ICAT Cohort 9 Fellows (2025)

Clinical Specialty: Small Animal Internal Medicine

Dr Adrien Da Silva graduated from Veterinary Medicine in The National School of Veterinary Medicine of Alfort in Paris in 2019. After completing an internal medicine and emergency/critical care internship in the south of France in Montpellier, Adrien joined the Small Animal Internal Medicine department of the University College Dublin Veterinary Hospital in 2021 and completed his residency training.

Adrien’s research interest include veterinary endocrinology and adrenal diseases in particular. As an ICAT fellow, Adrien intends to explore interspecies and individual sensitivity to corticosteroids using a One Health approach. 

PhD research area: Uncovering the Metabolomic and Genetic Influence of Cortisol sensitivity across species and dog breeds (The MAGIC Study)

PhD Supervisors: Professor Carmel Mooney, UCD; Professor Mark Sherlock, RCSI; Professor Lucy Davison, Royal Veterinary College; Professor Robert Shiel, Murdoch University

University College Dublin (UCD)

Clinical specialty: Public Health Medicine

Dr Áine Varley is a Specialist Registrar (SpR) in Public Health Medicine. In addition to her medical degree, she holds Master’s degrees in Health Economics (MSc) and Public Health (MPH). Prior to her appointment as SpR, she worked as a health technology assessor at the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics Ireland. As an ICAT fellow, Áine intends to explore the application of health economic principles and methodologies to inform the prevention and control of infectious diseases.    

PhD research area: The economic burden of TB in migrants from high-incidence countries in Ireland, and the cost effectiveness of models of care to diagnose and manage latent TB infection.

PhD Supervisors: Professor Noel McCarthy, TCD; Professor Paddy Gillespie, University of Galway; Dr Mary O’Meara, Department of Public Health HSE Dublin and North East; Professor Anne Marie McLaughlin, TCD; Professor Cathal Walsh, TCD

Trinity College Dublin (TCD)

Clinical Specialty: Medical Oncology

Dr Alice Talbot graduated from RCSI in 2019. She completed her academic track internship in 2020 followed by the Bendat Research Fellowship in Medical Oncology in St John of God Hospital, Perth. On completion of postgraduate medical training in St James’s Hospital in 2025 she was appointed to the Medical Oncology Higher Specialist Training scheme.

Her current research interests are cancer genetics and early onset gastrointestinal malignancies.  As an ICAT fellow, Alice will explore the use of fragmentomics for screening for malignancy in patients with hereditary cancer syndromes.  

PhD research area: Cell free DNA Fragmentomics for Early Detection in Cancer Predisposition Syndromes

PhD Supervisors: Professor David Gallagher, TCD; Dr Zacharia Foda, Johns Hopkins Hospital; Professor Eamonn Maher, University of Cambridge

Trinity College Dublin (TCD)

Clinical Specialty: Orthodontics

Dr Brian Maloney graduated in Dentistry from Trinity College in 2023. He subsequently completed a house officer position in the Dublin Dental Hospital and gained further clinical experiences in the National Maxillofacial Unit in St James’s Hospital. During his undergraduate studies, he developed an interest in the application of adjuvant therapies for the treatment of oral cancer. He has authored several publications in peer-reviewed journals and was awarded the prestigious Hatton prize from the IADR in 2021 and 2023 . As part of his ICAT fellowship, Dr Maloney endeavours to explore the potential of novel targeted therapy in the treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma. 

PhD research area: Nano-Engineered Chiral Hydroxyapatite for Targeting Tooth Reparative Processes (NEXT-GEN)

PhD Supervisors: Professor Yuri Gun’ko, TCD; Professor Hal Duncan, TCD; Professor Oran Kennedy, RCSI; Professor Michael Monaghan, TCD

Trinity College Dublin (TCD)

Clinical Specialty: Nephrology

Dr David Synnott graduated from University College Cork in 2020 where he also completed his Basic Specialist Training. In addition to his medical degree, he completed a Masters in Health Professions Education in UCC. David was appointed to RCPI Higher Specialist Training in Nephrology in 2024 and has an interest in Onconephrology. As an ICAT fellow, David will explore the toxicities of immunotherapy and immunosurvivorship.  

PhD research area: IO Survivor: Exploring the impact of immunotherapy in patients who are long-term survivors from cancer

PhD Supervisors: Professor Jarushka Naidoo, RCSI; Professor Declan de Freitas, RCSI; Dr Martin Barr, TCD; Dr Catriona Dowling, RCSI; Dr Cecilia Pompili, University of Hull and University of York; Professor Meghan Sise, Massachussetts General Hospital; Professor Kerry Reynolds, Massachussetts General Hospital; Professor Alexandra-Chloe Villani, Massachussetts General Hospital; Professor Kathleen Bennett, RCSI

RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences (RCSI)

Clinical Specialty: General Internal Medicine/ Endocrinology & Diabetes

Dr. Lauren Madden Doyle graduated from RCSI in 2019 with a First Class Honours degree, and completed her Basic Specialist Training through Beaumont Hospital. During this time, Lauren worked on a number of clinical research projects delivered through the RCSI Androgens in Health & Disease group, and the international CaHSE-2 consortium.  She was appointed to the Endocrinology and Diabetes Higher Specialist Training in 2023.

Lauren’s clinical and research interests primarily focus on the complex interplay between androgens and metabolic health. As part of her ICAT fellowship she aims to further elucidate mechanistic drivers of metabolic dysfunction in polycystic ovary syndrome. 

PhD research area: Adipose tissue as a site of androgen generation in women: understanding the origins of androgen excess and metabolic disease in polycystic ovary syndrome and simple obesity

PhD Supervisors: Professor Michael O’Reilly, RCSI; Dr Marie McIlroy, RCSI; Professor Helen Heneghan, UCD; Professor Jeremy Tomlinson, University of Oxford; Professor Wiebke Arlt, Imperial College London

RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences (RCSI)

Clinical Specialty: Psychiatry (General Adult)

Dr Niamh Dhondt graduated in Medicine from RCSI in 2020 following her undergraduate studies in Psychology. She completed an Academic Track Internship and her Basic Specialist Training in Psychiatry with the Trinity College Dublin Scheme in Tallaght, Naas, St James’ and St Patrick’s Hospitals. Her research interest is in the development of, screening for and early intervention in mental illness. As an ICAT fellow she intends to investigate the development of personality disorders with a view to validating screening for and laying the foundation for early intervention in personality disorder. 

PhD research area: Assessment of High-risk Early Adjustment in the Development of Personality Disorder (AHEAD-PD)

PhD Supervisors: Professor Mary Cannon, RCSI; Dr Peter Barrett, UCC; Dr Colm Healy, UCD; Professor Michael Kaess, University of Bern

RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences (RCSI)

Clinical Specialty: Dermatology

Dr Shahd Elamin graduated from Queen’s University Belfast in 2014 and completed a Masters in Clinical Education in 2020. She began her dermatology specialist training in 2021. She has a particular interest in pigmentary skin disorders. As an ICAT fellow she hopes to gain better understanding of the complex immune pathways observed in vitiligo, with the aim of identifying potential targets for treatment.  

PhD research area: Ethnic Variation in Vitiligo: An Epidemiological and Immunological Study

PhD Supervisors: Dr Dessi Malinova, QUB; Professor Alan Irvine, TCD; Professor Viktoria Eleftheriadou, University of Birmingham; Dr Donal O’Kane, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust; Professor Julien Seneschal, University of Bordeaux

Queen’s University Belfast (QUB)