Irina Voineagu obtained a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics from University of Illinois, Chicago in 2008 on work showing that DNA replication stalling at trinucleotide repeat sequences evades checkpoint responses, leading to expansions that cause neurological disorders. Her postdoctoral work was carried out at University of California, Los Angeles 2009-2011 investigating transcriptional networks in autism spectrum disorder, followed by postdoctoral work on non-coding repeat-derived RNAs at the RIKEN institute in Tokyo, Japan 2012-2012. In 2013 she started her independent research group at University of New South Wales, Sydney where she is an Associate Professor and UNSW Scientia Fellow. She leads the RNA biology division of the RNA Institute at UNSW. Her group investigates the role of non-coding regulatory regions and non-coding RNAs in regulating gene expression in the brain, and how these regulatory mechanisms are disrupted in neurodevelopmental disorders.