Ciara graduated with a B.A. Mod. (Hons) in Neuroscience from Trinity College Dublin. Her final year research project was titled ‘Circulating Alpha-Tubulin Post-Translational Modifications (PTMs) as Novel Diagnostic Biomarkers of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)’. She is driven by her passion for understanding the underlying pathology of neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders, in order to directly benefit patients through improved treatments. Meeting patients and their families, such as the members of the CDKL5 community in Ireland, has strengthened this passion even further, and has shown her the true importance of patient-centred research. In her spare time, Ciara is the Editor-in-Chief of TN2, a Trinity-based arts and culture magazine, which won the National Student Media Award for Best Magazine 2021. She also enjoys singing and is a committee member of the University of Dublin Choral Society.