We warmly invite you to attend the ICAT Retreat 2026
The Retreat will be held in the Grand Hotel Malahide on the 16th & 17th of November 2026.
Programme coming soon
Abstract book coming soon
Event programme at a glance
Please note this is a draft programme, which will be updated closer to the event
Monday 16th November
Meeting room: Tara Suite
09:45 Coffee
10:20 Welcome
10:30 Session 1 - Pre-PhD Fellow talks
PhD proposal development talks by the Year 1 ICAT Fellows
- Dr Claudia Gilders, Dr Ralph Hurley O’Dwyer, Dr Cian Henry, Dr Jennifer McGarry, Dr Hongying Chen
11:20 Comfort break
11:30 Session 2 - Research Blitz 1
Fast-paced research session, 3-minute talks from the ICAT Fellows
- Dr Yvonne Fahy, Dr Brian O’Mahony, Dr Alice Talbot, Dr Nicholas Stefanovic
12:15 Lunch (Coast Restaurant)
13:15 Session 3 - Research Blitz 2 & Parallel Session for Final Year Fellows/Alumni
Fast-paced research session, 3-minute talks from the ICAT Fellows
- Dr John Mark O’Leary, Dr Sophie Duignan, Dr Shahd Elamin, Dr Brian Maloney, Dr Catherine Duane
- Chaired by Professor Carmel Mooney
Parallel session: Small group mentoring session for final year fellows and alumni in the adjacent boardroom.
14:00 Coastal Walk & Connect
15:00 - Session 4 - Themed Research Roundtables & Coffee
15:45 Session 5 - Research Blitz 3 & Parallel Session for Pre-PhD Fellows
Fast-paced research session, 3-minute talks from the ICAT Fellows
- Dr Adrien Da Silva, Dr Niamh Dhondt, Dr Michael Duggan, Dr Owen Killian, Dr David Synnott
Parallel session: Small group mentoring session for pre-PhD fellows in the adjacent boardroom.
16:30 Invited speaker
17:10 Comfort break
17:20 Gill Maxwell Alumnus Talk - Dr Brendan Kelly
We are delighted to announce that Dr Brendan Kelly will deliver this year’s Gill Maxwell Alumnus Talk. Brendan was appointed to the 2nd ICAT cohort in 2018 and we are extremely proud of his achievements.
Dr Brendan S. Kelly is a radiologist and clinician scientist whose research focuses on the safe and effective use of artificial intelligence in clinical imaging, particularly in children. He is currently a Fellow in Cardiac Radiology in Bristol and Adjunct Assistant Professor in Computer Science at University College Dublin. He recently received a HRB Research in Practice Fellowship and was the European Society of Radiology Researcher of the year in 2025.
Brendan completed his PhD at UCD’s Insight Centre for Data Analytics, developing AI methods for detecting change in longitudinal imaging in Multiple Sclerosis. His training includes a Fulbright-HRB fellowship at Stanford University, a fellowship in paediatric radiology and AI at Great Ormond Street Hospital, and an ASPIRE fellowship in advanced oncologic imaging at Children’s Health Ireland.
His research spans quantitative imaging, multimodal AI, methodological quality, cybersecurity and patient safety. His current research programme aims to integrate imaging, genomic and clinical information to improve prediction of outcomes in childhood cancer. He contributed to international multisociety guidance on safe AI implementation in paediatric radiology, serves as Deputy Editor for AI at European Radiology on the European Society of Paediatric Radiology’s AI Task Force.
18:00 Reception
Continuing the exchange of ideas in an informal setting, please join us for a reception after today’s talks.
19:30 Dinner
Tuesday 17th November
Meeting room: Tara Suite
09:30 Session 1 - Final year ICAT Fellow talks
Talks from the ICAT Fellows in their final PhD year
- Dr Nicola Raftery, Dr Lisa Kiely, Dr Vincent Healy
10:20 Coffee break
10:50 Session 2 - Final year ICAT Fellow talks
Talks from the ICAT Fellows in their final PhD year
- Dr Alison Lee, Dr Laura Graham, Dr Oana Deac
11:40 Comfort break
11:50 Session 3 - One Health and pandemic preparedness, Professor Tony Holohan
We are delighted to welcome Professor Tony Holohan to the ICAT Retreat. Professor Tony Holohan is Director of the UCD One Health Centre, a WHO Collaborating Centre for One Health, and Adjunct Full Professor of Public Health at UCD and TCD. He served as Ireland’s Chief Medical Officer from 2008 to 2022.
12:30 Session 4 - Introducing the ICAT-AHEAD Programme
The Irish Clinical Academic Training – Accelerating Health Research to Support Ageing Demographics (ICAT-AHEAD) Programme builds on the success of the ICAT Programme to support the next generation of clinician scientists in Ireland. This session will provide an overview of the programme’s vision, objectives, and proposed training pathways, highlighting new opportunities for clinical academics across registered healthcare professions.
13:15 Prizes
13:30 Lunch (buffet lunch in meeting room)
Constructive feedback for ICAT fellow talks
Feedback on the fellow talks is welcomed and will be shared with the fellows after the Retreat.
We would be grateful if you could please provide feedback by answering the following short questionnaire for each speaker