Aoife McLysaght is Head of the Genetics Department at Trinity College Dublin, where she has led a research group focusing on Molecular Evolution since 2003.
Aoife was a member of the international consortium that published the first draft of the Human Genome sequence in 2001; was the first to discover novel human-specific genes, in 2009; identified links between gene duplication patterns and human disease; and has made significant contributions to our understanding of the human genome, as well as the genomes of other animals, plants and viruses.
Aoife’s research team has been funded through prestigious President of Ireland Young Researcher Award (PIYRA) and a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Researcher Award. In 2018 she was awarded a European Research Council Consolidator Grant.
Aoife is on the editorial board of 'Molecular Biology and Evolution', 'Genome Biology and Evolution', and 'Cell Reports'. She receives frequent invitations to speak at major international conferences and participates in the organisation of international meetings. She is also a member of the Genetics Society, and the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution, serving as Treasurer from 2012-14 and being elected President in 2017.
Aoife takes a keen interest in communicating science to the public in an engaging and accessible manner. She has given many talks at public events, including music festivals, The Royal Institution, and Brian Cox and Robin Ince’s Christmas Science shows. She is a frequent contributor to radio discussions including on BBC Radio 4, appeared on live TV, contributed to TV science documentaries, and has been a regular columnist for the Irish Times science page.
In 2016 Aoife gave the prestigious JBS Haldane Lecture of the Genetics Society, at the Ri.
