Staff Profile

Qualifications

BSc. (Hons) Physiology major - University College Dublin, Ireland

Ph.D. - Department of Human Anatomy and Physiology, University College Dublin, Ireland

Previous Positions

2007-2013: Senior research associate, Reproductive and Vascular Biology Group, Newcastle University

2006-2007: Grants and publications research associate, Academic Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Manchester

2003-2006: Research Associate, Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre, The University of Manchester

2001-2003: Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics, Columbia University, NY, USA

1999-2001: Postgraduate Researcher, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA

1998-1999: Postdoctoral research assistant, Department of Human Anatomy and Physiology, University College Dublin, Ireland

Membership

The Physiological Society

Module leader

CMB1004  Cell Biology

PSC2026  Cardiovascular Systems for Pharmacologists

PSC2017  Strand Leader, Cardiovascular Physiology

Other courses

PSC1002  Physiology

BMS2013  Practical and Presentation Skills in Biomedical Sciences

CMB2002  Cell and Molecular Biosciences

CMB2003  Molecular Medicine

CMB3001  Project supervisor

Other roles

Personal tutor and phase 1 advisor

Co-ordinator Biomedicine Plus Program

Member of School Social Media Group

• Nicholson CJ, Sweeney M, Robson SC, Taggart MJ. Estrogenic vascular effects are diminished by chronological aging. Scientific Reports 2017, 7, 12153.
• Nicholson C, Sweeney M, Robson S, Taggart M. Tissue-Specific Isolated Murine Arterial Responses to Aging. In: Experimental Biology 2015. 2015, Boston, MA, USA: Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
• Narytnyk A, Verdon B, Loughney A, Sweeney M, Clewes O, Taggart MJ, Sieber-Blum M. Differentiation of Human Epidermal Neural Crest Stem Cells (hEPI-NCSC) into Virtually Homogenous Populations of Dopaminergic Neurons. Stem Cells Reviews and Reports 2014, 10(2), 316-326.
• Gurney L, Sweeney M, Jones A, Robson S, Taggart M. Assessment of the Delivery of Cell Penetrating Peptides to Human Uteroplacental Cells. In: British Maternal and Fetal Medicine Society 16th Annual Conference. 2013, Dublin, Republic of Ireland: BMJ Publishing Group.
• Dordea AC, Sweeney M, Taggart J, Lartey J, Wessel H, Robson SC, Taggart MJ. Differential vasodilation of human placental and myometrial arteries related to myofilament Ca²⁺-desensitization and the expression of Hsp20 but not MYPT1. Molecular Human Reproduction 2013, 19(11), 727-736.
• Nicholson CJ, Sweeney M, Robson SC, Taggart MJ. Estrogen Receptor-Specific Agonists Differentially Affect Vascular Tone in Arteries of Pre- and Post-Menopausal Women. In: 60th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society for Gynecologic Investigation. 2013, Orlando, FL, USA: Sage Publications Ltd.
• Chen A, Karolczak-Bayatti M, Sweeney M, Treumann A, Morrissey K, Ulrich SM, Europe-Finner GN, Taggart MJ. Lysine deacetylase inhibition promotes relaxation of arterial tone and C-terminal acetylation of HSPB6 (Hsp20) in vascular smooth muscle cells. Physiological Reports 2013, 1(6), e00127.
• Dordea AC, Sweeney M, Robson SC, Taggart MJ. Human Placental and Myometrial Arteries Differ in Their Ca²⁺-Sensitivities of Force Production. In: Reproductive Sciences. 2012, Sage Publications, Inc.
• Karolczak-Bayatti M, Sweeney M, Ulrich SM, Robson SC, Taggart MJ, Europe-Finner NG. Inhibition of KDAC8 and acetylation of Hsp20 regulates contractile activity of human myometrial smooth muscle. In: Blair Bell Research Society Annual Academic Meeting. 2012, London, UK: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
• Herriott A, Sweeney M, Whitaker M, Taggart M, Huang JY. Kinetochore localized Mad2 and Cdc20 is itself insufficient for triggering the mitotic checkpoint when Mps1 is low in Drosophila melanogaster neuroblasts. Cell Cycle 2012, 11(24), 4650-4660.
• Karolczak-Bayatti M, Sweeney M, Cheng JAN, Edey L, Robson SC, Ulrich SM, Treumann A, Taggart MJ, Europe-Finner GN. Acetylation of Heat Shock Protein 20 (Hsp20) Regulates Human Myometrial Activity. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2011, 286(39), 34346-34355.
• Tong WC, Sweeney M, Jones CJP, Zhang H, O'Neill SC, Prior I, Taggart MJ. Three-dimensional electron microscopic reconstruction of intracellular organellar arrangements in vascular smooth muscle – further evidence of nanospaces and contacts. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine 2009, 13(5), 995-998.
• Sweeney M, Wareing M, Mills TA, Baker PN, Taggart MJ. Characterisation of tone oscillations in placental and myometrial arteries from normal pregnancies and those complicated by pre-eclampsia and growth restriction. Placenta 2008, 29(4), 356-365.