Management Committee
Professor Catherine Blake
Dr Karen Doyle
Karen Doyle is a Professor in the School of Medicine at University of Galway. Her research involves studying neurovascular stress, the causes of neuronal loss and investigating novel strategies to protect brain tissue from damage. Prof Doyle’s focus is on understanding the pathophysiology of occlusive stroke and the characteristics of human blood clots that cause occlusive strokes. Prof Doyle is President of Neuroscience Ireland (2021 - present) and was the Founder and first Director of the Galway Neuroscience Centre.
Dr Francesca Farina
Francesca is a neuroscientist whose research focuses on early detection of risk factors and biomarkers for dementia. She has a particular interest in women’s brain health and fear of dementia in older populations. She is actively involved in multiple international research projects focusing on brain health and dementia prevention across the life course. She also collaborates with patient and community advocacy groups to reduce stigma associated with dementia and promote lifelong well- being. Francesca received her PhD in neuroscience from the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, in 2016. She completed post-doctoral training at the School of Psychology, University College Dublin, and the Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, before joining the Global Brain Health Institute in 2020. She is currently a Research Assistant Professor in the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago.
Professor Seán Kennelly
Professor Sean Kennelly is a consultant physician in geriatric and stroke medicine in Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) and Clinical Associate Professor of Medical Gerontology in Trinity College. He is Director of the Institute for Memory and Cognition, and the Cognitive Clinical Trials Unit in Tallaght University Hospital, Dublin. He is clinical director of the National Intellectual Disability Memory Service in TUH. He is co-lead investigator on HRB-funded Dementia Trials Ireland, a national clinical trials network, and is the PI for HRB-funded of Dementia Research Network Ireland (DRNI).
Dr Claire McEvoy
Dr Claire McEvoy is a dietitian and epidemiologist at the Centre for Public Health, School of Medicine, QUB, where she investigates the role of nutrition in healthy ageing. She has a special interest in understanding how dietary patterns influence neurodegeneration during ageing, and works to inform evidence-based dietary recommendations for dementia prevention. She is also a Senior Atlantic Fellow of the Global Brain Health Institute, University of California San Francisco and Trinity College Dublin.
Dr Bernadette McGuinness
Dr Bernadette McGuinness works as Clinical Professor of Ageing within the Centre for Public Health at Queen’s University Belfast and Consultant Geriatrician in the Belfast Trust where she leads a memory service. From a research perspective she is especially interested in Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment and the role of inflammation and nutrition in neurodegeneration; she leads a research portfolio of studies in these areas. Bernadette is Clinical Lead of the Northern Ireland Cohort of Longitudinal Ageing (NICOLA) study and leads on
Dr Hilary McMahon
Dr Laura O'Philbin
Laura is the Research and Policy Manager at the Alzheimer Society of Ireland. She has a background in Psychology and holds a PhD from the Dementia Services Development Centre at Bangor University in Wales. Before joining the ASI in 2019, Laura worked in academic research.
Sean Donal O'Shea
Séan Dónal O'Shea is a Dementia Advisor in Limerick City and County with the Alzheimer Society of Ireland. He is a member of the Dementia Research Network Ireland Management Committee and a founding member of the Dementia Carers Campaign Network. Séan Dónal holds a Master of Arts by Research degree from the Technological University of the Shannon Midlands Midwest (TUS). His presentation discusses the 'Some Dance to Remember' research project undertaken by him for the award of Masters in which he explored the psychosocial effects of the introduction of an adaptive Irish céilí (group, social) dance programme with people living with dementia and their carers.
Dr Dominic Trepel
Dominic Trépel, TCD -- Dominic Trépel is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Trinity College Dublin and faculty for the Global Brain Health Institute and Trinity School of Medicine. He is also primary investigator in Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience (TCIN) where he directs Trépel lab.