Dr Owen Kavanagh

Teaching

My teaching responsibilities lie in the Biomedical Science programme. I have designed and delivered modules across all levels of undergraduate study and I supervise students at undergraduate, MSc by research and PhD levels. 

I serve as an External Examiner for the Biomedical Science BSc Programme at the University of Roehampton and their affiliated programme at MDIS (Singapore).

As a member of the British Society of Immunology, I serve as Secretary to the Immunology Teaching Affinity Group.

I also have served on external (University of Ulster) and internal (YSJU) Degree Quality Assurance Panels and I have been a member of our School's Quality Panel (SQP) since 2020.

Prior to starting at York St John University in 2015, I completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Teaching (PGCHET) and became a Fellow of the Higher Education Authority (FHEA).

Research

My research interests are diverse but mainly focus on identifying and quantifying human biological markers (biomarkers) including:

• Salivary & epigenetic biomarkers of stress-related conditions such as burnout (with Professor Daniel Madigan at YSJU)
• Physiological biomarkers of inflammation (e.g. CK, CRP, cytokines) in humans (with the InSPIRe research group & The i2i Soccer Academy)
• Identifying markers of exercise-induced Cancer prevention (with Dr Sam Orange, Newcastle University)
• Improving the activity of an anti-cancer drug (E09) (with Prof Roger Phillips, University of Huddersfield).

Publications

Krebs CE, Camp C, Constantino H, Courtot L, Kavanagh O, Leite SB, Madden J, Paini A, Poojary B, Tripodi IJ, Trunnell ER. Author Guide for Addressing Animal Methods Bias in Publishing (2023) Advanced Science. doi: 10.1002/advs.202303226 (In Press) 

Glandorf HL, Madigan DJ, Kavanagh O and Mallinson-Howard, SH (2023) Mental and physical health outcomes of burnout in athletes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2023.2225187

Madigan DJ, Kim LE., Glandorf HL  and Kavanagh O (2023) Teacher burnout and physical health: A systematic review. International Journal of Educational Research. Volume 119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2023.102173

Krebs CE, Camp C, Constantino H, Courtot L, Kavanagh O, Leite SB, Madden J, Paini A, Poojary B, Tripodi IJ, Trunnell ER. Proceedings of a workshop to address animal methods bias in scientific publishing. ALTEX. (2022) Oct 31. doi: 10.14573/altex.2210211

Iqbal H, Wright CL, Jones S, da Silva GR, McKillen J, Gilmore BF, Kavanagh O, Green BD. Extracts of Sida cordifolia contain polysaccharides possessing immunomodulatory activity and rosmarinic acid compounds with antibacterial activity. BMC Complement Med Ther. (2022); 22(1):27. doi: 10.1186/s12906-022-03502-7.

Orange ST, Jordan AR, Odell A, Kavanagh O, Hicks KM, Todryk S, Saxton JM. Reply to "Comments on: Acute aerobic exercise-conditioned serum reduces colon cancer cell proliferation in vitro through interleukin-6-induced regulation of DNA damage". Int J Cancer. 2022 Nov 1;151(9):1642-1643. doi: 10.1002/ijc.34177. Epub 2022 Jul 1. PMID: 35716144.

Wright, C.L.; Kavanagh, O. Galleria mellonella as a Novel In Vivo Model to Screen Natural Product-Derived Modulators of Innate Immunity. Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 6587. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12136587.

Orange ST, Jordan AR, Odell A, Kavanagh O, Hicks KM, Eaglen T, Todryk S, Saxton JM.
Acute aerobic exercise-conditioned serum reduces colon cancer cell proliferation in vitro through interleukin-6-induced regulation of DNA damage. Int J Cancer. 2022 Jul 15;151(2):265-274. doi: 10.1002/ijc.33982.

Peng, D., Kavanagh, O., Gao, H., Zhang, X., Deng, S., Chen, D., Liu, Z., Xie, C., Situ, C., Yuan, Z., Surface plasmon resonance biosensor for the determination of 3-methyl-quinoxaline-2-carboxylic acid, the marker residue of olaquindox, in swine tissues, Food Chemistry (2019).

Page MJ, Hill AP, Kavanagh O, Jones S. Multidimensional perfectionism and cortisol stress response in non-clinical populations: A systematic review and evaluation. Personality and Individual Differences 2018;  124: 16-24. 

Kavanagh O, Jones S. The Pros and Cons of Using Personal Response Systems in an Interactive Scientific Debate. British Journal of Education, Society & Behavioural Science 19(2): 1-11, 2017. 

Recent conferences papers

Development of specific antibodies to detect recombinant bovine growth hormone in milk. 5th International Symposium on Recent Advances in Food Analysis, Prague Czech Republic, November 1-4 2011

Development of immunoassays for rapid detection of recombinant bovine growth hormone in milk. Food Integrity and Traceability Conference. QUB Belfast, Northern Ireland 21-24 March 2011

Serological Correlate of Protection against Norovirus-Induced Gastroenteritis. 4TH International Calicivirus Conference, Santa Cruz, Chile October 16-19 2010

Rotavirus proteins as molecular binders. Wellcome Trust Tri-National Initiative, Cape Town, South Africa May 9-12 2008

Professional activities

I serve on the Editorial Board for the British Journal of Biomedical Science and am currently a handling editor on our Special Issue on "Long Covid in Biomedical Sciences".

Previously I was Guest Editor on a Special Issue "Novel Approaches for Natural Product-Derived Immunomodulators" which includes seven articles to date.

I currently serve as an External Examiner for the Biomedical Science BSc Programme at the University of Roehampton and their affiliated programme at MDIS (Singapore).

I am a member of the Scientific Advisory Panel for the charity Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments (FRAME) and am a member of an international consortium (COLAAB) with the aim of reducing animal experimentation in research & testing.

As a member of the British Society of Immunology, I serve as Secretary to the Immunology Teaching Affinity Group.

During the pandemic, I was the Resident COVID virology expert on Greatest Hits Radio (Northern Yorkshire).