Today, 8th March 2025 is International Women’s Day, a day where we celebrate the achievements of our female research team at INFANT. All of whom play a key role in transforming the future of maternal and child healthcare.
Led by Director Professor Geraldine Boylan, and hosted at University College Cork(UCC), INFANT is the hub of world-leading research and innovation, working to provide better outcomes in pregnancy, birth and early childhood. Since 2013, INFANT has established a national and international reputation for leadership in their areas of research and have a strong track record of clinical innovation with year-on-year growth of active research projects, spinouts, and funding.
The team comprises of a strong diverse multidisciplinary team of over 115+ staff and students including PIs, clinicians, physiotherapists, dieticians, pharmacists, psychologists, research scientists and engineers and administrators.
Here is a glimpse into some of our female research team, all striving to provide better outcomes in pregnancy, birth and early childhood
Dr. Aine Hennessy, B.Sc., Ph.D
Áine is a Lecturer in Nutrition at the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences in UCC, Principal Investigator at the Cork Centre for Vitamin D and Nutrition Research and a Lead Investigator at the INFANT Research Centre, UCC.
Her research to date has been in the areas of maternal and child nutrition, with a particular interest in the role of micronutrients, especially iodine, in health outcomes. Her other areas of interest include the dietary patterns and eating behaviours of young children.
Jean Conway – Senior Clinical Project Manager
With over twenty years’ experience, Jean works as a Senior Clinical Project Manager at INFANT Research Centre, UCC and divides her project management expertise between the EU Horizon Health funded ETHEREAL project which is investigating mental health issues with adolescents diagnosed with Autism, EDI-CPI project funded by the Cerebral Palsy Foundation investigating Early Detection of Cerebral Palsy in Ireland and the RCSI led Cystic Fibrosis(CF) Study ENHANCE – Establishing Natural History in an Advanced New CF Care Era.
She has coordinated multinational and national studies as part of her role within INFANT and is the administrator for Clinical Trials .gov registration for all INFANT studies, taking an active role in ethics requirements for the group.
Dr Lisa F Kiely – Dermatology Specialist Registrar & Irish Clinical and Academic Training (ICAT) Fellow
Lisa is a specialist registrar in Dermatology with the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and is currently completing her PhD at INFANT Research Centre, UCC, titled “IMAGINE: Imaging Morphea – Advancements for DiAGnosis and INtensive Evaluation”. IMAGINE is a multi-centre longitudinal observational study of patients with Morphea (Localised scleroderma).
Lisa’s area of interest is Morphea, a rare scaring skin condition affecting both adults and children. Lisa’s PhD aims to explore new ways to monitor disease activity using specialised imaging and artificial intelligence. Improved monitoring can result in more accurate treatment decisions improving outcomes for patients.
Sabrina Ziefer – Data Analyst
Sabrina is working as a Data Analyst at the INFANT Research Centre, UCC.
She’s working on the ELEVATE programme and focuses on all things data analysis. She’s managing various studies in INFANT’s data capture tool RedCap and is focused on facilitating efficient data collection. She’s also implementing machine learning algorithms on existing data to help predict cerebral palsy in high-risk new-borns.
Claire O’Halloran – Clinical Research Nurse
Claire is a Clinical Research Nurse at INFANT Research Centre, UCC and is involved in various aspects of INFANT’s research including study participant follow-up, data collection, sample processing and documentation control.
Her current projects include the STOP AD study – Short-term Topical Application to Prevent Atopic Dermatitis which aims to determine if short term postnatal skin barrier protection may impact on rates of both eczema and other allergic conditions at 4-5 years of age, the RCSI led Cystic Fibrosis(CF) Study ENHANCE – Establishing Natural History in an Advanced New CF Care Era and the EU Horizon Health funded ETHEREAL project which is investigating mental health issues with adolescents diagnosed with Autism.
Dr Mary Anne Ryan – Research Support Officer
Mary Anne is a Research Support Officer at INFANT Research Centre, UCC and is involved in the recruitment; coordinating follow-up and data management for the Early Detection & Intervention for Cerebral Palsy in Ireland study (EDI-CPI) – which aims to try and reduce the age of diagnosis of CP by assessing children in high risk out-patient clinics using specific clinical exams.
She also leads a national parent’s advisory group which provides parental input into all areas of research. Mary Anne’s research interests also include neuro development, neuromonitoring and neuroprotection of preterm infants and term born infants. She also supports research relating to AI developments within the NICU.
Iyshwarya Stapleton -Clinical Research Fellow / Neonatal SpR
Iyshwarya is a medical graduate of UCC. She is currently a Specialist Registrar in Neonatology with the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI), a PhD student at UCC and a Clinical Research Fellow with INFANT.
Her areas of interest are neonatal haemodynamics and diastolic cardiac function. Her PhD titled: “A Longitudinal Observational Assessment of Diastolic Function during the Transitional Period and Infancy using Serial Echocardiography (The DiFuSE Study)”. DiFuSE will assess diastolic function during the neonatal transitional period and long-term into infancy. This will be a prospective, single-centre, observational study on neonates born at 35 weeks’ gestation or above. The goal is to create reference values for diastolic function parameters and to assess the influence of pre-defined antenatal, intrapartum, maternal, and neonatal factors on cardiac function.
Sonia Lenehan
Sonia is the Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) Coordinator for the Irish Network for Children’s Clinical Trials (In4kids) and the Education and Public Engagement (EPE) Manager on the ELEVATE programme at the INFANT Research Centre, UCC.
Her roles have two different titles, but they have the same aim – to ensure that the public gets a chance to understand, engage with, and be the driving force behind Irish research. Along with the team at In4kids and INFANT, she runs young person’s advisory groups, set up PPI advisory groups, develops educational content, visits science fairs and festivals, and spends a good proportion of it talking to and engaging with the public.
Clodagh Brennock – In4kids Network Manager
Clodagh’s role as the Network Manager for in4kids, is to help establish and grow a children’s clinical research network in Ireland. The goal is to carry out research focused on children so that children in Ireland can access clinical trials and benefit from the research that is specifically designed for them and not just adults.
Clodagh also supports and guides researchers who want to take part in or run their own studies and helps identify and evaluate potential clinical trial sites that can participate in the trials and provide high-quality data. In4kids is the National Hub for a larger European children’s clinical trial network called c4c (connect4children), Clodagh works with c4c to ensure Ireland is included as a place to conduct research and attract international partners.
Danielle Clifford – Clinical Research Fellow and Paediatric Specialist Registrar
As a clinical research fellow, Danielle works between the neonatal or paediatric units (clinical settings), and the INFANT Research Centre. This involves meeting patients and families, liaising with the clinical doctors and nurses and carrying out research assessments or examinations for babies and children.
Danielle’s research is part of the ELEVATE programme and is focused on the early detection of cognitive and motor difficulties in high-risk infants. Danielle also has an interest in the influence of social factors on development. She is working with biomarkers, EEGs and various developmental assessment tools for predicting outcome in babies and young children.
Elaine Kennedy
Elaine is a Paediatrician in Cork University Hospital, and a Clinical Research Fellow in INFANT Research Centre, UCC.
Her area of interest is the development of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) in children. Her MD is entitled ‘Biomarkers of Evolving Paediatric T1D’. This research aims to identify novel gut microbes that may play a role in T1D progression and control. The goal of this work is to identify new treatments that could potentially slow down disease progression and improve diabetes control. Her work is also supported by APC Microbiome Ireland.
