Appointments to the Advisory Committee for Medical Devices of the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA).

On the nomination of the Health Products Regulatory Authority, The Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD, has appointed the following members to the Advisory Committee for Medical Devices with effect from 9th April 2025 until 31st December 2029.

Ms Marie Culliton is Lead Scientist Laboratory at Services Reform Programme of the HSE. She is part of a small team which has developed the agreed strategy for the development of laboratory services from 2026-35. Marie initially worked in the laboratory y at St Vincents University Hospital before appointment as Laboratory Manager at the National Maternity Hospital

Marie was awarded Fellowship of the Institute of Biomedical Science in 1980, the MSC in Clinical Biochemistry from TCD in 1992 and an MBA in Health Service Management from UCD in 2001. She undertook the Professional Diploma in Professional Regulation in 2017.

Marie has served as President of The Academy of Clinical Science and Laboratory Medicine, the European Association of Professions in Biomedical Science and the International Federation of Biomedical Laboratory Science. She was appointed to the Council of CORU in 2011 and served as Deputy Chair from 2015 -19. She was also appointed to the Medical Scientists Registration Board where she served as Chair from 2018-22. Marie is currently appointed to the Medical Council.

Professor Ronan Cahill Professor of Surgery Mater Misericordiae University Hospital and UCD School of Medicine & Medical Science

Professor Ronan Cahill graduated MB,BAO,BCh (Hons) from University College Dublin in 1997 and then completed his basic and specialist surgical training in Ireland, gaining both MD by thesis (Health Research Board Clinical Research Fellow) and FRCS by examination. Thereafter, he was a clinical fellow at the IRCAD/EITS Institute in Strasbourg, France from 2007 to 2008 before moving to the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals as senior fellow and then consultant and senior clinical researcher from 2008 to 2010. Ronan returned to Ireland in 2010 as consultant general surgeon (specialist interest in colorectal surgery) at Beaumont Hospital before taking up the position of Professor of Surgery at University College Dublin, and the Mater Misericordiae Hospital in June 2014.

He is a recipient of both the Bennett and Millen Medals (RCSI Millen Lecturer 2010) and was the ASGBI Robert Smith Lecturer in 2014. He has authored over 150 peer reviewed publications, five book chapters and four National Guidelines. He is an editorial board member of five indexed surgical journals, including Colorectal Disease and the European Journal of Surgical Oncology and is a member of the SAGES Research Committee (SAGES Career Development Award recipient 2009). He has a major academic interest in Surgical Innovation and New Technologies and active basic science, clinical and device development research partnerships both nationally and internationally.

Professor Alan Fraser is Emeritus Professor of Cardiology at Cardiff University, UK, and Visiting Professor in the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at KU Leuven in Belgium. Since 2012 he has represented clinicians at meetings of European medical device regulators, organised by the European Commission in Brussels. He established and led Regulatory Affairs committees first for the European Society of Cardiology and then for the Biomedical Alliance in Europe. He was scientific coordinator of the EU CORE–MD project (Coordinating Research and Evidence for Medical Devices).

Lucy took up the role of CEO of Children’s Health Ireland on January 20th this having previously been the CEO of Tallaght University Hospital since 2019 having previously held the roles of COO and DCEO in the Hospital. Prior to joining TUH she worked in the HSE in the Acute Hospitals Division as Head of Quality Assurance & Risk Management and Clinical & Patient Services Manager in the Children’s University Hospital Temple Street. Prior to that she worked in a number of nursing roles as a registered general and children’s nurse and holds a BSc, MSc, RCPI Diploma in QI & Leadership and is a graduate of the IESE Business School Advanced Management Programme, Barcelona. She is a Past President of the Health Management Institute of Ireland and is currently the President of the European Association of Hospital Managers and is the first female to hold this role since it was founded in 1970.

Richard is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, gained much of his clinical experience in the Coombe Womens' Hospital, Dublin followed by a Fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine in Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, USA. On his return to Ireland in 2001, he joined UCC as Senior Lecturer/Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology: and took up his current posts as Director of the National Perinatal Epidemiology Centre (NPEC) and Professor of Clinical Obstetrics, UCC, in 2007. Richard was centrally involved in commissioning and establishing the new maternity services at CUMH and continues to maintain a senior management position there.

The NPEC has become a key component of the national maternity service, leading to significant learning and change from auditing outcomes for mothers and babies. His research interests include maternal-fetal medicine, epidemiology, health services research incorporating quality of service and the use of Information Technology towards the improvement of healthcare.

Richard has been a mentor and supervisor to many students, medical trainees and research students undertaking Masters (8) and PhD’s (9 graduated; 4 current) and post-doctoral researchers (4).

Richard is the HSE’s CCIO working across the Chief Information Officer and the Chief Clinical officer functions, assisting the multidisciplinary working for a digital health future.

Current key motivation - believes digital data and information flow between patients/service users and healthcare staff is the key enabler for healthcare transformation in Ireland.