Fionnuala McAuliffe is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at National Maternity Hospital Dublin, Head of Women’s and Child’s Health at University College Dublin and Director of the UCD Perinatal Research Centre, a multidisciplinary research centre aiming to improve outcome for mother and baby though clinically relevant pregnancy research.

She has received significant grant funding both nationally and internationally  and has over 360 peer reviewed publications. She has developed guidelines for pregnancy in Ireland, UK and internationally.

She is FIGO executive council member and Chair of FIGO committee on Impact of Pregnancy on Long- term Health. She is co-lead of the FIGO pregnancy obesity and nutrition initiative. Other roles include Council member Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists UK, Scientific advisor for British Maternal and Fetal Medicine Society.

Fidelma Dunne is a Professor in Medicine at the School of Medicine, National University of Ireland (NUIG), Associate Director of the Clinical Research Facility (CRF) Galway and a Consultant Endocrinologist at Galway University Hospitals group. She obtained her medical degree from NUIG, MD from UCC, PhD from the University of Birmingham UK, Masters in Medical Education from the University of Dundee Scotland and Masters in Clinical Research from NUIG. She was the Foundation Head of the School of Medicine (2009-2013) and an executive board member of the Irish Medical Council (IMC)(2013-2021). Professor Dunne is a member of the Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group (DPSG) of the EASD and is the current President of the International Association Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Groups (IADPSG) 2016-2022. She was a Fulbright scholar for 2014-2015 at Columbia University New York and is an adjunct professor to the Steno Diabetes Research Centre in Odense, Denmark (2020-2025).

Her major research interest is in the area of pregnancy and diabetes with >220 peer review publications, 10,000 citations and H index of 51 with >22m euro in grant funding. Her research group are conducting a number of studies as part of the ATLANTIC DIP programme including an IMP regulated RCT of Metformin in pregnancies complicated by GDM (EMERGE), investigation of a biomarker (CD59) for GDM diagnosis and a 10 year follow up (metabolic and cardiovascular) of women with prior GDM. In addition, she has been involved in international studies including a multicentre European funded (FP7) trial on prevention of GDM using Vitamin D and lifestyle intervention (DALI), CONCEPTT a JDRF funded trial examining the benefits of continuous glucose monitoring (CGMS) in women with Type 1 Diabetes during pregnancy. More recently she has been the Irish lead for a pan European cohort study examining pregnancy outcomes of women with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes (EVOLVE) and the EXPECT study an RCT examining insulin Degludec (Tresiba) in women with Type 1 Diabetes in pregnancy.

She is the PI of the recently HRB funded All island Collaborative Clinical Trial Network in Diabetes (2021-2026).

Roxana Mehran is a Professor in Cardiovascular Clinical Research and Outcomes; Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) and Population Health Science and Policy at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is an internationally renowned interventional cardiologist, and clinical research expert in the field of cardiovascular disease. She has built a globally-respected academic research center focused on developing randomized clinical trials and has served as principal investigator for numerous global studies, developed risk scores for bleeding and acute kidney injury, participates regularly in developing clinical guidelines, and has authored >1,000 peer-reviewed articles. Dr Mehran is a current member of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Board of Trustees. She has been included for four consecutive years in Clarivate Analytics:  “Most Cited Researchers – Top 1%” as well being included in “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds” (Thomson Reuters). In 2019, she founded Women as One, dedicated to advancing opportunities for women in medicine.

Dr Mehran is currently leading the Lancet Commission on Women’s Cardiovascular Diseases, which brings together leading female researchers from around the world who have clinical expertise in cardiovascular medicine to identify and bridge gaps in research and care for women with cardiovascular disease. 

Dr Mehran is a recipient of several awards including the 2016 American College of Cardiology Bernadine Healy Leadership in CV disease award, the 2018 Nanette Wenger Award from Women’s Heart for excellence in research and education, the 2019 Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and the 2019 ESC Silver Medal and Andreas Grüntzig Lecture plaque.

Molly is a Professor of Health Psychology at the School of Psychology in NUI Galway where she directs the Health Behaviour Change Research Group (HBCRG). This Group is a national hub and internationally-recognised centre of excellence in the application of behavioural science to health behavioural intervention development, evaluation and implementation. Molly’s research aims to improve population health by developing and promoting an evidence-based behavioural science approach to health behaviour change interventions. She is particularly interested in chronic disease prevention and management.

She is a member of the Advisory Board of the NIPC and is Director of the HRB funded Collaborative Doctoral Programme in Chronic Disease Prevention, on which the NIPC is a partner.