Lecturer

Email: louise.kearney@TUDublin.ie

Tel: (01) 220 5662

Education

Ph.D. – National University of Ireland, University College Dublin, Dublin 4

B.Sc (Hons) – National University of Ireland, University College Dublin, Dublin 4.

(Major subject – Industrial Microbiology)

Professional Experience

Senior Scientific Officer: AFRC Institute of Food Technology, Norwich, England. 

Senior Research Officer: Campden Food and Drink Research Association, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, England. 

Microbiologist (Q.A.): Pfizer (formerly Wyeth), Askeaton, Co. Limerick, Ireland.

Microbiology Lecturer: Dublin Institute of Technology, Cathal Brugha Street, Dublin 1, Ireland

Research Experience

Microbial fermentations, preservation techniques, immobilization and electron microscopy.
Clostridium botulinum – factors affecting its survival in processing environments
Microbial biofilm development in commercial manufacturing environments and under laboratory conditions, disinfectant testing techniques and microbial resistance to disinfectant.
Supervision of postgraduate theses in the areas of probiotics, culture preservation, biofilm development on surfaces, microbial resistance to disinfectants, domestic hygiene,  silage fermentation with lactic acid bacteria, detection of Legionella pneumophilia in water systems.
Supervision of undergraduate theses in a wide variety of areas.

Publications

Kearney, L., Upton, M. and Mc Loughlin, A. 1987. Studies on immobilization for the maintenance of Lactobacillus plantatum. Irish Journal of Food Technology, 11; 182
Kearney, L., Upton, M. and Mc Loughlin, A. 1990. Enhancing the viability of Lactobacillus plantarum inoculum by immobilizing the cells in calcium alginate beads incorporating cryoprotectants. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 56; 3112-3116.
Kearney, L., Upton, M. and Mc Loughlin, A. 1990. Meat fermentations with immobilized lactic acid bacteria. Microbiology and Biotechnology, 33;648-651.
Holah, J.T. and Kearney, L.R. 1992. Introduction to biofilms in the food industry. In Biofilms : Science and Technology (Eds. Melo, L.F., Bott, T.R., Fletcher,M. and Capdeville,B.), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, pp 35-41.
Hewitt, R., Kearney, L. and Nicholl, P. 1995. Immobilized lactic acid bacteria probiotics. Abstracts from the International Conference on Lactic Acid Bacteria, Cork.
Clarke, P., Nicholl, P. and Kearney, L. 1998. Development of inocula for silage fermentation. Abstracts from International Symposium on Propionic Acid Bacteria, Cork..
Tierney, J., Moriarty, M. and Kearney, L. 2002. The sink environment as a source of microbial contamination in the domestic kitchen. Dairy, Food and Environmental Sanitation,