Dr Cathal O’Connor, INFANT PhD student and specialist registrar in dermatology at the South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital, was presented with the Future Leader Award of the European Society for Dermatological Research at the recent academy in Madrid, Spain.
Dr O’Connor presented findings from his PhD study – the ‘assessing sleep in infants with atopic dermatitis’ (SPINDLE) study which was performed in the INFANT research centre in University College Cork. Dr O’Connor performed detailed research on sleep and neurophysiology in young babies with severe eczema. He said ‘our novel findings will be used to increase awareness of the neurological complications of early-onset eczema and the impact on families of babies with eczema’.
The ESDR Future Leaders Academy brings together highly gifted young scientists and renowned senior scientists from dermatological departments all over Europe and beyond for a three day meeting. The goal of this initiative is to encourage excellent young dermatologists to further pursue their academic careers through guidance and mentoring of established scientists in the field.
Dr O’Connor is currently completing his dual specialist training in both dermatology and paediatrics in Cork, before taking up a post as senior clinical fellow in a leading European paediatric dermatology centre. His PhD degree with University College Cork was undertaken as part of the prestigious Irish Clinical and Academic Training programme.
