Dr Kathy Gately

Dr Kathy Gately is a Clinical Senior Lecturer at the Trinity St. James’s Cancer Institute (TSJCI) and a Clinical Scientist at St. James’s Hospital Dublin (SJH). She established and co-manages the Lung Cancer Biobank which supports translational research and clinical trials within the Translational Oncology Research Group (TORG). With >20 years experience in molecular diagnostics and clinical research, she leads a transdisciplinary team of postdoctoral scientists, research nurse/assistants, MD, PhD, and MSc students. Her translational research focuses on the liquid biopsy, 3D models and elucidating drug resistance mechanisms to targeted cancer treatments. She directs the lung cancer program for the HEA funded, All-Ireland Cancer Liquid Biopsies Consortium (CLuB). This longitudinal study involves the enumeration & characterisation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), ctDNA analysis tracking minimal residual disease (MRD) and immunoprofiling in early-stage lung cancer. Her team has developed a living biobank of patient-derived organoid (PDO) models for biomarker discovery and drug screening studies. She is an expert member of the HSE midlands area and corporate division research ethics committee (RREC). She established the Trans-Atlantic Cancer Alliance for Liquid Biopsy Research and Training (TALenT) network which brings together All-Ireland liquid biopsy experts and NCI colleagues from Johns Hopkins University and is supported by the Health Research Board All-Ireland NCI Cancer Consortium.