NREC-CT B Members
Dr Cliona McGovern
Dr Cliona McGovern is Head of Subject in Forensic & Legal Medicine at University College Dublin (UCD) where she lectures on forensic and legal medicine, medical ethics, and professionalism to medical, radiography, and physiotherapy students. Cliona also lectures on similar topics to the graduate programmes in Healthcare Risk Management & Quality. At UCD, she Chairs the Human Research Ethics Committee and is Director of Admissions for Medicine, with oversight of all EU entrants into undergraduate and graduate entry medical programmes. Cliona holds a PhD in Coroners’ Law and Death Investigation from the Department of Law at the University of Sheffield, in addition to a Professional Diploma in University Teaching & Learning (UCD) and an MA in the Medico-Ethical Aspects of the Diagnosis of Brain Death (UCD). Cliona has authored reports on coroners for the Department of Justice, road safety for the Department of Transport, and on health screening for refugees and asylum seekers for the Department of Health. She has published nationally and internationally on medical law and ethics, identifying undocumented foreign nationals, suicides, road traffic collisions and coroners data. She is also co-author of Simpson’s Forensic Medicine (CRC Tylor & Francis). In addition to her current roles, Cliona is an ethics & law advisor to the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and was appointed to the UK Federation of Royal Colleges of Physicians where she is the ethics advisor for the Member of the Royal College of Physicians (UK) examination Scenario Editorial Committee. Cliona is also a member of the Ethics Panel in the Irish Medical Council, and in 2020, was appointed to the Health Service Executive Drugs Group. She is a board member on the Radiographer's Registration Board (RRB) as part of CORU (Health & Social Care Professionals Council), and in 2020, was re-appointed to the RRB by the Ministers of Education and Health, following her nomination through the Irish Universities Association. As Chair of Committee B, Cliona is committed to improving the rate at which research trials can be offered to Irish patients, and putting the safety and wellbeing of research participants at the core of clinical trials research infrastructure in Ireland.
Prof. John Faul
Professor John Faul is a Consultant Respiratory Physician at Connolly Hospital, Dublin and Clinical Lead for Asthma Care in the HSE Northeast. John is also a Clinical Associate Professor at University College Dublin and at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Prior to his current role, John was Assistant Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Stanford University, where he also held the role of Associate Director of the Heart and Lung Transplantation team. John is a fellow of both the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland and the American College of Chest Physicians, and serves on a number of international committees as part of his membership with the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, the American College of Chest Physicians, the American Lung Association, and the European Respiratory Society. Throughout his distinguished career, John has been recognised for both his teaching and medical research. He is the recipient of the Cecil Lehman Mayer Research Award, the Walter Research Award, and the Alfred Soffer Research Award. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, John completed a postdoctoral fellowship in immunology at The Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London; followed by postdoctoral fellowships in both Sleep Medicine, and Pulmonary and Critical Care at Stanford University. In 2003 he founded Rox Medical, a medical device company that researches new therapies for patients with severe hypertension. As NREC-CT B Deputy Chairperson, John looks forward to sharing his international medical research expertise and advancing medical knowledge and healthcare excellence for all.
Dr Jean Saunders
Chartered Statistician Dr Jean Saunders is the founder of Claddagh Statistical Consultancy Services (CSCS). Jean set up CSCS following her retirement from the Statistical Consulting Unit at the University of Limerick (UL) which she established in 2001. At UL, Jean was responsible for providing biostatistical consultancy and training services within the university and to the Health Service Executive (HSE), and chaired several research ethics committees. She has collaborated on many successful grant bids and was Director of the Limerick Centre for Statistical Training in Analysis and Research (Cstar), funded by the Health Research Board in collaboration with UCD. Prior to joining UL, Jean was CEO at CSCS UK, and before this, was Principal Statistician/Manager of the statistics group at ASRU, which offered statistical consultancy services to pharma, universities and the NHS. She was also a Senior Research Fellow at the universities of Kent and Greenwich. Among her many memberships, Jean is Vice-Chair of the University of Limerick Hospital REC, and sits on the HSE REC Reform and the HSE Consent Policy working groups for health research. She was also a member of the National Research Ethics Committee for COVID-19 during its tenure from April to August 2020, in addition to the CT ethics committees’ National Working Group that worked towards a single ethics application process for all health research in Ireland. More broadly, Jean is a fellow of the Royal Statistical Society and a member of the International Biometric Society; the European Federation of Statisticians in the Pharmaceutical Industry; and Statisticians in the Pharmaceutical Industry. With extensive experience advising on phase I–IV clinical trials, she joins the committee as Deputy Chairperson with a particular interest in research ethics in the context of older adults and Public & Patient Involvement (PPI) in clinical trials.
Ms Serena Bennett
Serena Bennett has been a barrister at the Law Library, Dublin since 2005. Her practice includes personal injuries, medical law, legal research and opinion writing, with a focus on civil litigation. Serena has tutored in EU Law at the University of Limerick and in Employment Law at the National University of Ireland, Galway, and from 2006 to 2009 she served on the Parole Board of Ireland, working alongside medical and legal professionals, members of the prison service and community representatives. Serena has been called to the Bar of England and Wales and is a member of Middle Temple, London. Her memberships also include the Association of Compliance Officers of Ireland, the Medico-Legal Society of Ireland, and the Employment Bar Association. In a volunteer capacity she has also spent time working with Community Law & Mediation, an independent community law centre based in Coolock, Dublin. Serena is a graduate of University College Cork (BCL), the University of Dublin (LLM) and the Royal College of Surgeons (MSc in Healthcare Law and Ethics). She joins the committee with a strong commitment to public service and the advancement of medical innovation within a solid ethical framework.
Mr Philip Berman
Philip Berman has been an independent consultant for over ten years, specialising in European health policy, project evaluation on behalf of the European Commission, and the accreditation of medical schools. He is currently a commissioner on the Accreditation Commission of Colleges of Medicine and is active in the field of migration as a board member on the Immigrant Council of Ireland; chair of Places of Sanctuary Ireland; and strategy advisor to the Irish Red Cross as part of their Restoring Family Links service. Formerly, Philip was Director of Corporate Strategy at the Adelaide and Meath Hospital (now Tallaght University Hospital) (2006-10); Director of the European Health Management Association (1980-2006); and Medical Services Manager at the Federated Dublin Voluntary Hospitals (1976-80). Philip has also coordinated five major EU-funded health policy research projects. Throughout his career in healthcare management, he has been a regular guest lecturer in European health policy at Trinity College Dublin, the Smurfit Business School, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and the Centre for Healthcare Management at Manchester Business School. Formerly, Philip sat on the Irish Health Services Accreditation Advisory Council (2002-06), and at a European level, he was a member of both the European Union Health Strategy Expert Group and the EU’s High-Level Committee of Reflection on patient mobility and healthcare developments (2003-07), as well as the WHO EURO Health Systems Development Advisory Group (2001-04). Drawing on his extensive experience as an EU expert evaluator (2007-14) and Health Research Board PPI reviewer, Philip was motivated to join the committee as a PPI member in order to advance health research.
Ms Mandy Daly
Mandy Daly founded the Irish Neonatal Health Alliance in 2013. The Irish Neonatal Health Alliance is Ireland’s only collaborative platform that facilitates partnerships for all stakeholders in neonatology, and in 2017, it was awarded ‘Best Patient Organisation’ by the European Foundation For The Care Of Newborn Infants. As Director of Advocacy and Policymaking, Mandy is responsible for general management, lobby campaigns and research. She also provides peer-to-peer support for families affected by preterm birth. Among her advocacy achievements, she has worked to extend the 9am–5pm National Neonatal Transport Service to a 24-hour service, in addition to amending the law governing maternity leave to include special leave for mothers of premature infants. She also helped introduce the ‘Standards Of Care For Newborn Infants’ at the EU Parliament. Mandy is an active public and patient involvement advocate. She has been involved in over 50 global research studies and is a patient reviewer for the British Medical Journal Open Paediatrics and the European Medicines Agency. Among her memberships, Mandy sits on several Health Service Steering Committees and is a founding member of the Global Alliance for Newborn Care, as well as a board member on the European Foundation For The Care Of Newborn Infants and co-chair of the Federation International Family Advisory Committee. Prior to setting up the Irish Neonatal Health Alliance, Mandy worked as a Senior Life and Disability Underwriter within the insurance industry. During this time, she completed a number of professional qualifications in the areas of patient engagement and neonatal care through the Neonatal Care Academy; The Irish Platform for Patient Organisations, Science and Industry; and the National Perinatal Association in the US. As a PPI committee member, Mandy looks forward to sharing her learnings as a patient researcher and collaborator in neonatal research with the broader research community in Ireland.
Dr Enda Dooley
Dr Enda Dooley is a former Consultant Psychiatrist and Assistant Inspector of Mental Health Services at the Mental Health Commission (2014-21). In this role, Enda was responsible for the statutory inspection of centres approved under the Mental Health Act, and for safeguarding the rights of residents and patients. With a career spanning forty-years, Enda worked to promote quality, safety, and human rights in mental health services, and defend the retention of personal rights and self-determination for those in custodial care. Prior to this, Enda was a Consultant Psychiatrist with the Tribunals Division at the Mental Health Commission (2009-14); Director of Prison Health Care at the Irish Prison Service (1990-09); and a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist at Broadmoor Hospital, Crowthorne, UK (1989-90). At a European level, Enda formerly advised the Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment as a medical expert. He has also been a member of numerous national advisory groups with responsibility for overseeing and reviewing various aspects of psychiatric and custodial treatment to ensure that citizens receiving mental health care are treated with respect and dignity. These include the National Coordinating Committee on Health Promotion; the Department of Health Working Group on the Management of Difficult to Place Psychiatric Patients; the Forensic Mental Health Subgroup of the Expert Group on Mental Health Policy; and the National AIDS Strategy Committee. Enda has a master’s degree in Healthcare Ethics & Law from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and having recently retired, he looks forward to contributing his professional training and experience as a member of the National Research Ethics Committee for Clinical Trials.
Dr Lorna Fanning
Dr Lorna Fanning has over 25 years of leadership experience in the global pharmaceutical and biotech industry. Having held senior management positions spanning the US, UK and Ireland, Lorna has extensive knowledge of the industry and worked across a wide range of disciplines with many diverse teams and stakeholders. More recently, Lorna has worked on developing online solutions to facilitate the management of global clinical trial sourcing. Prior to this, she was Senior Director of International Procurement at Shire PLC, where she led on strategy, policy and procedure for Global Procurement Services, and was responsible for Global Research & Development spend and the overall operational success of the International Strategic Sourcing team. Previous to this, Lorna worked at Cell Therapeutics in London, where she managed clinical trials across Europe and advised on ethics committee submissions to multiple EU countries. Earlier in her career, Lorna completed research internships at a number of hospitals in Boston, Massachusetts, which lead to her employment with ICON Clinical Research in the US, where she monitored clinical studies and worked on a compassionate-use programme. Lorna gained further experience in the US market as a Clinical Program Scientist at Astra Merck, where she managed large-scale clinical research programmes. An alma mater of Trinity College Dublin and Dublin City University, Lorna holds a PhD in biotechnology. She is currently on a career break to spend more time with her young family, and looks forward to contributing her industry and clinical research insights to help build a robust ethics review infrastructure that puts the wellbeing of research participants first.
Ms Caoimhe Gleeson
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 Andrew Green
Professor Andrew Green is a clinical geneticist in the Department of Clinical Genetics at Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin, Dublin since 1997 and is Professor of Medical Genetics at University College Dublin. His medical degree is from University College Dublin in 1984 and his PhD in 1995 was from Cambridge University where he studied with Nobel Laureate Sydney Brenner, and also completed his clinical genetics training, and held a consultant / university lecturer post. He has been a qualified specialist in clinical genetics since 1995.
He is a full time clinical geneticist, seeing families affected by or at risk of genetic disease. He also has numerous research interests, including the genetics of tuberous sclerosis, the genetics of autism, genetic diseases in the Irish Traveller population, and the implementation of new genetic testing into clinical service. He has been a PI on the international autism genome project.
He is an author on over 170 scientific papers, including publications in the journals Science and Nature.
He has a longstanding interest in medical ethics and genetics, and has been a member of the Irish Council for Bioethics, the Commission for Assisted Human Reproduction, numerous health service committees, and has been chair of the research ethics committees in Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin and UCD.
Dr John Hayden
Dr John Hayden is a senior lecturer, researcher and pharmacist at the School of Pharmacy and the School of Biomolecular Sciences at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI). John teaches undergraduate healthcare students across all programmes and supervises PhD students in paediatric clinical research. Having qualified as a pharmacist in 2010, John then went on to complete a PhD in paediatric critical care at the RCSI. Prior to his current role, John was a specialist paediatric clinical pharmacist and a clinical trials pharmacist at both Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin, and at the National Children's Research Centre (NCRC), where he worked on both academic and pharma-led drug trials. As the first clinical trials pharmacist at the NCRC, John established trials procedures relating to investigational medicinal product management and was a member of several leadership groups including the Trial Management Committee and the Data and Safety Monitoring Board. Through collaborations with consultants at Beaumont Hospital, as well as Children's Health Ireland at Crumlin and Temple Street, John has carried out the role of clinical trials pharmacist on numerous other academic investigator-led trials. Currently, John is a member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, the Neonatal and Paediatric Pharmacists Group, and several other clinical research networks. Having dedicated his career to advancing healthcare through direct clinical practice, clinical trials pharmacy work and independent research, John joins the committee with an eagerness to develop a best-in-class research culture in Ireland that fosters, facilitates and improves research through effective regulation.
Ms Susan Kelly
A qualified Senior Medical Scientist, Susan Kelly has also completed post graduate qualifications in Computer Science, Health Informatics, Leadership and Quality. Throughout her career as a scientist, she has held roles which were integral to the advancement of standards in laboratory medicine for improved patient care and service development. Susan worked across a number of laboratory disciplines in multiple hospitals to improve patient safety, achieving INAB accreditation in biochemistry, haematology, microbiology and blood transfusion. She was also responsible for developing and supporting surveillance systems to improve infectious disease management to comply with international standards in the industry.
After 14 years in the laboratory setting, Susan was appointed as Quality and Training Manager to the National Medical Laboratory Information System programme in 2012. Key responsibilities included ensuring that the system selected met with national requirements for use in all 49 Irish hospitals. Having completed the Data Protection Impact Assessment for the project, one of her key roles was information governance where she led on strategy, policy and procedure for data sharing, data management and data protection. Now working as part of the National Maternal Newborn Clinical Management System programme along with her training role, Susan contributes to all aspects of ethical considerations for research and development.
With duty of care at the forefront of her decision-making, collaboration with patient safety groups has informed her of what is of key importance to the service user. Susan passionately believes that we have an obligation to improve healthcare but only in an ethically sound manner which includes the requirement to ensure trust, accountability, privacy and security standards are fit for purpose for 21st century research and development. She is equally zealous about patient safety, dignity and well-being, which she believes can all be maintained when there is a will to do so.
Ms Deirdre Mac Loughlin
Following a career in a number of global management roles in IT Analytics & Innovation for Hewlett Packard, Deirdre Mac Loughlin is an active retiree with a strong interest in public involvement in health and social care research. Drawing on her overall life experience she is a member of the PPI Ignite Network: Public Advisory Board. Her other interests are in the economic growth and development of the West of Ireland and is an active member of the Galway Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Economic Strategy Committee. She is a trustee of ‘Architecture At The Edge’, a not-for-profit organisation whose mission is to promote excellence in the built environment.
Dr Mary McDonnell Naughton
Dr Mary McDonnell-Naughton is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Nursing and Health Care at the Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) where she supervises PhD students and teaches nursing, primary healthcare, and bioethics at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Mary is a founding member and chairperson of AIT’s Research Ethics Committee, involving national and international work across various research projects. Prior to her current role, Mary was Director of a Masters in Primary Healthcare at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), where she worked across an interdisciplinary team. From 1999-2003, Mary was Registrar of the National Mortality Register at Temple Street Children’s University Hospital, and from 1993-2002, she coordinated an international randomised controlled trial on the use of hormone replacement therapy on women. Mary first began her diverse 30-year career as a Registered General Nurse (1986) and a Registered Midwife (1988), and went on to practice in both areas of care in the US, the UK and Ireland. In 2007, Mary completed a Doctor of Philosophy on The Epidemiological Profile of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in Ireland at the School of Medicine, University College Dublin. Among her memberships, she has served on the Research Ethics Committee for the National Forum for Teaching and Learning from 2015 to 2019, and currently sits on the European Health Alliance; the Educational Committee of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland; and the Irish Heart Foundation. With extensive experience working with and caring for people of all ages, Mary has a strong commitment to public service and a special interest in upholding the rights and dignity of older adults.
Prof. Colm O’Donnell
Professor Colm O’Donnell is a Consultant Neonatologist at the National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, and Professor at the School of Medicine, University College Dublin. Having completed a Clinical Fellowship in Neonatology and a PhD at the University of Melbourne, Australia in 2004, he was appointed Consultant Neonatologist at the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne and within the Newborn Emergency Transport Service in Victoria, Australia (2005-06). In addition to his clinical work, Colm is an active clinical researcher in the care given to sick and premature babies, with a specific interest in neonatal resuscitation, delivery room care of preterm infants, respiratory support of preterm infants, and randomised clinical trials of intensive care interventions. Since returning to Ireland in 2006, Colm has designed, conducted and completed 14 randomised trials, including international multicentre studies of delivery room care, NICU interventions and studies of investigational medicinal products. He is currently Chief Investigator on four randomised trials in premature newborns and sits on the National Children’s Research Centre Scientific Advisory Committee at Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) at Crumlin. Formerly, Colm was Director of Clinical Research at the National Children’s Research Centre at CHI (2010-19) and National Speciality Director in General Paediatrics at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (2011-17). Having worked with newborns for over 20 years in emergency and intensive care settings, Colm believes it critically important that patients, particularly newborns, have access to new and potentially beneficial therapies to improve their care. He is committed to the conduct of high-quality ethical research and looks forward to applying his insights of clinical research for the benefit of patients in Ireland.
Prof Seamus O’Reilly
Professor Seamus O’Reilly graduated from the National University of Ireland (Galway) (BSc, MB BCh BAO, MD) and completed basic specialist training in Trinity College Dublin and higher specialist training in Medical Oncology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, followed by a PhD in Clinical Investigation at Johns Hopkins University where he was Assistant Professor of Medicine focusing on Phase I Drug Development. He was a Principal Investigator in the Gynecologic Oncology Group and on return to Ireland established Cancer Clinical Trials units in Waterford and Cork, allowing patient participation in pivotal breast cancer trials such as RespondX, PALLAS, SOLE, and HERA. He is currently Consultant Medical Oncologist at Cork University Hospital and Associate Professor of Medicine at University College Cork.
In 2020 Prof. O’Reilly was appointed Vice Clinical Lead of Cancer Trials Ireland and elected to the Executive Board of the Breast International Group in 2021. He is a member of the National Research Ethics Committee, the Advisory Council of the National Cancer Registry and the Early Drugs Taskforce of the Breast International Group.
From 2013-2021 Prof. O’Reilly was National Specialty Director in Medical Oncology at the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland and has co-developed an online multidisciplinary course in Cancer Medicine for General Practice with University College Cork. In 2021 he organised the first National Cancer Retreat and has instigated a National Green Cancer Clinical Trials Initiative with Cancer Trials Ireland. He is founding editor of the journal Cancer Professional.
Prof. O'Reilly is a founding trustee of Cork ARC Cancer Support House, a cofounder of the South Eastern Cancer Foundation, and has led and developed nurse education and financial hardship patient funds at CUH Charity, and the CUH-India appeal for Unicef in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has over 100 peer reviewed publications related to cancer therapeutics.
Prof. Abhay Pandit
Professor Abhay Pandit is Professor of Biomaterials at the National University of Ireland, Galway, and Scientific Director of the Centre for Research in Medical Devices (CÚRAM), a multidisciplinary research centre funded by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). With a 30-year career spanning both industry and academia, Abhay has worked extensively to develop transformative device-based solutions to treat global chronic diseases. Abhay first established CÚRAM in 2015. Today, the centre attracts researchers and scientists from around the world who work together to develop medical devices and implants for musculoskeletal and cardiovascular reconstruction, neural regenerative, soft tissue repair and ophthalmic applications. Prior to his current roles, Abhay was a Principal Research Scientist at the Kendall Company (1994-97), resulting in a patent and FDA approval for a commercial wound dressing. Abhay also led the Biomaterials Research Group at Surgical Sealants, Inc. (1997-99) where he secured IDE approval for a collagen-based vascular sealant. Currently, Abhay provides scientific advice at national, European and international level. Among his leadership roles, he serves as an advisor to the European Commission in the field of medical devices and in vitro diagnostic medical devices; chairs the EU Chapter of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Society; and is a member of both the European Society of Biomaterials and the International Scientific Advisory Board of the Centre for Biomedicals Research Network. Abhay is an international fellow in biomaterials science and engineering, and the first Irish academic to be elected to the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers College of Fellows. Abhay earned his PhD at the University of Alabama and has published over 310 papers in peer-reviewed journals.
Ms Paula Prendeville
Paula Prendeville is Head of Inclusion, Policy and Practice in the National Council for Special Education. Prior to this she was a senior educational psychologist with Enable Ireland Cork, which provides a specialist child disability service to support children with complex neurological presentations. From 2012 until recently, Paula lectured part-time at the School of Education and at the School of Psychology, University College Dublin, where she is currently completing a PhD in Ethical Practice in Educational Psychology. Her main areas of ethical interest include informed consent/ assent, applied ethics for psychologists, critical applied bioethics, and ethics pertaining to autism. As a member of the Collaborating Centre for Values Based Practice at St Catherine’s College, Oxford University, and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS), Paula is actively involved at a policy and practice level in professional ethics and the accreditation of psychology programmes at both undergraduate and postgraduate level throughout the UK. She is a former member of a professional ethics working group as part of the BPS, and more recently, she co-authored a professional ethics course for the BPS in collaboration with Dr Roger Paxton, Head of the Ethics Committee, BPS, and Mansoor Mir, Research Ethics Lead at the Home Office, London. In 2016, Paula completed a visiting scholarship at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University, Washington DC, where she attended the Presidential Commission for Bioethics. She also held a short-term educational consultancy position at The World Bank. Having started out her career as a trained primary and secondary school teacher, Paula is passionate about ensuring that clinical research involving children is based on a shared decision-making process, and that the child’s voice is heard.
Dr Mark Robinson
Dr Mark Robinson is Assistant Professor at the Kathleen Lonsdale Institute for Human Health Research, Maynooth University, and a faculty member of the Department of Biology. Mark has been actively involved in human clinical research for over ten years in both the UK and Ireland, with a focus in the areas of chronic liver disease, viral hepatitis and liver immunology. Mark earned his PhD from the University of Otago, New Zealand in 2010. Following this, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (2010-13) and at Trinity College Dublin (2013-17). In 2017 he was awarded a Health Research Board Emerging Investigator Award. Mark’s research examines the role of the immune system in the pathology associated with chronic liver disease. Among his memberships, he is chair of the Maynooth University Patient Public Involvement (PPI) Forum and sits on the National PPI Ignite Network Steering Group. Mark believes that only through rigorous research can we advance evidence-based medicine and improve health services. He joins the committee with a broad knowledge of drug development trends and the international regulations surrounding clinical trials, coupled with a strong understanding of bioethics gained from his teaching experience and involvement in translational research.
Dr Christina Skourou
Dr Christina Skourou was born in Cyprus and has studied and worked in Canada, USA, UK and Ireland. She holds a Doctorate in Biomedical Engineering (Dartmouth College, US) and a Masters Degree in Medical Ethics and Law (Queens University Belfast). She has a senior appointment in radiotherapy physics at St Luke’s Radiotherapy Centre in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin where she is also a member of the Research Ethics Committee. She has 15+ years’ experience of lecturing on the topics of professionalism and ethics at the graduate and postgraduate level in both Trinity College Dublin and National University of Ireland, Galway. She is a co-author of a book on the ethics of radiation protection in medicine, and has been an invited expert at conferences on ethics surrounding the use of radiation in medicine. In recent years she has served as an ethics consultant for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and as the Chair of the ethics committee of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. She is the author of multiple scientific manuscripts and is involved in the design and quality assurance of clinical trials involving radiation therapy.