Dr Antoinette Perry is an Assistant Professor in Genetics and Cell Biology at University College Dublin. She is a PI and UCD Conway Fellow and is one of a triumvirate of co-directors of the Cancer Biology and Therapeutics laboratory at the UCD Conway Institute.

Dr Perry leads a research team that focuses on translational prostate cancer epigenetics; understanding the role of epigenomic aberrations in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer and harnessing these aberrations to develop prognostic and predictive biomarkers. Dr Perry has a particular interest in studying DNA methylation changes in “liquid biopsies” that can act as surrogates for non-invasive tumour detection and monitoring. Her research has also highlighted the importance of epigenetic dysregulation of the Wnt and IGF axis in prostate cancer, and has identified a number of potential biomarkers for aggressive prostate cancer. Other research avenues involve the exploration of chemopreventive properties of nutraceuticals, including seaweed bioactives and cannabinoids.

Prior to joining UCD in 2015, Dr Perry studied at Trinity College Dublin, where she graduated with a BA in Human Genetics in 2001. She subsequently secured a post-graduate scholarship from the Irish Research Council to fund her PhD in the field of prostate cancer epigenetics, which she carried out at the Institute of Molecular Medicine, Trinity College Dublin. Upon award of her PhD in 2007, Antoinette continued her post-doctoral research in this field at TCD. In 2009, she was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship from the Irish Cancer Society, and subsequently a Young Investigator award from the US Prostate Cancer Foundation (2011-2014). In 2015, Antoinette was appointed as the Breast-Predict Lecturer in Cancer Biology at the School of Biomedical and Biomolecular Science at UCD.