Academic Staff

Head of Research and Innovation Faculty of Sciences and Health

Email: christine.oconnor@tudublin.ie

Tel: (+353) 2205667

FRSC, B.Sc. (Hons) Chemistry, PhD Chemistry, M.Sc. in Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance, M.Sc. in E Learning, PG Dip in Third Level Learning and Teaching.

Research Profile: PURE

Profile

Prof Christine O’Connor completed her PhD with Prof Han Vos in Dublin City University in 1999. On completion of her PhD Christine managed an analytical EU CRAFT project titled ‘Experimental validation of a novel multipurpose ‌distillation technology’ in Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT). From 2000 to 2004 she became an Assistant Lecturer in the School of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, DIT. Christine was appointed a Lecturer in the School of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences from 2004-2014. She and her colleague Dr Claire McDonnell were awarded a commendation for the DIT Presidents Teaching Excellence Award in 2005. She was a founding member of the DIT Chemistry Education Research Team (CERT) and this team won two national awards (i) National Academy for the integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (NAIRTL) Teaching Excellence Award in 2009 and (ii) the DELTA National third level teaching award in 2018. Christine was promoted to Assistant Head of School of Food Science and Environmental Health, DIT in 2014. She received an Honorary Professorship from Dublin Institute of Technology in 2018. Christine became Head of Discipline, Environmental Health and Safety management 2022- 2024.

Christine is currently the Head of Research and Innovation, Faculty of Sciences and Health since September 2024. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) since 2020. Christine is an active researcher in the areas of trace chemical analysis in food and beverage products, and waste valorisation and bioactive analysis. She has also a depth of experience in curriculum design and has been working with developing countries on course design at undergraduate and postgraduate third level Universities. Christine is a member of the RSC Educational Committee of Ireland (2014 to present) and Chair of the RSC Ireland Steering Group (2025 to present) and a member of the RSC Member Networks Committee. Christine is a member of the Royal Irish Academy Physical, Chemical and Mathematical Sciences Committee.   

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prof-christine-o-connor-1857a823/

Academic Interests

• Postgraduate research – planning, evaluating and developing collaborative research.
• Industry relationship building. Embedding industry into programmes and research.
• Teaching on modules such as: spectroscopy, instrumentation, medicinal chemistry, drug delivery.
• Final year project research and linking to current postgraduate research.

• Resources http://www.rsc.org/learnchemistry

Research Interests

Arrow open access: http://tinyurl.com/yyhyoyh4
Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christine_Oconnor7
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9453-2427
Scopus: http://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.url?authorId=7202906810

Themes of research

1. Trace Chemical Analysis in Food Processing (Irish Whiskey, Dairy, Meat)
2. Waste Valorisation and Bioactive Analysis

O'Connor Research Group

Current Members

Dr Anukriti Vashistha, ARISE postdoctoral fellow, TU Dublin, Mentors Dr Graham O’Neill and Prof Christine O’Connor, commenced March 2026.

George Nyang’wara Ongeri, Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) within the Dairy Supply Chain Teagasc Walsh Fellowship, Teagasc Ashtown, Supervisors Dr Prabin Lamichhane and Prof Christine O’Connor, commenced October 2025.

Fatima Zahra, Investigation of the sources and partitioning of nitrates, nitrites and nitrosamines in Irish dairy powders, Teagasc Walsh Fellowship, Teagasc Ashtown, Supervisors Dr Jonathan Magan and Prof Christine O’Connor, commenced October 2025.

Ranahansi Rangadharee Bandara Bannek Gedara, Valorising seafood side streams, residues, unwanted catches and discards for production of bioactive protein hydrolysates and high added value biomolecules, SBEP-2 EU Horizon Europe co-funding and TU Dublin, Supervisors: Dr Azza Silotry Naik (lead supervisor) and Prof Christine O’Connor and VASEACAD consortium, commenced October 2025.

 

Dr Manisha Dhanshetty, Post doctoral researcher, Novel Nitrate/Nitrite Reduced and Nitrate/Nitrite Free Meats: Safety, Quality and Shelf-life, DAFM FIRM Funded, Mentors Prof Christine O’Connor, Prof Jesus Frias and Prof Martin Danaher, April 2025 to August 2026.

Tereza Welyn Ng’ambi, Irish Whiskey Evaluation of Biomarkers on Maturation (IWEB), SFI-IRC Pathways, Supervisors Dr Maria Kyraleou, Prof Kieran Kilcawley and Prof Christine O’Connor, commenced October 2024.

Dr Maria Kyraleou, Senior Post doctoral fellow, Irish Whiskey Evaluation of Biomarkers on Maturation (IWEB), SFI-IRC Pathways, Mentors Prof Kieran Kilcawley and Prof Christine O’Connor, commenced September 2024.

Joseph O’Shea, Analysis of residues in food using Chromatography and Mass spectroscopy, Teagasc Walsh Fellowship, Teagasc Ashtown, Supervisors Prof Martin Danaher, Dr Mary Moloney, Dr Carl Sullivan and Prof Christine O’Connor, commenced September 2024.

Abhijnan Bhat, Nano-enabled Sensor Development for Arsenic Detection in Water, TU Dublin Scholarship, Supervisors Dr Furong Tian, Dr Baljit Singh and Prof Christine O’Connor, commenced 2022.

Laura Dowling, Principle component analysis of Whiskey products by Spectroscopic and Analytical Techniques, Supervisors Prof Christine O’Connor and Dr Pierrick Fevrier, commenced MPhil September 2022.

Chioke Okolo, Building an Irish Brand: Whiskey Profiling for Product Development, Quality Control and Authenticity, IRC Scholarship, Supervisor Prof Christine O’Connor and Prof Kieran Kilcawley, commenced October 2021.

Sridevi Bindiganavile Ranganath, Therapeutic Evaluation of Plant Based Bioactives, Self-funded, Supervisors Prof Christine O’Connor and Dr Tao Zhang, October 2020.

Bradley Afanda, Research on Inorganic and Organic Nitrogen Compounds in Prepared Consumer Foods, Teagasc Walsh Fellowship, Teagasc Ashtown, Supervisors Prof Martin Danaher and Prof Christine O’Connor, commenced October 2020.

Abhijit Wickramasinghe, PhD, 2026, Zeolite based transition metal complex host-guest materials for photocatalysis applications, TU Dublin Scholarship, Supervisors Dr Gavin Sewell (lead Supervisor)and Prof Christine O’Connor.

Past Members

Dr Diako Khodaei, Post doctoral researcher, Novel Nitrate/Nitrite Reduced and Nitrate/Nitrite Free Meats: Safety, Quality and Shelf-life, DAFM FIRM Funded, Mentors: Prof Martin Danaher and Prof Christine O’Connor, April 2023 to January 2025.

Ms Saba Queryshi, Drug delivery of Metal based Chemotherapeutics, TU Dublin Scholarship, Supervisors Prof Christine O’Connor, Dr Alan Casey and Dr Furong Tian, PG Dip 2026.

Dr Xinyi Zhao, (2026) Developing Gold Nanoparticle strips for the detection of mycotoxins, TU Dublin Scholarship, Supervisors Dr Furong Tian, Dr Baljit Singh, Prof James Curtin and Prof Christine O’Connor, commenced March 2021.

Thomas Kelly, Whiskey Authentication, MPhil (2025), Teagasc Walsh Fellowship, Teagasc Moorepark, Supervisors Prof Kieran Kilcawley and Prof Christine O’Connor.

Dr Lewis More O’Ferrall, PhD (2025) Next Generation bismuth compounds to combat antibacterial resistance, TU Dublin Scholarship. Supervisors Prof Christine O’Connor and Dr Darren Griffith (Royal College of Surgeons Ireland).

Dr William McCarthy, PhD, 2023. Understanding the Entry, Partition, and Fate of Chlorates in Dairy Processes, Teagasc Walsh Fellowship, Teagasc Moorepark, Supervisors Dr John Tobin and Prof Christine O’Connor. [Winner of Royal Irish Academy Kathleen Lonsdale Prize 2024]

Dr Fionn O’Fearghall, PhD, 2021. BlueShell, Marine Biotechnology ERA-NET, Collaborators: Prof Christine O’Connor, Dr Michelle Giltrap, Dr Patrice Behan & EU partners.

Dr Qasim Mushtaq Warraich, PhD, 2021.Targeted delivery and UV activation of novel ruthenium-based chemotherapeutics, Supervisors Prof Christine O’Connor and Dr Alan Casey.

Dr Alessandra Ghion, PhD, 2020. Development and evaluation of novel antibacterial coatings, Supervisors Prof Christine O’Connor and Dr Alan Casey.

Dr Laura Perdisatt, PhD, 2014.Spectroscopic Structure Property Relationships for Therapeutic Complexes. Supervisors Prof Christine O’Connor and Dr Luke O’Neill.

Dr Samar Moqadasi, PhD, 2012.Development of novel Ruthenium (II) complexes for applications as therapeutic drugs. Supervisor Prof Christine O’Connor.

Dr Zlata Tofzikovskaya, PhD, 2012. Novel Drug Delivery Systems for Cancer Therapy. Supervisors Prof Christine O’Connor and Prof Mary McNamara.

Mr Antonio Clementi, MPhil, 2009. Design and Development of Drug Delivery Vehicles. Supervisors Prof Christine O’Connor and Prof Mary McNamara.

Current Collaborations

• Dr Azza Silotry Naik, School of Food Science and Environmental Health, TU Dublin and the VASEACAD consortium
• Prof Martin Danaher, Dr Mary Moloney and Dr Declan Bolton, Teagasc, Ashtown
• Prof Kieran Kilcawley, Dr Jonathan Magan and Dr Prabin Lamichhane Teagasc, Moorepark
• Dr Pierrick Fevrier, Statelab.
• Prof Mary McNamara, Graduate Research School, Technological University Dublin.
• Dr Furong Tian, Fintan Moran, Prof Jesus Frias and Dr Tao Zhang, School of Food Science and Environmental Health, TU Dublin.