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Full NameProfessor Patricia Kearney
School of Public Health
University College Cork
Webpage:www.ucc.ie
Email Address:Email hidden; Javascript is required.
- epidemiology/population health research
- clinical trials
- Medicine
- General Practice
- Public Health
- Cardiology
- Endocrinology
- Geriatric Medicine
- Health Informatics
I lead the ESPRIT (Evidence to Support Prevention, Implementation and Translation) research group in UCC. My extensive experience and expertise in the application of epidemiological methods is evidenced by my leadership role in the design, conduct and analysis of large-scale observational and interventional studies. I was the first recipient outside the US of a prestigious Beeson award (National Institute on Aging K08 Award) to work on the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). Beeson Scholars are selected on the basis of a capacity for leadership and the potential to influence medical education and clinical practice.
My work on TILDA focusing on people with diabetes includes descriptive epidemiology of the prevalence of micro and macrovascular complications, and analytical epidemiology to quantify health service use and model unmet need for bariatric surgery provision. Through accessing and analysing large datasets including pharmacy claims data, hospital discharge data, survey, registry and trial data, I have demonstrated my expertise in interrogating data to determine the validity and reliability of the data. Due to my experience with a broad range of quantitative designs e.g. systematic reviews, meta-analysis, cost-of illness studies and advanced analytical techniques including instrumental variable analysis, use of sibling-controls and life course modelling I have contributed to developments in the field.
I was the lead PI in Ireland for the EUFP7 funded TRUST trial, the largest ever undertaken among people with subclinical hypothyroidism. At the time the trial started, there was no clinical research facility (CRF) in UCC, UCC had not previously sponsored a clinical trial and very few staff had training or experience in clinical trials. I worked with the newly developed CRF to develop expertise and capacity in clinical trial research, training research nurses, doctors and pharmacists. I developed a network of >100 GPs actively recruiting participants for TRUST with satellite sites across Ireland.
I am currently leading the Cherish Study with a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from three different institutions and across a range of disciplines including health psychology, health services research, public health nutrition and health economics. Cherish is a pilot study of an infant feeding intervention to prevent childhood obesity developed based on a systematic approach to the design, implementation and evaluation of the intervention. The study contributions to the evidence base include two systematic reviews and secondary data analysis of a cohort study. I was invited to present the early findings and evidence review to government.