ICAT Summer School 2026

Lecturer, Discipline of Speech and Language Therapy, University of Galway

Ruth McMenamin joined the Discipline of Speech and Language Therapy at NUI Galway in November 2004. Prior to taking up this position she worked as a senior speech and language therapist in Neurology at the Mater Misericordiae hospital. Ruth is a member of the Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists (IASLT) and is registered with CORU. Ruth studied for a MSc degree in Health Informatics at the University of Dublin, TCD and obtained a Postgraduate Diploma (Pg Dip) in Academic Practice at the University of Galway. Ruth was awarded a PhD at University of Galway in 2016. Her PhD research used a Participatory Learning and Action Research approach to explore a multiperspectival evaluation of a Conversation intervention involving people with aphasia, therapists and students as co-researchers.

Ruth is the co-lead for the Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) Ignite Network at University of Galway and a member of the PPI Ignite Network at University of Galway Steering Committee. Ruth is a member of the Executive Committee of the Collaboration of Aphasia Trialists (CATs) and she is also a member of the International Collaboration of Participatory Health Researchers. Ruth’s research interests include: Communication disability; Aphasia; Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) in research and other activities; Civic engagement through the promotion of university-community partnerships. Ruth has particular experience and expertise in involvement research with people with communication disabilities; students; community partners and academics using participatory health research approaches.

Programme Manager, PPI Ignite Network, University of Galway

Martha Killilea is the Programme Manager of the PPI Ignite Network @ University of Galway. Martha has been involved with PPI Ignite since 2018 and became the programme manager in April 2021. Martha contributes to each of the work packages within the PPI Ignite Network. She also works with researchers and the public and patients to ensure that the voice of the patient shapes and influences our health and social care research, enhancing the quality, relevance and impact of the research being conducted in University of Galway. Martha completed an undergraduate degree in Public and Social Policy at University of Galway in 2016, she continued her studies in University of Galway and graduated with a master’s degree in Health Economics in 2017.

Principal Statistician of the Health Research Board Clinical Research Facility, Cork; Senior Lecturer in Patient-focused Research Methods at the School of Public Health, University College Cork

Darren is Principal Statistician of the Health Research Board Clinical Research Facility, Cork, and a Senior Lecturer in Patient-Focused Research Methods at the School of Public Health, University College Cork (UCC). In these roles, he consults and collaborates on a wide portfolio of patient-focused and public health research, including more than a dozen investigator-led clinical trials. Darren also teaches postgraduate students about clinical trial study design and analysis, reproducible research methods, and critical appraisal skills. Prior to joining UCC, he lectured in epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Leeds. Darren earned a PhD in Epidemiology  from the University of North Carolina in 2008 and a Masters in International Health Science from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland in 2002.

Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Professor of Translational Immunology at the School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin.

Professor Padraic Fallon has 30 years of experience in academic research and leadership, including as a Wellcome Trust Fellow (University of Cambridge, UK) and a NATO Visiting Scientist (Cornell University, USA). Padraic is the current Director of the ICAT Programme, has supervised over 30 MSc and 13 PhD students and mentored >30 Postdoctoral fellows. Fallon is a key opinion leader in translational immunology, having made several seminal contributions to the field. Professor Fallon has secured over €20 million in research funding as Principal Investigator (Science Foundation Ireland, Wellcome Trust, EU, Health Research Board and industry) and an additional €120 million as co- applicant, supporting extensive programmes across immunology, infection, and inflammatory disease. In 2026, Prof. Fallon is PI on a Research Ireland award and is a co-applicant on Rinn Advanced Therapies and a PI on Rinn Medical Devices. Prof. Fallon serves on national bodies, such as the Board of Dublin Dental University Hospital, and on international agencies, e.g. ERC grant panels. Fallon has received various awards, including an SFI Stokes Professorship (2008), Membership of the Royal Irish Academy (2014), and Doctor of Science (University of Wales, UK, 2015).

Greally Lecturer in Applied Clinical Data Analytics at the University of Galway

Dr Krewer teaches a number of advanced data analysis methods and is undertaking a programme of research in clinical data analytics. Dr. Finn Krewer received his PhD in Engineering from the University of Galway in 2017 on the topic of bio-inspired reconfigurable computing, combining biological neuron models with hardware accelerators. He has published several research papers and has extensive industry experience in software development and data analysis. Dr. Krewer has received numerous university and national scholarships for his work through his undergraduate and throughout his post-graduate research. In 2023 he rejoined the University of Galway as a Research Fellow with the topic of applied Machine Learning techniques for biosignal classification. His research focuses on clinical data analytics and the applications and risks of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare applications. He currently holds a Health Research Board Secondary Data Analysis Project grant as a co-applicant to conduct analysis of traditional and novel risk factors for stroke in persons with kidney failure in Ireland.

Consultant Nephrologist, Electronic and Computer Engineer, PhD in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Senior Lecturer in Applied Clinical Data Analytics at the University of Galway and Co-Director of the MSc in Applied Clinical Data Analytics

Dr Judge’s primary focus is applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions to enhance patient care, particularly in the realm of chronic conditions like hypertension. He leads the development of an AI Clinical Decision Support System (AI-CDSS) for Hypertension management at the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences Institute of Clinical Trials, University of Galway. This project uses data from randomised controlled trials to predict complex treatment decisions for persons with hypertension and is a testament to his commitment to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with AI in healthcare. Dr Judge’s experience extends beyond research. He is a clinical mentor with the Bioinnovate programme in Galway and has interacted with multiple companies for needs validation. He has worked on three separate inventions and one patent application. Dr Judge has received several awards in recognition of his research including The HRB’s Clinician Scientist Fellowship 2023, the Cleveland Clinic Award in 2020, an Irish Canada University Foundation Scholarship (Deep Learning), and the prestigious Wellcome Trust HRB Irish Clinical Academic Training (ICAT) PhD Fellowship (Adaptive Clinical Trials). He has also received research funding from SFI (Future Innovator), HRB (Secondary Data Analysis Project) and the Department of Public Expenditure (Public Service Innovation Fund for AI Natural Language Processing).