The McDonnell Lab
Researching Antigen Identification and Diagnostics
The McDonnell Lab was founded at UCL in 2023 and focuses on antigen identification, protein characterisation and the development of new diagnostics. The lab develops novel diagnostic appraches in complex disorders and has a unique interdisciplinary approach that incorporates experience from multiple fields, including biophysics, immunology, and biochemistry, as well as experiences from working within government research, the NHS, and academia. The approach the laboratory takes is heavily based in collaboration, multi-disciplinary research and the belief that by focusing on areas of unmet clinical need, we can have the greatest effect on patient lives.
Areas of Expertise
The McDonnell lab works in a wide range of conditions, aiming to escape the silo of research. We have a strong belief that methods are transferrable and can have significant impact in new fields. Dr McDonnell has published research focussed on Rheumatoid Arthritis, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Antiphospholipid Syndrome, Chronic Histiocytic Intervillousitis and Haemophagocytic Lympthohistiocytosis. The methods in the McDonnell Lab are similarly varied from Biochemical approaches (Enzymatic Cleavage, Post Translational Modification and Chromatography), Biophysical methods (Molecular Simulation, SAXS, AUC, DLS) and Immunological techniques (ELISA, Western Blotting, FACS). For collaborations or discussions of the projects, feel free to contact us below.
Selected Publications
Ciurtin C, Helmy GA, Ferreira AC, Manson JJ, Jury EC, McDonnell T. A tale of two functions: C-reactive protein complement-ary structures and their role in rheumatoid arthritis. Clin Immunol. 2024 Aug;265:110281. doi: 10.1016/j.clim.2024.110281. Epub 2024 Jun 15. PMID: 38885803.
Bradford, H. McDonnell, TCR, Stewart, A. Skelton, A. Ng, J. Fraternali, F. Isenberg, A. Khan, A. Mauro, C. Mauri, C. Thioredoxin is a metabolic rheostat controlling regulatory B cells. (2024) Nature Immunology, 10.1002/jcla.24231
Shaw,B. McDonnell, T. Radley, E. Thomas, B. Smith, L. Davenport, C. Gonzalez, S. Rahman, A. Layfield, R. Preservation of Whole Antibodies Within Ancient Teeth. iScience. DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107575