“Thrilled that I can pursue my passion for research whilst continuing to work as a Medical Scientist. I hope that my research will contribute to improving patient outcomes for haematology oncology patients in the future”.

Role 

Hayley is a Medical Scientist in the Cryobiology Stem Cell Facility and as an On-call Medical Scientist in the Haematology and Blood Transfusion Department at St James Hospital Dublin. She is currently completing her PhD part-time in Immunology in the Department of Medicine at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), which is funded by the IBTS and SJH. Hayley is also heavily involved with the Engagement and Advancement Advisory Body at the Academy of Clinical Science and Laboratory Medicine (ACSLM) which focuses on the advancement of Medical Scientists in Ireland.

Research Interests

Hayley's PhD project is a collaboration between Cryobiology (SJH), NHIRL (IBTS), Clinical Haematology team (SJH), and Cellular and Cancer Immunology (TCD).

Her research is investigating immune reconstitution in blood cancer patients post reduced-intensity conditioning allogeneic stem cell transplantation and post-Chimeric Antigen T Cell (CAR T) Therapy. To date, detailed immune flow cytometry panels and cytokine profiling has been performed, and preliminary data suggests that innate lymphocytes may play a crucial role in successful immune reconstitution. The next step is to perform killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) profile testing at the IBTS to investigate their relationship with patient outcomes.

Research Outputs

1. Brophy S, Amet R, Foy-Stones H, Gardiner N, McElligott AM. Isolation and Cryopreservation of Mononuclear Cells from Peripheral Blood and Bone Marrow of Blood Cancer Patients. Methods Mol Biol. 2023;2645:179-87.

2. Armstrong C, Conneally E, Flynn CM, Gardiner N, Foy-Stones H, Kelly A, et al. The Easix Score Predicts Overall Survival and Late Relapse in Patients Undergoing Reduced Intensity Conditioned Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation for Myeloid Disease. Blood. 2022;140 (Supplement 1):12900-1

Further information

• Email: hfoystones@stjames.ie or foystonh@tcd.ie
• LinkedIn: hayley-foy-stones 
• Twitter: @H_FoyStones
• Research ORCID profile