Dr Rosienne Farrugia B.Sc, M.Phil., Ph.D. (Cantab), a Senior Lecturer in Molecular Genetics and Haematology at the Department of Applied Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health Sciences and an Associate Member of the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Biobanking, has been newly appointed as Head of the Department of Applied Biomedical Science.
Dr Farrugia She is also a member of the Faculty of Health Sciences research ethics committee and the PhD committee of the Centre of Molecular Medicine and Biobanking.
Rosienne is also the recipient of a number of awards, including the European Commission Awards for Students and Young Scientists (2004) and the runner up prize in Pathology for the President鈥檚 Prize of The Royal Society of Medicine (2008).
Rosienne has pursued studies in genetics and haematology both locally and abroad. She worked as a researcher at the Children鈥檚 Hospital, Z眉rich and carried out her PhD studies at the Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, UK. Throughout her years as a researcher, she has participated in a number of local and EU funded project including BLOODOMICS and CARDIOGENICS, during her years in Cambridge, the MAMI study, the Malta NGSProject and TargetID since she joined the UM, and recently as principal coordinator of TrainMALTA a Horizon2020 Twinning grant held in collaboration with the University of Cambridge and the Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven.
This year, she was awarded a UM鈥檚 Research Excellence Grant to study the causes of rare genetic diseases. In fact, her main research interest is the application of genomics to identify the genetic basis of diseases. This interest originated through studies into the genetic basis of rare Mendelian disorders and has now expanded into the genetic basis of a wide variety of heritable genetic conditions. High throughput sequencing and bioinformatics, complemented with population studies and functional work form the basis of a number of ongoing research projects.
This research work contributes towards the training of many scientists at Masters and Doctoral level as well as provides critical findings useful to establish efficient, timely and accurate diagnostic tests for a variety of genetic conditions.
