Finian Hanrahan

Finnian Hanrahan is a Scientific Programme Manager at Science Foundation Ireland, and is responsible for Research Centres in the domains of health, medical devices and pharmaceuticals.

Prior to joining Science Foundation Ireland, Finnian worked for the European Commission in Brussels. Here Finnian was involved in designing, launching and managing Horizon 2020 research funding programmes for infectious diseases and public health. This included preparing for and responding to major epidemics including Ebola, Zika and influenza. Finnian also represented the EU in multiple international fora to direct EU policy and research programmes.

Finnian also served as a speechwriter for then European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas. The speeches he wrote covered all topics related to research and innovation, and he had weekly face-to-face meetings with the Commissioner to discuss his visions for policy initiatives and how best to communicate them.

Finnian has a background in genetics and was awarded a PhD from Trinity College Dublin in 2013