The top women in science

Some successful EU-funded Irish female scientists:

Geraldine Boylan: Professor of neonatal physiology, paediatrics & child health at Irish Centre for Foetal and Neonatal Translational Research.

She is also co-coordinator of the FP7-funded NEMO study, Europe’s first multicentred randomised controlled trial of anti-epileptic drugs for newborn babies.

Louise Kenny: Professor of obstetrics at UCC and a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at CUMH.

In July 2009, she was awarded a Principal Investigator Programme grant from Science Foundation Ireland to develop predictive metabolomic markers of poor pregnancy outcome.

Aoife McLysaght: Professor of genetics at Trinity and principal investigator at Molecular Evolution Lab, Smurfit Institute of Genetics.

She was a member of the international consortium that published the first draft of the Human Genome sequence in 2001.

Emma Teeling: Associate professor, School of Biology & Environmental Science, UCD.

She investigated how the study of diverse organisms can inform medicine and enable us to better understand the structure and functioning of the human genome. This integrative research forms the basis for her current studies in the School of Biology and Environmental Research, UCD, where she runs a large research group examining a broad range of evolutionary questions.

Jenny McElwain: Professor School of Biology & Environmental Science, UCD.

She is currently director and team leader of a €1.75m EU Marie Curie Excellence Grant, which seeks to investigate the causes and consequences of the fourth greatest extinction event in Earth history at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary, 200 million years ago.

Cliona O’Farrelly: Professor of Comparative Immunology, TCD. A TCD graduate, she worked as a researcher and lecturer at Harvard and Sussex universities. Research labs director at St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin, 1993-2007. Recent research focuses on species-specific and individual-specific differences in immune genes and molecules, to develop target-directed therapies.

Mary Reilly: VP pharmaceutical development and operations, at Opsona Therapeutics, an Irish drug development SME spun-out from TCD. Her role is to direct the development of compounds from discovery through pharmaceutical development. She is the coordinator of FP7 research funded project, Mabsot.

Vivienne Williams: Cellix CEO and co-founder.

Holds an MSc in physics from TCD. Cellix develops, manufactures and sells microfluidic pumping solutions, consumable biochips, software and automated solutions. Cellix is the recipient of five EU FP7 grants to support R&D efforts, valued at €1.3m nLydia Lynch: Medicine instructor at Harvard Medical School.

Continues research into obesity started at St Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin. Recently, her team discovered natural killer immune cells which can lead to a dramatic improvement in metabolism, weight loss and fatty liver disease, and can reverse diabetes by bolstering depleted cells.

Julie Maguire:Research director at Daithi O’Murchu Marine Research Station.

Operating since 1991, the station focuses on aquaculture and fishery production efficiency, and developing marine technologies to apply in other industries. Station research work incorporates participation in a number of EC Projects, including Asimuth, Orion and Seabioplas.