdeen
03/2019 - 06/2021: Diabetes UK Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Aberdeen
03/2018 - 03/2019: Wellcome Trust ISSF Research Fellow, University of Aberdeen
12/2014 - 03/2018: MRC Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Aberdeen
10/2010 - 12/2014: PhD, University of Aberdeen
09/2005 - 09/2009: BSc (Hons) Genetics, University of Glasgow
Step forward gives "new hope" to people with rare condition
Research into an “exciting potential new avenue” towards treating a rare and sometimes life-threatening disorder has generated another promising result.
Qualifications
- PhD Integrative Physiology2014 - University of Aberdeen
- BSc Genetics (Hons)2009 - University of Glasgow
Memberships and Affiliations
- Internal Memberships
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BSU Team Committee Member (2019 - Present, Academic representative)
- External Memberships
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Diabetes UK (2015 - Present, Professional Member)
American Society of Gene + Cell Therapy (2022 - Present, Transitional Member)
Latest Publications
Disentangling the detrimental effects of local from systemic adipose tissue dysfunction on articular cartilage in the knee
Osteoarthritis and CartilageContributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2024.07.006
Preclinical evaluation of tissue-selective gene therapies for congenital generalised lipodystrophy
Gene TherapyContributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41434-024-00471-z
- [ONLINE] View publication in Nature
GLP-1 receptor agonist improves metabolic disease in a pre-clinical model of lipodystrophy
Frontiers in Endocrinology, vol. 15, 1379228Contributions to Journals: ArticlesProceedings of the annual meeting of the European Consortium of Lipodystrophies (ECLip), Pisa, Italy, 28–29 September 2023
Contributions to Journals: Conference Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ando.2024.03.002
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Hydroxysteroid 17-beta dehydrogenase 13(Hsd17b13)knockdown attenuates liver steatosis in high-fat diet obese mice
Working Papers: Preprint Papers- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.02.27.582262
Prizes and Awards
Diabetes UK Innovators in Diabetes 2024 - Presentation Winner
- Research
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Research Overview
I am interested in the development and function of adipose tissue (body fat). In conditions such as obesity, adipose tissue becomes dysfunctional and no longer safely stores dietary fats. This can lead to severe metabolic complications such as diabetes, fatty liver, cardiovascular disease and some cancers.
Some people are unable to make adipose tissue. These rare disorders are known as lipodystrophies. Here, the lack of body fat and inability to safely store dietary fats causes similar metabolic complications to those observed in obesity. For more information on lipodystrophies, visit the Lipodystrophy UK website, the UK’s only charity dedicated to supporting people affected by Lipodystrophy, which is a rare and life threatening disease affecting approximately 1 in 1 million people across the world.
My current research utilises mouse models of lipodystrophy to investigate this disorder. My aim is to discover novel therapeutic treatment strategies for patients suffering from lipodystrophy. However, rare disorders such as lipodystrophy can also be used to identify new treatments for more common forms of type 2 diabetes often observed in conditions of obesity.
Research Areas
Biomedical Sciences
Nutrition and Health
Research Specialisms
- Biological Sciences
- Molecular Biology
- Animal Physiology
- Endocrinology
- Diabetes
Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
Preclinical evaluation of tissue-selective gene therapies for congenital generalised lipodystrophy
Our latest manuscript has been published in Gene Therapy. Here we reveal that adipose tissue-selective gene therapy offers great potential as a therapeutic strategy to correct multiple metabolic complications in individuals with lipodystrophy.
Knowledge Exchange
Kemnay Academy Advanced Higher Biology/Science Baccalaureate Visit (01/02/2023)
PCR practical and Scientific Poster workshop
Pint of Science Invited speaker (21/05/2019)
Aberdeen, Scotland
Cell Block Science Interactive stall (24/10/2018)
HMP Grampian
Explorathon Interactive stall (28/09/2018)
Aberdeen Science Centre
Supervision
Ms Mansi Tiwari joined the Mcilroy lab in October 2022 to commence her PhD. Here she will combine gene therapy and cutting edge multiomic next generation sequencing analysis at single cell resolution to identify novel treatments for type 2 diabetes.
Funding and Grants
Diabetes UK RD Lawrence Fellowship 2021 (£495,283, PI)
Exploiting gene therapy to discover treatments for type 2 diabetes
Wellcome Trust ISSF Seed Corn Fund 2020 (£17,469, Co-I)
Developing viral therapeutics for the treatment of severe diabetes and metabolic disease in lipodystrophy.
10X Genomics/illumina core facility grant @ CGEBM 2019 (~£10,000, PI)
Adipose tissue chromatin profiling in generalised lipodystrophy at single cell resolution
EFSD/Lilly Young Investigator Research Award 2019 (€50,000, PI)
Identifying Novel Therapies to Prevent Diabetes in Congenital Lipodystrophy.
Wellcome Trust ISSF Fellowship Support Award 2018 (£60,000, PI)
Does Bscl2 disruption in the liver contribute to metabolic dysfunction in lipodystrophy?
- Teaching
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Teaching Responsibilities
MSc Human Nutrition - Molecular Nutrition (RN5502)
Molecular Biology of Lipodystrophy
MSc Diabetes and Metabolism (BM5502)
Sleeve gastrectomy data analysis tutorial
- Publications
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Adipocyte-specific protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B deletion increases lipogenesis, adipocyte cell size and is a minor regulator of glucose homeostasis
PloS ONE, vol. 7, no. 2, e32700Contributions to Journals: ArticlesSusceptibility to diet-induced obesity and glucose intolerance in the APP (SWE)/PSEN1 (A246E) mouse model of Alzheimer's disease is associated with increased brain levels of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) and retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4), and basal phosphorylation of S6 ribosomal protein
Diabetologia, vol. 54, no. 8, pp. 2143-2151Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-011-2160-2
Expression of the yeast NADH dehydrogenase Ndi1 in Drosophila confers increased lifespan independently of dietary restriction
PNAS, vol. 107, no. 20, pp. 9105-9110Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0911539107
Production of reactive oxygen species by the mitochondrial electron transport chain in Drosophila melanogaster
Journal of bioenergetics and biomembranes, vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 135-142Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10863-010-9281-z
