Siobhan Roche, PhD
Scientific Programme Manager
Life Sciences Directorate
Tel: + 353 (0)1 607 3067
Email: siobhan.roche@sfi.ie
Dr. Siobhan Roche received her undergraduate degree from the genetics department at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and her PhD from the University of California at Berkeley (USA). Her thesis research focussed on the genetic regulation of mobile DNA elements known as transposons in the model organism, Drosophila melanogaster.
After obtaining her PhD, she was employed as a research scientist by Exelixis, a genomics-based drug discovery company that uses model organisms to identify novel drug targets for the treatment of cancer. Dr. Roche was specifically involved in identifying genes required for regulation of cell growth and proliferation in Drosophila and is a co-inventor on numerous international patents resulting from this research. She left Exelixis in 2002 to return to Ireland and began working as a Programme Manager at Hibergen, a genomics company that aimed to identify DNA variants in the Irish population that predispose to various complex genetic disorders. There she managed Hibergen’s disease gene programmes focussed on cardiovascular disease and psychiatric disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and major depression.
After the closure of Hibergen in 2003, Dr. Roche returned to the genetics department in TCD to pursue her research interest in the area of psychiatric genetics. She managed a research group studying the molecular genetics of bipolar affective disorder in collaboration with Dr. Patrick McKeon, St. Patrick’s Hospital Dublin. She successfully obtained funding for this research from national and international agencies and was recently awarded a Young Investigator Award from NARSAD, a major mental health charity in the US. The group’s research has been published in leading peer reviewed journals and received awards at both national and international conferences.
During her research career, Dr. Roche has been actively involved in teaching and has successfully trained both undergraduate and post-graduate students, acting as direct thesis advisor for two post-graduate students.
