Investigators
Prof. Glen Doherty- Network Chair
Consultant Gastroenterologist
St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin
In 2010 Prof. Doherty took up a position as a Consultant Gastroenterologist at the Centre for Colorectal Disease at St Vincent’s University Hospital and UCD and is also Research Director of the Centre for Colorectal Disease. Prof. Doherty is Honorary Treasurer and an Executive Board member of the Irish Society of Gastroenterology (ISG) and is National Representative and member of the Guidelines Committee (GUI-COM) for the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation (ECCO).
Research Interests:
The role of innate and adaptive immunity in inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s Disease) and the importance of the host immune response in gastro-intestinal neoplasia, particularly Colorectal Cancer and Barretts Oesophagus. The Centre for Colorectal Disease at SVUH/UCD have an established track record in clinical research on a range of digestive disorders and are actively involved in clinical trials in IBD and Cancer.
Prof. Garret Cullen
Consultant Gastroenterologist
St. Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin
Prof. Garret Cullen is a Consultant Gastroenterologist at St. Vincent’s University Hospital and an Associate Clinical Professor at University College Dublin. He is the Clinical Lead for Endoscopy in Ireland East Healthcare Group.
Research Interests:
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Therapeutic endoscopy
Prof. Laurence Egan
Consultant Gastroenterologist
NUI Galway
Prof. Egan graduated from UCG in 1990 and completed
internship, house officer, and registrar training, based at University College Hospital Galway. He received Membership of RCPI in 1992, and Masters in Medical Science from UCG in 1994. From 1994 to 1999, at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota he completed further training in Internal Medicine, Clinical Pharmacology & Gastroenterology, receiving American Board certification in those 3 disciplines. NUI Galway conferred an MD in 1999. Prof. Egan then undertook post-doctoral training from 2000 to 2002, in the Laboratory of Mucosal Immunology at the University of California, San Diego, before returning to the Mayo Clinic to take up a consultancy in Gastroenterology, with joint appointment in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.
In 2005, Prof. Egan was recruited by NUI Galway and the Health Service Executive West as Professor of Clinical Pharmacology/Consultant Clinical Pharmacologist and Head of the Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics.
Research Interests:
- Molecular characterization of signaling pathways involved in intestinal epithelial cell stress, death and malignant transformation
- Optimisation of personalised approached to biological therapy
Prof. David Kevans
Consultant Gastroenterologist
St. James’s Hospital, Dublin
Prof. Kevans was appointed as a Consultant Gastroenterologist at St. James’s Hospital and a Senior Clinical Lecturer at Trinity College Dublin in September 2014. He currently leads the IBD programme at St. James’s Hospital which provides both regional and tertiary level care for IBD patients, and has an active research programme at St James’s Hospital / Trinity College, Dublin.
Research Interests:
- Genetic, microbial and environmental contributions to Inflammatory Bowel Disease susceptibility
- Pharmacokinetics of monoclonal antibodies
- Biomarkers of prognosis and therapy response
- Clinical trials of novel therapeutics for gastrointestinal disorders
- Nutrition in gastrointestinal health.
Dr. Jane McCarthy
Consultant Gastroenterologist,
Mercy University Hospital, Cork
Dr. Jan Leyden
Consultant Gastroenterologist
Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin
Dr. Leyden graduated from University College Dublin in 1998 and completed the RCPI Higher Specialist Training Programme in Gastroenterology and General Internal Medicine in 2008, followed by an Advanced Endoscopy Fellowship in Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston. He is a Consultant Gastroenterologist in the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital and an Associate Clinical Professor in the School of Medicine, University College Dublin. He held the post of RCPI Gastroenterology National Specialty Director from 2015-2019. Dr. Leyden is Clinical Lead for the HSE Endoscopy Programme and Chair of the Endoscopy Quality Improvement Programme Working Group.
Research Interests:
- Therapeutic endoscopy
- ERCP
- EUS
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Colorectal Cancer Screening
Dr. Aoibhlinn O’Toole
Consultant Gastroenterologist
Beaumont Hospital, Dublin
Dr. O’Toole graduated from University College Dublin in 2004. She completed her Specialist training in Gastroenterology and General Internal Medicine in St Vincent’s University Hospital, Sligo General Hospital and Beaumont Hospital. She was the UCD Newman Scholar in Inflammatory Bowel disease and obtained an MD from UCD for her research on colorectal cancer and immune evasion. She subsequently moved to Boston where she completed Inflammatory Bowel Disease fellowships in the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Programme for Clinical Effectiveness at the Harvard School of Public Health. She returned to Dublin in 2015 to join the Gastroenterology team in Beaumont Hospital.
Research Interests:
- Immune evasion and colorectal cancer
- Immune mechanisms in Inflammatory bowel disease
- Colorectal cancer detection and surveillance
- Environmental triggers of Inflammatory bowel disease
- Therapeutic drug monitoring / optimizing biologic medications
- Sexual dysfunction in Inflammatory bowel disease
- Pregnancy and fertility outcomes in Inflammatory bowel disease
Prof. Martin Buckley
Consultant Gastroenterologist
Mercy University Hospital, Cork
Prof. Martin Buckley qualified from UCC in 1989 and, after an internship at the Mercy University Hospital, did his medical SHO training in Dublin. He worked as a gastroenterology registrar in a number of Dublin hospitals and was lecturer in medicine at Trinity College Dublin. He did a fellowship in therapeutic endoscopy in Nice, before being appointed consultant gastroenterologist at Tallaght Hospital, Trinity College Dublin in 1998. He was appointed consultant gastroenterologist/senior lecturer in clinical medicine at the Mercy University Hospital Cork in 2004. He has worked at Mater Private Hospital in Cork since 2013.
Research Interests:
- Endoscopy/Surveillance
- Role of IBD nurse ANP/IBD nurse specialist
- Vaccinations/infections in immunocompromised hosts
- Stopping Biologics
- Disease remission/Non-invasive documentation/Faecal calprotectin
- Prediction of disease recurrence
- Virtual clinics
For more information on Gastroenterology and Endoscopy at MUH visit their website here.
Prof. Deirdre McNamara
Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine and Consultant Gastroenterologist
AMNCH, Tallaght, Dublin.
Prof. McNamara is Associate Professor and Interim Head of Department for Clinical Medicine AMNCH with Trinity College Dublin and is a Consultant Gastroenterologist at AMNCH. She is also the lead Clinician for GI Physiology, capsule endoscopy and Double balloon enteroscopy and she co-leads the IBD service at Tallaght. Prof McNamara co-founded the Trinity Academic Gastroenterology Group (TAGG), a multidisciplinary research and clinical team working collaboratively at the Adelaide & Meath Hospital, St James’s Hospital Dublin and Trinity College Dublin.
Research Interests:
- Small Bowel Crohn’s Disease
- Treatment outcomes in IBD; Mucosal Healing / Deep remission
- Angiogenesis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Steroid Responsiveness and IBD
- Immunomonitoring in IBD
For more information on the Trinity Academic Gastroenterology Group, visit their website here.
Dr. Patrick Allen
Consultant Gastroenterologist
Ulster Hospital, Dundonald, N.I.
Dr. Allen was appointed Consultant Gastroenterologist in the Ulster Hospital in 2012. He is currently the Secretary for the Ulster Society of Gastroenterology and the NI Representative for the British Society of Gastroenterology. Dr. Allen is a member of the IBD interest group in the NI clinical research network and is a lead for research in the South Eastern Hospital trust in NI.
Current research:
- Phase 3 trial with Golimumab PI GO COLITIS
- Phase 3 trial with linaclotide PI
- Phase 3 trials currently ongoing
- ICARE PI for NI – to start May/June 2016
- PRED 4 and PANTS studies – to start June 2016
- Lancet articles on Ulcerative Colitis and Crohns – for publication
Dr. Richéal Burns
Senior Health Economist
Health Economics Research Centre (HERC) in the University of Oxford
Dr. Burns is a senior health economist at the Health Economics Research Centre (HERC) in the University of Oxford and specialises in economic evaluation of clinical trials. Dr. Burns is also a research affiliate of the Health Economic and Policy Analysis (HEPA) group at NUI Galway and an affiliate member of the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation (ECCO).
Research Interests:
- Economic evaluation of clinical trials
- Burden of illness studies
- Patient-reported outcomes research
- The role of health education
- Dr. Burns has a strong interest in the economic impact of IBD diagnosis and treatment
Dr. Eoin Slattery
Consultant Gastroenterologist
University Hospital Galway
Dr. Slattery was appointed as a Consultant Gastroenterologist at University Hospital Galway in 2015, having completed higher specialist training in Gastroenterology at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and thereafter obtaining sub-specialty fellowship training in interventional endoscopy and advanced GI nutrition in Boston and New York. He is currently the clinical lead for endoscopy for University Hospital Galway.
Research Interests:
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Outcomes, therapeutic drug monitoring, patient experience/education
- Endoscopy/Interventional endoscopy
- Nutritional therapy
Prof. Anthony O’Connor
Consultant Gastroenterologist and Head of Department of Gastroenterology
Tallaght Hospital, Dublin
In October 2016 Prof. O’Connor took up position as Consultant Gastroenterologist at Tallaght Hospital having spent the previous 3 years as a Consultant at the IBD unit at Leeds Gastroenterology Institute in the UK.
Research Interests:
- Post-operative prophylaxis in IBD
- Colorectal Cancer Chemoprevention in IBD
- Colitis associated with Checkpoint Inhibitors used for Oncology
- Quality of life for IBD patients
- Pouch disorders
Kathleen Sugrue
Advanced Nurse Practitioner
Mercy University Hospital, Cork
In 2016 Kathleen Sugrue was appointed the 1st Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Ireland at the Mercy University Hospital, Cork. She is currently vice secretary of the IBDNAI.
Research Interests:
- Post-operative prophylaxis in IBD
- Colorectal Cancer Chemoprevention in IBD
- Colitis associated with Checkpoint Inhibitors used for Oncology
- Quality of life for IBD patients
- Pouch disorders
Prof. Karen Boland
Consultant Gastroenterologist
Beaumont Hospital
Karen Boland graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 2007 with first class honours and multiple undergraduate awards. She completed Higher Specialist Training in 2016 in gastroenterology and advanced IBD fellowship training at Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto from 2016-2018. In 2018, Karen was appointed as consultant gastroenterologist at Beaumont Hospital and combines her interest in translational research with a busy clinical practice.
Karen is an Honorary Clinical Associate Professor at RCSI and a board member of IrSPEN and the Irish representative on the European ESPEN Council. She is the recipient of a number of competitive research grants and current research interests include therapeutic drug monitoring in IBD, nutrition and exercise in IBD and liver disease and the intestinal microbiome. Karen has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications, national and international clinical guidelines in inflammatory bowel disease and clinical nutrition.
Research Interests:
- Cutaneous complications of anti-TNF Therapy
- Therapeutic drug monitoring in IBD
- Tissue associated microbiome and bile acid composition in IPAA fashioned for ulcerative colitis
- Predictors of disease recurrence after resection in Crohn’s disease
Dr. Conor Lahiff
Consultant Gastroenterologist
Mater Misericordiae University Hospital
Dr. Lahiff was appointed Consultant Gastroenterologist and Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Mater Hospital and University College Dublin in 2019, after subspecialist training in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Advanced Endoscopy in Boston, Oxford and Japan. He is clinical lead for Inflammatory Bowel Disease at the Mater.
Research Interests:
• Clinical trial design and outcome research in IBD
• Advanced endoscopic imaging and resection
• Endoscopic assessment of IBD
• Surveillance for colitis-associated cancer in patients with IBD
• Training and quality metrics in IBD clinical care and endoscopy
Dr. Sarah O’Donnell
Consultant Gastroenterologist
Tallaght University Hospital
Dr. O’Donnell has a specialist interest in Inflammatory bowel disease having done a 2 year advanced fellowship in IBD at the University of Toronto 2013 – 2015. She then went on to work as a consultant at The Royal London Hospital, Bartshealth Trust, forming part of a large specialist IBD service in central London. She was clinical lead for the gastroenterology service for the later part of her time at the Royal London. She returned to Ireland in early 2020 to take up a post as consultant Gastroenterologist at Tallaght University Hospital. Her interests in IBD lie particularly in pregnancy and peri-conception management of IBD, markers of Crohn’s disease progression and therapeutic drug monitoring. She has multiple publications in peer reviewed journals within these areas of interest. Dr. O’Donnell additionally is interested in GI bleeding and oesophageal disorders.
Dr. O’Donnell was appointed as a Consultant Gastroenterologist at Tallaght University Hospital in 2019. Dr. O’Donnell had previously been working as a consultant gastroenterologist, since 2015, at The Royal London Hospital, Bartshealth Trust, forming part of a large specialist IBD service in central London.
Research Interests:
- Pregnancy and peri-conception management of IBD
- Markers of Crohn’s disease progression
- Therapeutic drug monitoring
Prof. Marietta Iacucci
Professor of Gastroenterology and Consultant Gastroenterologist
Mercy University Hospital and Cork University Hospital
Prof. Iacucci is a Professor of Gastroenterology at the University College Cork, Ireland. She received her Medical Degree and Gastroenterology training from the University of Rome La Sapienza School of Medicine. After serving as a Gastroenterology consultant in Rome for several years, she moved to the Division of Gastroenterology as a Clinical Associate Professor of Gastroenterology at the University of Calgary in 2011. In 2016 she joined the University of Birmingham as a reader Gastroenterology and Honorary Consultant.
Prof. Iacucci’s research focus is “EndoOmics”, a field she has pioneered, precision medicine, and AI. Her transdisciplinary research combines synergistic facets of advanced endoscopic imaging technology and machine learning algorithms with AI to tackle significant health challenges in inflammatory bowel disease and colonic cancers. Using a precision medicine approach and artificial intelligence, she established a platform to study novel targeted endoscopic molecular labelling in gut inflammation with multiple omics platforms to plan rational therapeutic interventions in IBD patients undergoing biological therapy.
Prof. Iacucci has supported the research community globally by establishing successful workshops, innovative interactive curricula and endoscopy education platforms, and she is actively involved in international guidelines development, thus impacting clinical practice in Europe and globally.
Research Interests:
- advanced endoscopic imaging
- endoscopic molecular labeling
- Artificial Intelligence in diagnosing gastrointestinal disease
- advanced polypectomy (EMR, ESD)
- managing inflammatory bowel disease
Dr. Orlaith Kelly
Consultant Gastroenterologist
Connolly Hospital
Following completion of her specialist training in gastroenterology in Ireland, Dr. Kelly undertook fellowships in advanced inflammatory bowel disease care and research at the University of Toronto and Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada. She joined Connolly Hospital as a consultant gastroenterologist and clinical senior lecturer (RCSI) in 2016 where she is also Training Lead for the department and continues her research interests as an MD supervisor and principal investigator for multiple clinical trials.
Dr. Kelly is currently a National Specialty Director for Training in Gastroenterology in Ireland for RCPI and Workforce Planning Lead for the National Gastroenterology and Hepatology Programme, HSE. She has authored many peer review publications and is a member of the Irish Society of Gastroenterology and European Crohn’s and Colitis Association.
Research Interests:
- Noninvasive diagnosis in IBD (molecular, microbiome micro RNA signatures)
- Use of capsule, intestinal ultrasound, and AI in IBD screening and diagnosis
- Natural history of IBD
- Biologic drug monitoring and treating to target
- EIMs and crossover studies with Rheumatology
- Colorectal cancer and dysplasia screening