Science and Life Science Class Acts

Mark O'Neill

BComm 2003, MAcc 2004

Mark O’Neill is Founder and Executive Chairman of HAON Life Sciences, a new biotech which was recently selected as a finalist for EIT Health’s pan-European Wild Card innovation competition where healthcare companies from across Europe were invited to develop solutions to pressing health challenges – this year the competition is tackling children’s health. HAON is developing the CanVas novel cell therapy platform for a number of indications, including the devastating paediatric disease HIE (hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy) where a lack of oxygen and blood flow at the time of birth causes severe brain injury. In large animal preclinical models of neonatal brain injury, HAON’s Can-Vas-001 has shown to be neuroprotective and significantly improved outcomes. A number of HAON’s preclinical findings are expected to be translatable to a host of neurodegenerative diseases, which opens up multiple early pharma partnering opportunities. Before founding HAON, O’Neill, a chartered accountant, was Chief Financial Officer of Afimmune, a pharmaceutical drug discovery and development company focused on rare diseases.

NIAMH BAMBRICK

BAgrSc 2016

Niamh Bambrick is the new president of the Agricultural Science Association, a voluntary organisation which is the professional body for graduates in agricultural, horticultural, forestry, environmental and food science. Its 1,600 members operate across the agri-food sector both in Ireland and internationally, holding roles in government departments, research, advisory/consultancy, education and training, agri-business, rural organisations, banking and the media. Bambrick is a former county chair of Kilkenny Macra na Feirme and plays camogie for Kilkenny.

EADAOIN MC LOUGHLIN

BSc Engineering 2013, ME Electrical Energy 2014

Eadaoin McLoughlin received the Energy Award at the inaugural Women in STEM Awards in 2023. McLoughlin works with Energia Renewables as a project manager, having built her expertise in Ireland and in the Middle East. She is currently leading the Castlereagh Battery Energy Storage Project, Energia Group’s first gridconnected battery site, which will help the stability of the electricity grid during times of high renewable generation by storing electricity which can be released back into the system quickly when needed.

HELEN SHERIDAN

BAgrSc 2001, PhD Environmental Resource Management 2005

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, has appointed Dr Helen Sheridan to the Teagasc Authority. Dr Sheridan is an associate professor at the UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science where she lectures in Farm Landscape Ecology and Agri-Environmental Policy and is Programme Director of the BAgrSc Agri-Environmental Sciences. Dr Sheridan’s research focuses on enhancing the sustainability of livestock production systems, multi-species swards, farmland biodiversity, farmland habitats and agrienvironment scheme measures.

PADRAIG MC DONNELL

ProfDip 2014

Padraig McDonnell has been appointed CEO and COO of Silicon Valley life sciences and diagnostics company Agilent Technologies, which supports scientists in cutting-edge life science research, patient diagnostics, and the safety testing of water, food and pharmaceuticals. It employs over 18,000 staff globally and operates in 110 countries, with full-year revenues in 2023 of $6.8bn (€6.3bn). McDonnell started his career at HP, Agilent’s predecessor company, in 1998.

SHEILA PORTER

BSc 1970, HDip Ed 1971

Sheila Porter, the founder and CEO of SciFest, a STEM competition for young people, was named Mentor of the Year at the inaugural Women in STEM Awards in 2023. Porter is a trailblazer in the world of science and innovation who has worked for over 50 years to make STEM accessible to all, particularly targeting young women and underserved populations. She founded SciFest in 2006. The competition is free to enter and open to all second-level students.

JACK REILLY

BSc Physics, Astronomy & Space Science 2018, MSc Physics 2021

Jack Reilly was part of the student team working on the EIRSAT-1 (Educational Irish Research Satellite 1), Ireland’s first satellite, in the framework of the European Space Agency’s educational programme, ESA Academy. The satellite launched late last year from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and was a flagship project of UCD Centre for Space Research (C-Space), UCD School of Physics and UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering.

ANNA HEFFERNAN

BSc Theoretical Physics 2003, HDip Computational Science 2008, PhD Mathematical Physics 2013

Dr Anna Heffernan has been appointed an advisor on one of the European Space Agency’s biggest projects ever. The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna LISA mission is a €1.75bn project in partnership with NASA, which aims to launch the first ever observatory in space dedicated to studying gravitational waves. Heffernan’s involvement was announced at the International LISA Symposium, which took place in UCD in July

Mark O'Neill

NIAMH BAMBRICK

EADAOIN MC LOUGHLIN

HELEN SHERIDAN

PADRAIG MC DONNELL

SHEILA PORTER

JACK REILLY

ANNA HEFFERNAN

Mark O'Neill

BComm 2003, MAcc 2004

NIAMH BAMBRICK

BAgrSc 2016

EADAOIN MC LOUGHLIN

BSc Engineering 2013, ME Electrical Energy 2014

HELEN SHERIDAN

BAgrSc 2001, PhD Environmental Resource Management 2005

PADRAIG MC DONNELL

ProfDip 2014

SHEILA PORTER

BSc 1970, HDip Ed 1971

JACK REILLY

BSc Physics, Astronomy & Space Science 2018, MSc Physics 2021

ANNA HEFFERNAN

BSc Theoretical Physics 2003, HDip Computational Science 2008, PhD Mathematical Physics 2013

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