'MGA Clinical Influencers' is a podcast series by University College Dublin School of Medicine. Now in its 5th season, the MGA Clinical Influencers Podcast delves into the working, and sometimes personal lives, of medical alumni. Surgeons at the top of their game, clinical ground-breaking researchers, and phenomenal leaders and mentors all share their memories, thoughts, and wisdom in this conversation-style podcast series.

The Medical Graduates Association plays a vital role in keeping you, our School of Medicine Graduates in touch with fellow alumni across Ireland and around the world. 

During this podcast series, graduates will share stories about their time at UCD along with their experiences as junior doctors. They will discuss their clinical and scientific speciality areas; highlights of the challenges they have encountered during their careers; and tell us how they share their expertise and coach others.  On a personal level, they’ll also talk about work-life balance, and recommend books, films, music and holiday locations. Our interviewees have compelling stories to share that will offer important insights into the clinical specialty they have chosen.

Interviewees include:

Professor Michaela Higgins, Consultant Medical Oncologist at St. Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin and a Clinical Professor at UCD (UCD Class of 2002).  

Professor Bill Powderly, Dr. J. William Campbell Professor of Medicine and the Larry J Shapiro Director of the Institute for Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis (UCD Class of 1979).

Dr Christine Quinlan, Consultant Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon at Mater Misericordiae University Hospital (UCD Class of 2009). 

Prof Datin Dr Norlinah Mohamed Ibrahim - Professor of Neurology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. (UCD Class of 1997)

T. Ellis Barnes - Leader in the field of general and robotic surgery (UCD Class of 2011)

Dr Dennis Slamon - Director of Clinical/Translational Research, and as Director of the Revlon/UCLA Women's Cancer Research Program at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Centre. He is a Professor of Medicine, Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology and former Executive Vice Chair for Research for UCLA's Department of Medicine.

Dr Anne Merriman MBE FRCPI FRCPEdin - Founder of Hospice Africa (UCD Class of 1963).

Dr Brendan Kelly - AI and Paediatric Radiology Fellow at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Dr Siobhán Ní Bhriain - National Clinical Lead for Integrated Care HSE (UCD Class of 1991).

Dr Rhona Mahony - Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist (UCD Class of 1994).

Tomas Neilan - Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (UCD Class of 2006).

Professor Bobby Smyth - Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist (UCD Class of 1991).

Prof. Orla Hardiman, Professor of Neurology TCD, and Consultant Neurologist at Beaumont Hospital.

Dr Tony Holohan, Adjunct Professor of Public Health at UCD.

Dr Gary O'Toole - Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon.

Dr. Ruth O’Regan (Chair of Medicine and Charles A. Dewey Professor, University of Rochester)

Professor Ken McDonald, Consultant Cardiologist, Founder & Medical Director, Heart Failure Unit, SVUH & National Clinical Lead for Heart Failure in Ireland (UCD Class of 1981)

Professor Fionnuala Ni Ainle, Clinical Lead in Thrombosis, Haemostasis & Maternal Haematology, Mater University Hospital and Rotunda Hospital & Co-Director, SPHERE Research Institute, UCD Conway Institute (TCD Class of 2000)

Prof Peter Kelly, Clinical Professor of Neurology, UCD & Co-Director, Stroke Service, Mater University Hospital (UCD Class of 1990) 

Professor Alistair Nichol, Chair of Critical Care Medicine, UCD & Intensive Care Consultant, SVUH (TCD, Class of 1998 and UCD PhD Graduate, 2008)

Prof Mary Higgins, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, NMH (Maternal Fetal Medicine Sub-Specialist) & Associate Clinical Professor, UCD School of Medicine (UCD Class of 2000) 

https://www.ucd.ie/medicine/alumni/mgapodcastseries/

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MGA Clinical Influencers (UCD School of Medicine)

Professor Michaela Higgins graduated from UCD Medicine in 2002 and completed medical and oncology training in Ireland prior to completing a three-year fellowship in medical oncology at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland.

After fellowship, she was appointed as an Attending (Consultant) Physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston and was an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston from 2010 to 2014. 

Prof Higgins was a consultant oncologist in the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin from 2015 to 2020. She was Clinical Director of the Cancer Directorate of the Mater Hospital from 2019 to 2020. 

Prof Higgins has been a Consultant Medical Oncologist at St. Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin and a Clinical Professor at UCD since 2020.  

Prof Higgins specialises in the care of patients with breast cancer. She is actively involved in clinical cancer research and former Director of the UCD Cancer Clinical Trials Cluster supported by the Health Research Board. Prof Higgins is current President of the Irish Society of Medical Oncology (ISMO). 

MGA Clinical Influencers

UCD MGA launched its Podcast Series - MGA Clinical Influencers - in 2022.

During this podcast series, graduates give us a trip down memory lane when describing their time at UCD (and on some occasions in other Schools of Medicine) and as junior doctors.

They discuss their stellar careers in their chosen speciailty and highlights and challenges during those careers, how they share their expertise and coach others. On a personal level, they will discuss how they manage a decent work life balance, where that is possible and books for us to enjoy and holiday locations we should be thinking about. Our interviewees have compelling stories to tell that will spark your curiosity about life in the clinical speciality they have chosen and the career path they have travelled.

https://www.ucd.ie/medicine/alumni/mgapodcastseries/

Prof Michaela Higgins - Consultant Medical Oncologist SVUH & Clinical Professor (UCD Class of 2002)

Dr Louis St.L O’Dea graduated from UCD Medicine in 1976. 

After finishing Internal Medicine training at McGill University, as well as the required board exams, Dr O’Dea continued his training at Harvard after securing a grant. Then, returning to McGill, he was appointed to faculty in Medicine, Endocrinology, and Obstetrics-Gynaecology.

Dr O’Dea formed a collaborative with the heads of the Radiology/Ultrasound and Ob-Gyn departments to start McGill’s first IVF unit.

Due to several reasons including personal health and 17 years of postgraduate training and practice, Dr O’Dea made a shift to an industry career, moving back to Boston and into biotech.

Recombinant proteins led to Dr O’Dea’s interest in making human and non-human therapeutic proteins by harnessing messenger RNA as a therapeutic itself. He has had several BioPharmaceutical appointments, held positions on many Boards and committees and has been a member of numerous Professional Associations.

He has produced approximately 40 original papers in peer-reviewed journals including NEJM, Am J Physiol, JCEM and Eur Heart J, 11 book chapters and 3 original patents, distributed between his academic and biotech tenures.

MGA Clinical Influencers

UCD MGA launched its Podcast Series - MGA Clinical Influencers - in 2022.

During this podcast series, graduates give us a trip down memory lane when describing their time at UCD (and on some occasions in other Schools of Medicine) and as junior doctors.

They discuss their stellar careers in their chosen speciailty and highlights and challenges during those careers, how they share their expertise and coach others. On a personal level, they will discuss how they manage a decent work life balance, where that is possible and books for us to enjoy and holiday locations we should be thinking about. Our interviewees have compelling stories to tell that will spark your curiosity about life in the clinical speciality they have chosen and the career path they have travelled.

https://www.ucd.ie/medicine/alumni/mgapodcastseries/


Louis St.L O’Dea - Pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotech industry leader (UCD Class of 1976)

Professor Cecily Kelleher graduated from UCD Medicine in 1980. Having completed a master’s degree in public health at UCD Professor Kelleher took up a post as senior scientist in clinical epidemiology at the Medical Research Council Epidemiology and Medical Care Unit in London, working on the large-scale Thrombosis Prevention Trial. 

She was appointed to the foundation chair of Health Promotion at NUI Galway in 1990. In 2002, she was appointed to the Chair of Public Health Medicine and Epidemiology at UCD and was head of the UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Population Science until 2015. 

In September 2015, she became College Principal, College of Health and Agricultural Sciences and is currently Dean of Public Health in the Faculty of Public Health Medicine. 

Professor Kelleher is also a member of the Royal Irish Academy. She served as Chair of the Covid-19 Nursing Homes Expert Panel for the report to the Minister for Health on the examination of measures to 2021. 

Her main areas of research are on lifecourse epidemiology and cardiovascular disease, childhood obesity, Traveller health, and the public health impacts of tobacco smoke.

MGA Clinical Influencers

UCD MGA launched its Podcast Series - MGA Clinical Influencers - in 2022.

During this podcast series, graduates give us a trip down memory lane when describing their time at UCD (and on some occasions in other Schools of Medicine) and as junior doctors.

They discuss their stellar careers in their chosen speciailty and highlights and challenges during those careers, how they share their expertise and coach others. On a personal level, they will discuss how they manage a decent work life balance, where that is possible and books for us to enjoy and holiday locations we should be thinking about. Our interviewees have compelling stories to tell that will spark your curiosity about life in the clinical speciality they have chosen and the career path they have travelled.

https://www.ucd.ie/medicine/alumni/mgapodcastseries/

Professor Cecily Kelleher - Dean of Public Health in the Faculty of Public Health Medicine (UCD Class of 1980)

Dr Adrian Huang, graduated from UCD Medicine in 2011. 

Dr Huang is a Clinical Associate Professor in the UBC Department of Orthopaedics and an Orthopaedic Surgeon at St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, Canada. He completed his orthopaedic surgery residency at the University of Ottawa and went on to complete two clinical fellowships: the first focusing on Orthopaedic Trauma at the Orthopaedic Trauma Institute at the University of California San Francisco and the second on Upper Limb Surgery at the Hand and Upper Limb Centre at Western University.

Dr Huang hosts the Canadian Orthopaedic Association podcast series, Ortho Insider, chatting with top orthopaedic surgeons from various backgrounds. He is passionate about digital media in medical education and working with the medical students and residents to help them grow their careers. 

MGA Clinical Influencers

UCD MGA launched its Podcast Series - MGA Clinical Influencers - in 2022.

During this podcast series, graduates give us a trip down memory lane when describing their time at UCD (and on some occasions in other Schools of Medicine) and as junior doctors.

They discuss their stellar careers in their chosen speciailty and highlights and challenges during those careers, how they share their expertise and coach others. On a personal level, they will discuss how they manage a decent work life balance, where that is possible and books for us to enjoy and holiday locations we should be thinking about. Our interviewees have compelling stories to tell that will spark your curiosity about life in the clinical speciality they have chosen and the career path they have travelled.

https://www.ucd.ie/medicine/alumni/mgapodcastseries/

Adrian Huang - Orthopaedic Surgeon (UCD Class of 2011)

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