Paul Leonard
Dr.
Contact Details
Associate Professor
School of Biotechnology
Lonsdale Building
Dublin City University
Glasnevin Campus, Dublin 9.
T:Ext. 5708
E:Paul.Leonard@dcu.ie
W:https://paulleonardlab.com/
Executive Summary
v Associate Professor in Biotherapeutics at Dublin City University (DCU) leading research in biomolecular interaction analysis, technology development (including software and hardware), single cell analysis, biologics discovery and diagnostics across multiple application areas including oncology, cardiovascular and infectious disease (Sept 2023 - present).
v MSc in Diagnostics and Precision Medicine Programme Chair and the LSI Industry Liaison (Sept 2024 to present).
v Innovative entrepreneur and technology inventor with 20 year’s post Ph.D. experience in academic and industrial research and senior management roles in clinical and pre-clinical stage companies. Co-founder and previous CSO/CTO of Remedy Biologics Ltd. Spun the company out of Dublin City University, raising >€15M in non-dilutive and equity-based financing (Feb 2017 to July 2023).
v Consultant to the life sciences industry including roles as advisor to senior management, entrepreneur in residence, scientific and business strategy advisor, including business positioning and communication, IP and technical expert (Jan 2018 to April 2025).
v Previous director and head of R&D at Vaccinogen Ireland responsible for leading Vaccinogen’s overall cancer therapeutics strategy in Ireland including scientific, operational and financial (Dec 2014 to Dec 2016).
v Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (2018), experienced leading process improvements using Lean Six Sigma principles and building and managing multidisciplinary teams of research scientists in the areas of single cell analysis, cancer vaccine development, manufacturing improvements, antibody engineering, high throughput screening, therapeutic discovery and assay design.
v Lead inventor on granted and pending patents filed in the US and Europe. Expert assessor for various Health and Life Sciences funding programmes, including for SMEs (2011 to present). External Examiner (2023-2024 to 2026-2027) for Technical University Dublin’s TU866 BSc (Hons) Biomedical and Molecular Diagnostics.
v Assistant Professor in Biomedical Sciences, School of Biotechnology, Dublin City University (Nov 2009 to Sept 2014)
Book Chapter
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Ma, H.,; Hearty, S.,; Leonard, P.,; O'Kennedy, R. (2026) 'Updates to Guidance on Using Biacore for Protein–Protein Interactions Analysis' In: Methods in Molecular Biology. New York : Springer Nature. [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2026 | Marta Albin; Paul Leonard (2026) 'From Lab Bench to Riverbank: Antibody-Based Water Sensing' In: Water: Science, Society and Sustainability in a Changing World. Germany : Springer Nature. [Link] | |
| 2018 | Stephen Hearty; Paul Leonard; Hui Ma; Richard O'Kennedy (2018) 'Binding Kinetics Using Surface Plasmon Resonance' In: Methods in Molecular Biology. New York : Humana Press. [Link] https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8648-4_22 | |
| 2017 | (2017) 'Immunoassay Validation' In: Immunoassays. USA : CRC Press. [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2011 | Leonard, P., Hearty, S. and O'Kennedy, R. (2011) 'Measuring protein-protein interactions using surface plasmon resonance' In: Protein Chromatography: Methods and Protocols (part of the Methods in Molecular Biology book series). : Springer. | |
| 2011 | Fitzgerald, J., Leonard, P., Darcy, E. and O'Kennedy, R. (2011) 'Immunoaffinity Chromatography' In: Protein Chromatography: Methods and Protocols (part of the Methods in Molecular Biology book series). : Springer. | |
| 2011 | Darcy, E., Leonard, P., Fitzgerald, J. and O'Kennedy, R. (2011) 'Purification of antibodies using affinity chromatography' In: Protein Chromatography: Methods and Protocols (part of the Methods in Molecular Biology book series). : Springer. | |
| 2010 | O'Kennedy, R., Finlay, W.J.J., Hearty, S., Leonard, P., Brennan, J., Stapleton, S., Townsend, S., Darmaninsheehan, A., Baxter, A. and Jones, C. (2010) 'Applications of Sensors in Food and Environmental analysis' In: Sensors for Chemical and Biological Applications. : CRC Press. | |
| 2005 | O'Kennedy, R.; Leonard, P.; Hearty, S.; Daly, S.; Dillon, P.; Brennan, J.; Dunne, L.; Darmaninsheehan, A.; Stapleton, S.; Tully, E.; Quinn, J.; Chakraborty, T. (2005) 'Advances in biosensors for detection of pathogens in food and water' In: Rapid Methods for Biological and Chemical Contaminants in Food and Feed. [Link] [DOI] |
Other Journal
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | (2026) 'From Single Cells to Silicon: Emerging Technologies Transforming Monoclonal Antibody Discovery' Antibodies (MDPI), 15 (47) . [Link] https://doi.org/10.3390/antib15030047 |
Peer Reviewed Journal
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Caroline Murphy; Temi Akinbola; Marta Albin; Patrick Sode; Lauren McMorrow; Martha Valiadi; Christos Chantzaras; Electra Gizeli; Fiona Regan; Paul Leonard (2026) 'From lab to field: Transforming immunoassays for rapid microcystin-LR monitoring in Lough Neagh'. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, . [Link] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2026.120304 | |
| 2017 | Darcy, Elaine; Leonard, Paul; Fitzgerald, Jenny; Danaher, Martin; Ma, Hui; O'Kennedy, Richard (2017) 'Purification of Antibodies Using Affinity Chromatography'. Methods in Molecular Biology Clifton N J, 1485 . [DOI] | |
| 2017 | Leonard, Paul; Hearty, Stephen; Ma, Hui; O'Kennedy, Richard (2017) 'Measuring Protein-Protein Interactions Using Biacore'. Methods in Molecular Biology Clifton N J, 1485 . [DOI] | |
| 2017 | Fitzgerald, Jenny; Leonard, Paul; Darcy, Elaine; Sharma, Shikha; O'Kennedy, Richard (2017) 'Immunoaffinity Chromatography: Concepts and Applications'. Methods in Molecular Biology Clifton N J, 1485 . [DOI] | |
| 2015 | Larragy, R; Fitzgerald, J; Prisecaru, A; McKee, V; Leonard, P; Kellett, A (2015) 'Protein engineering with artificial chemical nucleases'. Chemical communications (Cambridge, England), 51 (65). [DOI] | |
| 2015 | Fitzgerald, V.; Manning, B.; O'Donnell, B.; O'Reilly, B.; O'Sullivan, D.; O'Kennedy, R.; Leonard, P. (2015) 'Exploiting highly ordered subnanoliter volume microcapillaries as microtools for the analysis of antibody producing cells'. Analytical Chemistry, 87 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2015 | Fitzgerald, J.; Leonard, P.; Danaher, M.; O’Kennedy, R. (2015) 'Rapid Simultaneous Detection of Anti-protozoan Drugs Using a Lateral-Flow Immunoassay Format'. Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 176 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2012 | Hayes, C.J., Leonard, P., and O'Kennedy, R. (2012) 'Overcoming antibody expression limitations by smart design'. Protein Expression and Purification, 83 :84-91. | |
| 2011 | Fitzgerald, J., Leonard, P., Darcy, E., Danaher, M. and O'Kennedy, R. (2011) 'Light chain shuffling from phage pool allows 185-fold improvement of an anti-Halofuginone scFv'. Analytical Biochemistry, 410 :27-33. | |
| 2011 | Fodey, T., Leonard, P., O'Mahony, J., O'Kennedy, R. and Danaher, M. (2011) 'Developments in the production of biological and synthetic binders for immunoassay and sensor based detection of small molecules'. 30 :254-265. | |
| 2011 | Welbeck, K., Leonard, P., Gilmartin, N., Viguier, C., Arora, S. and O'Kennedy, R. (2011) 'Development of a surface plasmon resonance-based immunoassay for detection of N-acetyl-B-D-glucosaminidase in milk'. Journal of Immunological Methods, 364 :14-20. | |
| 2011 | Skottrup, P., Leonard, P., Kaczmarek, J.Z., Veillard, F., Enghild, J., O’Kennedy, R., Sroka, A., Clausen, R.P., Potempa, J. and Riise, E. (2011) 'Diagnostic evaluation of a nanobody with picomolar affinity towards the cysteine protease RgpB from Porphyromonas gingivalis'. Analytical Biochemistry, 415 :158-167. | |
| 2011 | Leonard, P., Hayes, C.J. and O'Kennedy, R. (2011) 'Rapid selection of temperature stable Fab fragments using Biacore A100'. Analytical Biochemistry, 409 :290-292. | |
| 2010 | Hearty, S., Leonard, P. and O'Kennedy, R. (2010) 'Barcodes check out prostate cancer. Nature Nanotechnology'. 5 :9-10. | |
| 2010 | Guo, W.L., Leonard, P. and O'Kennedy, R. (2010) 'Simple ‘on plate' growth for improved antibody screening'. Journal of Immunological Methods, 359 :61-64. | |
| 2010 | O'Kennedy, R., Townsend, S., Donohoe, G.G., Leonard, P., Hearty, S. and Byrne, B. (2010) 'Speedy, Small, Sensitive and Specific - reality or myth for future analytical methods'. Analytical Letters, 33 :1630-1648. | |
| 2009 | Conroy, P., Hearty, S., Leonard, P. and O'Kennedy, R. (2009) 'Antibody production, design and use for biosensor-based applications. Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology'. 20 :10-26. | |
| 2009 | McDonnell, B., Hearty, S., Leonard, P. and O'Kennedy, R (2009) 'Cardiac biomarkers and the case for point-of-care testing. Clinical Biochemistry'. 42 :549-561. | |
| 2008 | Reeves, E.P., Ali, T., Leonard, P., Hearty, S., O'Kennedy, R., May, F.E.B., Westley, B.R., Josenhans, C., Rust, M., Suerbaum, S., Smith, A., Drumm, B. and Clyne, M. (2008) 'Helicobacter pylori Lipopolysaccharide Interacts With TFF1 in a pH-Dependent Manner'. Gastroenterology, 135 :2043-2054.e2. | |
| 2007 | Leonard, P., Säfsten, P., Hearty, S., McDonnell, B., Finlay, W. and O'Kennedy, R. (2007) 'High throughput ranking of recombinant avian scFv antibody fragments from crude lysates using the Biacore A100'. Journal of Immunological Methods, 323 :172-179. | |
| 2007 | Skottrup, P., Hearty, S., Frøkiær, H., Leonard, P., Hejgaard, J., O'Kennedy, R., Nicolaisen, M. and Justesen, A.F. (2007) 'Detection of fungal spores using a generic surface plasmon resonance immunoassay'. BIOSENSORS & BIOELECTRONICS, 22 :2724-2729. | |
| 2007 | Healy, D., Hayes, C., Leonard, P., Dillon, M. and O'Kennedy, R. (2007) 'Biosensor developments: application to prostate-specific antigen detection'. TRENDS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY (TIBTECH), 25 :125-131. | |
| 2006 | Hearty, S., Leonard, P. Quinn, J. and O'Kennedy, R. (2006) 'Production, characterisation and potential application of a novel monoclonal antibody for detection of virulent Listeria monocytogenes'. Journal of Microbiological Methods, 66 :294-312. | |
| 2006 | Tully, E., Hearty, S., Leonard, P. and O'Kennedy, R. (2006) 'The development of rapid fluorescence-based immunoassays, using quantum dot-labelled antibodies for the detection of Listeria monocytogenes cell surface proteins. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules'. 39 :127-134. | |
| 2005 | Leonard, P., Hearty, S., Quinn, J. and O'Kennedy, R. (2005) 'Sensitive detection of Listeria monocytogenes using fully engineered recombinant scFv antibody fragments. 92nd Annual Meeting of the International Association for Food Protection Book of Abstracts'. . | |
| 2005 | Leonard, P., Hearty, S., Quinn, J. and O'Kennedy, R. (2005) 'Development of a surface plasmon resonance-based immunoassay for the direct detection of Listeria monocytogenes'. Journal of Food Protection, 68 :728-735. | |
| 2005 | O'Kennedy, R., Carolan, N., Hearty, S., Leonard, P., Finlay, W., Dillon, P. and Daly, S. (2005) 'Applications and future developments of sensors in relation to postharvest analysis of fruits, vegetables and other crops. Stewart Postharvest Review, Issue 3 online October 2005 [www.stewartpostharvest.com/October_2005/OKennedy.htm]'. . | |
| 2005 | Dillon, P.P., Killard, A.J., Daly, S.J., Leonard, P. and O'Kennedy, R. (2005) 'Novel Assay Format Allowing the Prolonged use of Regeneration-Based Sensor Chip Technology'. Journal of Immunological Methods, 296 :77-82. | |
| 2004 | Leonard, P., Hearty, S., Quinn, J. and O'Kennedy, R. (2004) 'A generic approach for the detection of whole Listeria monocytogenes cells in contaminated samples using surface plasmon resonance'. BIOSENSORS & BIOELECTRONICS, 19 :1331-1334. | |
| 2004 | Paul P. Dillon , Anthony J. Killard , Stephen J. Daly , Paul Leonard , Richard O'Kennedy (2004) 'Novel assay format permitting the prolonged usenext term of regeneration-based sensor chip technology'. Journal of Immunological Methods, 296 :77-82. | |
| 2004 | O'Kennedy, R., Leonard, P., Hearty, S., Brennan, J., Fanning, L., Dillon, M. and Porter, A. (2004) 'Exploiting monoclonal and recombinant antibodies for the development of surface plasmon resonance-based biosensor arrays for bacteria, drugs and tumour markers. Human Antibodies'. 13 . | |
| 2003 | Leonard, P., Hearty, S., Brennan, J., Dunne, L., Quinn, J., Chakraborty, T., and O'Kennedy, R. (2003) 'Advances in biosensors for the detection of pathogens in food and water'. 32 :3-13. | |
| 2001 | Leonard, P., Hearty, S., Quinn, J.G., and O'Kennedy, R. (2001) 'A pathogenic life cycle of Listeria monocytogenes. INCO COPERINICUS News'. 3 :1-2. | |
| 2000 | Fitzpatrick, J., Fanning, L., Hearty, S., Leonard, P., Manning, B.M., Quinn, J.G., and O'Kennedy, R. (2000) 'Applications and recent developments in the use of antibodies for analysis. Analytical Letters, 33(13):2563-2609'. Analytical Letters, 33 :2563-2609. | |
| 1999 | Leonard, P., Estrada Rendon, C.M., Amara, G., Roussy, J., Tobin, J. and Degorce-Dumas, J.R. (1999) 'Natural attenuation study of the impact of acid mine drainage (AMD) in the site of Carnoulés. Process Metallurgy'. 9 :587-594. | |
| 1999 | Estrada Rendon, C.M., Amara, G., Leonard, P., Tobin, J., Roussy, J. and Degorce-Dumas, JR. (1999) 'Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) treatment by sulphate reducing bacteria. Process Metallurgy, 9(2):577-585'. Process Biochemistry, 9 :577-585. |
Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2026) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.
Honors and Awards
Research Interests
Research interests include:
(i) Single-cell analysis for biological discovery
(ii) Technologies for improved antibody and cell therapy discovery
(iii) High throughput biomolecular interaction technologies and studies
(iv) Immunoassay development and validation for biomedical and environmental analysis
Research Projects
Teaching Interests
Immunology, Biomedical Sciences, Diagnostics, Therapeutics, Advanced Therapy, Immunoanalysis and validation