Dr Conor Judge and Dr Peter Barrett were awarded Health Research Board (HRB) Clinician Scientist Postdoctoral Fellowships in October 2023.
Peter and Conor were appointed to the first cohort of ICAT Fellows in 2017 and completed their PhDs in 2021.
Speaking about the recent awards, Dr Anne Cody, Head of Investigator-led Grants, Careers and Enablers at the HRB stated:
“Having come through a highly competitive review process, the recipients of these fellowships exhibited immense potential to become future leaders in applied health and social care research.
The HRB fellowship schemes are designed to embed fellows in as supportive an environment as possible, both to enhance their career development and to ensure the delivery of excellent research with clear pathways to impact. Fellows have individualised training and development plans and are supported by a personal mentor and a wider multidisciplinary team.”
More information about the HRB fellowship awards can be found on their website.
Conor’s project will focus on developing an AI clinical decision support system to personalise the management of hypertension with an “Artificial Intelligence approach to improving blood pressure treatment.” The project includes the development of the AI program as well as investigating the attitudes of doctors and patients towards using AI as a clinical tool, to improve the management of hypertension.
Peter’s research “An investigation of the long-term impact of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy on maternal health, and exploration of optimal models of follow-up care for affected women in Ireland” maintains his collaboration between UCC and Karolinska Institutet and will focus on whether the risk of developing age-related diseases such as stroke and dementia is higher in women who had high blood pressure during pregnancy.