Our Staff
Dr Avril Kennan
She/Her
Avril is passionate about supporting charities to improve lives through research. As HRCI CEO, she oversees all the activities of the organisation including the HRCI-HRB Joint Funding Scheme, the management of the Irish Health Research Forum and many activities relating supporting the HRCI members and patient and public involvement (PPI) in research. Avril’s PhD and subsequent lab experience are in the field of molecular genetics. In previous roles in DEBRA Ireland and DEBRA International, she drove a range of international initiatives, including the management of a network of over 200 clinicians and patients to develop evidence-based clinical guidelines and the establishment of an international patient registry. She is a member of many national and international boards, steering groups and committees and is a frequent public speaker and blogger. Email: avril@hrci.ie
Marie Downes
She/Her
Marie is primarily responsible for HRCI general operations including securing core funding, managing accounts, membership management and governance. Marie has a background in IT Project Management and has held management positions and led teams within Bank of Ireland Finance, EDS (now merged with HP) and AranTech (now acquired by Tektronix). Marie began working with HRCI in 2010 as the sole employee of the organisation. Email: marie@hrci.ie
Linda McGrath
She/Her
In her role as Events and Communications Coordinator, Linda manages HRCI events of all sizes and works across all communications channels. She has responsibility for the biannual Irish Health Research Forum events, as well as the management of the Irish Health Research Forum Steering Group and the HRCI Advocacy and Communications Committee.
Linda has been working in the charity sector since 2012 and specialises in event management, sponsorship acquisition, public affairs and communications. She has previously worked with the Temple Street Foundation and Dublin Simon Community. Prior to moving into the not-for-profit sector, Linda worked in Arts Management. Email: linda@hrci.ie
Dr Sarah Delaney
She/Her
In her role as Research Support Co-ordinator, Sarah is responsible for strengthening the research capacity of HRCI members, managing the HRCI/HRB Joint Funding Scheme, supporting patient and public (PPI) involvement in research and engaging with relevant bodies and organisations on all aspects of health research in Ireland.
Sarah has many years’ research experience working in the field of health and social care for older people, family carers, and people with chronic illness. She worked with the Royal College of Surgeons conducting research on public and patient participation in health care, and care and case management for older people. Later, as Senior Research Consultant with the Work Research Centre, she gained valuable experience in research at National and European levels, focusing on evaluating health service users’ experiences of health technologies. She was awarded a PhD on self-management in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in September 2020. Email: sarah@hrci.ie
Dr Siobhán Hendrick
She/Her
Rare Disease Clinical Trial Network
With a passion for bridging the gap between innovative research and real societal impact, Siobhán joins the HRCI team as patient and public involvement (PPI) liaison with the Rare Disease Clinical Trial Network (RDCTN). The partnership with HRCI is a novel PPI approach taken by the RDCTN to build on the existing strength of patient advocate contribution to rare disease research. Key aspects of Siobhán’s role are to establish and support a rare disease Patient Advisory Group (PAG) and wider PPI network as part of the RDCTN, ensure a patient-centred approach is at the heart of the network; and to support PPI activities for clinical research groups aligned with the network. She will also be responsible for communicating the activities of the network to the wider rare disease patient community and the public.
Siobhán has a proven track record of research in respiratory and molecular medicine, and has almost 10 years’ post-PhD experience working with diverse stakeholders in the research funding and pharmaceutical sectors. Siobhán was coordinator for the Health Research Board’s first-in-Ireland public review pilot in 2017 and worked with the education and public engagement team in Science Foundation Ireland to support initiatives aimed at making science more accessible for the general public. Email: siobhan.hendrick1@ucd.ie
