NREC-CT A Members

Prof. Alistair Nichol

Chairperson

Consultant Anaesthetist and Intensivist, Professor of Critical Care Medicine, Director of the Irish Critical Care Clinical Trials Network

Bio

Professor Alistair Nichol is a Consultant Anaesthetist & Intensivist at St. Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin, and Chair of Critical Care Medicine at University College Dublin. An esteemed clinical researcher, Alistair has received over €38 million in research funding and is currently the Chief Investigator on studies that have randomised over 40,000 patients. Alistair has worked as a Management Committee Chair, Principal Investigator, Chief Investigator, and Site Investigator on over 10 international multicentre clinical trials involving the critically ill. These studies have had a major impact on contemporary healthcare practices and guidelines, including those adopted by the World Health Organisation, and have resulted in over 100 publications and 16 high-impact journal articles (NEJM, Lancet, JAMA, Nature). Alistair also collaborates with clinical trials groups in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, as well as several European groups. His research interests include pandemic preparedness, having led a programme of observational, biological, and interventional trials in critically ill patients in Ireland. Alistair also has a particular interest in the ethical, administrative, regulatory, and logistical barriers to research involving the critically ill. As Chair, he joins the committee with a commitment to optimising access to high-quality clinical trials and driving the development of new treatments that improve outcomes for Irish patients.

Ms Caoimhe Gleeson

Deputy Chairperson

National Programme Manager, Health System Executive National Office for Human Rights & Equality Policy

Bio

Caoimhe Gleeson is National Programme Manager for the National Office for Human Rights and Equality Policy at the Health Service Executive (HSE). Caoimhe is the HSE representative on the Inter-Departmental Steering Board for the commencement of the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act 2015 and has overseen the drafting of the Healthcare Codes of Practice on the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act (2015) on behalf of the Minister for Health. As a member of the National Disability Authority Technical Group, Caoimhe drafted the non-healthcare Codes of Practice on the 2015 Act on behalf of the Department of Justice. Currently, Caoimhe has responsibility for the HSE National Consent Policy and implementation of the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act 2015 when it commences. A significant part of Caoimhe’s role is focused on working to progress equality, human rights advocacy, policy and service development for people with disabilities, minority communities and other diverse groups in Ireland. Prior to joining the HSE, Caoimhe worked in the area of community development, and throughout her career she has volunteered in several international programmes based in Central America, Africa and Eastern Europe that aim to progress gender equality, intercultural education and conflict transformation. Caoimhe qualified as a psychotherapist from the Trácht Psychotherapy Foundation in 2003 and qualified as a mediator from University College Dublin in 2006. She also earned a master’s degree in community development from the National University of Ireland, Galway in 2001, and is currently reading law at Griffith College, Dublin. During its tenure from April to August 2020, Caoimhe was a ministerial appointee to the National Research Ethics Committee for COVD-19. She joins the National Research Ethics Committee for Clinical Trials with the same commitment to putting the voice of the patient first, and to ensuring the highest ethical standards within the areas of capacity to consent, decision-making and data sharing.

Prof. Gene Dempsey

Deputy Chairperson

Consultant Neonatologist, Horgan Chair in Neonatology

Bio

Professor Eugene Dempsey is a UCC graduate, and completed postgraduate training in Paediatrics in Ireland and later a Neonatal Fellowship at McGill University Health Centre, Montreal. He is the inaugural Horgan Chair in Neonatology at University College Cork, a neonatologist at Cork University Maternity Hospital and is clinical lead at the INFANT Research Centre UCC. He is a member of a number of international collaborations conducting randomised trials on different aspects of neonatal care. He leads a number of local clinical studies, supervising PhD students and junior doctors on many aspects of newborn medicine including cardiovascular support and the newborn microbiome. He is a member of a number of international organisations including the European Society of Paediatric Research, European Neonatal Echo Working Group, European NIRS Working group and Pharmacology section of the European Society for Paediatric Research. He has been awarded a number of Higher Degrees, including a doctorate for work on hypotension in the preterm infant, an MSc in Health Care Ethics and Law and an MA in Teaching and Learning, focused on simulation based procedural care. He has over 200 publications in newborn care.