Reappointment of Chair and members to Advisory Committee for Veterinary Medicines 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 with the consent of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, reappointed the Chairperson and members to the Advisory Committee for Veterinary Medicines (HPRA).

MVB PhD CSci CBiol FRSB MRCVS CertEP CertVR

Joe was appointed to the Authority of the HPRA in September 2020.

Joe graduated from the School of Veterinary Medicine, UCD in 1987. He has since worked in Ireland and the UK in private veterinary practice, in the pharmaceutical industry and in the university sector. Joe is currently Chief Veterinary Advisor (Europe) at The Donkey Sanctuary, a UK headquartered global NGO, a member of the Charity Board at the Irish Horse Welfare Trust (IHWT) and teaches on animal remedies and scientific animal protection (SAP) training courses in Ireland.

Joe has previously been President of Veterinary Ireland and FEEVA (the Federation of European Equine Veterinary Associations) and served on the National Committee for the Protection of Animals used for Scientific Purposes and the Veterinary Council of Ireland. Joe holds a PhD in equine welfare and is a Chartered Scientist, Chartered Biologist and Fellow of the Royal Society of Biologists. His main interests are in animal welfare and protection, veterinary medicines and professional standards.

Dr Joe Collins is reappointed with effect from 1 January 2026 until 27 September 2028.

Dr Caroline Garvan is currently a senior superintending veterinary inspector at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine where she is head of the One Health Veterinary Medicines and Antimicrobial Resistance Division. Caroline spent 12 years in private practice as a veterinary practitioner prior to joining the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in 2007 as a veterinary inspector. As well as a degree in veterinary medicine she has a Masters of Philosophy in Food Safety and environmental health, a diploma in leadership and also in corporate governance.

Dr Caroline Garvan is reappointed with effect from the 1 January 2026 until 31 December 2028.

Dr. Orla Keane is a researcher within the Animal & Bioscience Department of Teagasc, Ireland’s Agriculture and Food Development Authority. With a background in infection biology, Orla’s research focusses on control of parasitic and bacterial disease in ruminant livestock within pasture-based production systems. She has an active research programme working on topics such as antimicrobial and anthelmintic resistance, grazing and management strategies to mitigate the impact of pathogens on animal health and productivity and the development and validation of novel diagnostics and vaccines. Committed to knowledge transfer, she actively supports the agricultural sector by promoting practices that enhance animal health and improve farming enterprises

Dr. Orla Keane is reappointed with effect from the 1 January 2026 until 31 December 2028.

Dr Andrew Hillan qualified from Dublin Vet School in 1988 and immediately went into mixed practice in County Antrim where he remained for 15 years. He then set up 2 small animal practices in County Antrim with his wife Joan also a 1988 Dublin vet graduate.In 2009 he had a conversation with the late Lord Ballyedmond of Norbrook Laboratories Ltd and joined that company as Head of Research and Development. During his time there, he was responsible for all aspects of new product development of Veterinary Medicines for all species. This included responsibility for the Formulations, GLP, GMP and GCP laboratories, conducting pilot and pivotal studies as part of new product development. These included the usual suite of studies following method development and validation, including final product stability studies (establishing storage conditions and shelf life), tissue residue studies, bioequivalence studies, PK studies. His " specialist" area was design and monitoring/conduct globally of GCP field and contract laboratory efficacy studies.

Norbrook Laboratories were particularly renowned for development of differentiated generic products, and he designed in house bioequivalence studies in a variety of companion and large animal species. He was Named Veterinary Surgeon for our Clinical Research Facility. He also would oversee audits from these regulators ensuring compliance he was responsible for the Pharmacovigilance system.

Dr Andrew Hillan is reappointed with effect from the 1 January 2026 until 31 December 2028.

Dr. David Graham is a qualified vet and has a wealth of experience in animal health matters including specialist knowledge in the diagnosis and control of viral and bacterial diseases. In a previous role in the Department of Agriculture’s then Science Service (now AFBI), he led a cattle health scheme promoting monitoring, eradication and accreditation programmes to tackle bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD), infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), Johne’s disease and leptospirosis and also led the Fish Diseases Unit. More recently, as the former Chief Executive of Animal Health Ireland, he developed and led national programmes addressing health and welfare in the cattle, pig, sheep and poultry sectors. He currently works as an animal health consultant.

His clinical background along with his knowledge of product development right from chemistry, manufacture and control of starting materials and final product through to efficacy and safety (target animal, user, residue and environmental) allowed him to enjoy the advisory role to the Authority in his first term. He is happy to serve another term if approved. He returned to the family practices some years ago and no longer has any conflicts of interest.

Dr. David Graham is reappointed with effect from the 1 January 2026 until 31 December 2028.

Professor Abina Crean of University College Cork (UCC) has 30 years of expertise in academia and industry, specialising in the development of innovative (bio)pharmaceutical formulations. In 2003, she founded a Pharmaceutical Technology Research Group at UCC, leveraging five years of industrial pharmacy experience with Elan Pharmaceutical Technologies and Servier Laboratories Ireland. A track record of securing over €7.5 million in research funding, she has supported 26 PhD students, 5 Master's students, and 11 Postdoctoral Scientists.

As a Principal Investigator in the EPSRC-SFI Centre for Doctoral Training in Transformative Pharmaceutical Technologies, she is actively involved in its network across the University of Nottingham, University College London, and SSPC partners TCD, UCD, and UCC. Abina has authored more than 79 publications, primarily in top-tier Q1 journals, and is an inventor on four patent applications. Patented technology related to drug microneedle fabrication is the foundation for UCC spinout ArrayPatch Ltd., established in 2024. She has led successful collaborative research with SMEs (Theradep Ltd., Quoin Pharmaceuticals Inc., ArrayPatch, Glantreo) as well as multinational (SanofiGenzyme, Alkermes, Boston Scientific) companies. As a member of the APS-UK Manufacturing Classification System Working Group and the Patient-Centric Medicines Initiative (PaCeMe), she has co-authored four influential white papers. A champion for EDI, Abina led UCC’s first Athena Swan departmental award in 2017. She chairs the UCC College of Medicine and Health EDI Steering Group and serves on the UCC Athena Swan Steering Committee.

Dr Abina Crean is reappointed with effect from the 1 January 2026 until 31 December 2028.

Paul is a Senior Superintending Veterinary Inspector, and heads up the ‘One Health, One Welfare Operations South-East’ Division at the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine. Paul is a Veterinarian and a Barrister-at-Law. Paul attended University College Dublin, graduating with an MVB degree in 1995, was awarded his PhD in 2000, attended King’s Inns and was called to the bar of Ireland in 2003. Paul graduated with master’s degree in business administration from University College Cork in 2007.

Paul has also worked as a vet in mixed practice in Bandon, as a lecturer in UCD’s veterinary college, and in the areas of policy development and official controls related to animal health, animal welfare, food safety and veterinary medicines.

Dr Paul Corkery is reappointed with effect from the 1 January 2026 until 31 December 2028.