Dr David Finlay is an Associate Professor in Immunometabolism in the School of Biochemistry and Immunology and the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Trinity College Dublin. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from Trinity College Dublin in 2001 and a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Dundee in 2006. He completed his postdoctoral trained in the lab of Prof. Doreen Cantrell at the University of Dundee before starting his independent research group in Trinity College Dublin in 2012. Dr Finlay’s research is at the forefront of the emerging field of Immunometabolism. His research team are revealing novel strategies to modulate immune cell function through targeting cellular metabolism and new therapeutic opportunities are being explored. Dr Finlay’s research has been published in the top journals in the field of Immunology and he is the recipient of major awards including a Science Foundation Ireland Career Development Award in 2014 and a European Research Council Consolidator Award in 2017.

Short Abstract
For robust anti-tumour functions NK cells increase the uptake of cellular fuels and the flux through metabolic pathways. We have characterised these metabolic responses in activated NK cells, discovered the metabolic regulators involved and their importance for NK cell effector function. NK cells have profound metabolic defects in various disease states where NK cell functional responses are impaired. These discoveries have important implications for NK cell immunotherapies.