Q&Alumni

David E Freeman is a class of 1972 MVB graduate. He specialises in equine surgery and has a worldwide reputation in his field with countless awards that demonstrate the global impacts of his research. David is the first UCD graduate to become board-certified in the prestigious American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) and the first to earn the prestigious ACVS Founders' Award for Career Achievement. He also acts as a mentor to others in his field, and their successes are a great source of pride to him.

Simon Steel received his Ph.D. in astrophysics from UCD, studying the star formation histories of blue compact dwarf galaxies. He is currently Deputy Director of the Carl Sagan Center for Research at the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute located in Mountain View, California, and heads the Institute’s education and public engagement programmes. Originally from London and a lifelong supporter of Tottenham Hotspur FC, Simon came to Ireland in 1991 and divided his work life between Belfield and the Canary Islands, and spent leisure time in Marlay Park with his two Dublin-born children, Conor and Aisling. 

Professor Peter William Halligan is an internationally renowned psychologist and neuroscientist whose research covers a range of different neurological and psychiatric conditions including attentional disorders, motor conversion, the nature of beliefs, delusions, neuroplasticity and phantom limb phenomena, hypnosis and consciousness. Born in Dublin, Peter is the second eldest of six children, five of whom are graduates of UCD. In 1997, he joined the Department of Experimental Psychology at Oxford as an MRC Senior Research Fellow and in 2000, he joined Cardiff University as Distinguished Research Professor in Neuropsychology. This year he received an honorary CBE from King Charles III for services to neuropsychology research and science in government.

Chiamaka Onyinyechukwu Ofojimba is a first-class honours graduate of BSc in Microbiology, who graduated third in her class. She also has a Masters Degree in Biotechnology and is passionate and committed to the world of science and scientific breakthroughs to improve the life quality of patients in her home country, Nigeria.

MA in Theatre Practice graduate Thalia Gonzalez Kane is a writer, actress and theatre performer. She is a councillor for ACTRA Toronto and ACTRA National, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists, as well as the co-chair for the outACTRAto committee, a committee dedicated to raising awareness about queer performers. Her new play At Birth which she co-wrote, produced and will star in will come to Ireland in May.

Disha Bose graduated with a Masters in Creative Writing from UCD. She has been shortlisted for the DNA Short Story Prize, and her poetry and short stories have appeared in The Galway Review, Cultured Vultures and Headstuff. Her travel pieces have appeared in The Economic Times of India and Coldnoon. Bose was born and raised in India and now lives in Ireland with her husband and daughter.

Nicholas Shadowen attended UCD Sutherland School of Law in 2017 as part of UCD’s International Exchange Programme with the University of Miami School of Law. Nicholas is a nationally recognised attorney, pioneering new lawsuits in gun trafficking litigation and other areas of international human rights litigation. Most recently, he has filed lawsuits in Massachusetts and Arizona on behalf of the Government of Mexico to help stem the flow of unlawful weapons across the US southern border.

Akane Kagawa graduated from Tokyo’s Waseda University with a politics major. Following graduation she worked for the Japanese Rugby Union, starting out as an accounting assistant. She went on to become the team manager for the Japanese women’s rugby 7’s. Akane has an MBA from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School. She currently lives in Tokyo.

Javier Gonzalez Garcia has a Masters in European Economics, Public Affairs and Law. He has lived and worked all over the world and currently lives in Madrid with his family. 

Khaing Min Thant worked as a Programme Officer for the Irish NGO, Trócaire in Myanmar for over seven years. He is currently Programme Management Senior Officer with UNOPS, a non-profit organization that helps the UN and its partners provide humanitarian and development solutions. He received a fellowship award to study for the MSc (Agr) in Environmental Resource Management at UCD and graduated in 2018.