School Leadership & Programme Management
As one of the largest Schools in the University with an extensive portfolio of teaching and research programmes and with staff distributed across numerous sites, the UCD School of Medicine & Medical Science has a well developed organisational structure to ensure efficient oversight of all functions.School staff are organised within academic and administrative units ("Sections") which support effective communication and encourage team performance. Our programme management is designed to ensure that academic responsibility lies with the frontline academic staff with appropriate oversight to ensure consistency and compliance with University academic standards. Key academic committees and working groups ensure good stakeholder engagement of staff and students.
- School Leadership
Head of School
The UCD School of Medicine & Medical Science is led by Professor William G. Powderly MD who is also Dean of Medicine, Chair of the Medicine Programme Board and Chief Academic Officer of Dublin Academic Medical Centre (DAMC).
School Executive Management Committee
The School Executive Management Committee comprises the Head of School, representatives from each academic section, the Head of Teaching & Learning, the Head of Research and the principal research strand leaders, the Head of Administration and the Director of Strategic Development.
School Management Team
The Head of School and the School Executive Management Committee are supported by a School Management Team which comprises
- Prof Bill Powderly (Head of School / Dean of Medicine / Chair of Medicine Programme Board)
- Dr Jason Last (Head of Teaching & Learning)
- Mr Paul Harkin (Director of Strategic Development)
- Ms Nadia D’Alton (Head of School Administration & Director, Health Science Programme Office)
- Prof Catherine Godson (Head of Research and Innovation / Director, UCD Diabetes Research Centre)
- Prof Paul McLoughlin, Section Leader, Biomedical Science
As these individuals are all members of the Executive, the School Management Team is, in effect, a working group of the School Executive Management Committee. The School Management Team is responsible for day-to-day decision-making within the School and the development of items for consideration by the School Management Executive Committee.
- Sections - Principal Academic Units
The UCD School of Medicine & Medical Science is currently structured as six academic sections supported by a single academic support unit comprising administrative and technical staff. This arrangement, established in November 2007, aligns the School staff into coherent groups of manageable size.
- Administration & Technical
- Biomedical Science
- Community, Forensic & Legal Medicine
- Diagnostic Imaging
- Medicine & Medical Specialties
- Surgery & Surgical Specialties
- Women's & Children's Health
Academic sections have been aligned around cognate educational groupings which relate to the principal educational programmes offered by the School. Hence the School’s structure ‘form follows function’ consistent with organisational best practice.
Each academic section is led by a Section Leader who is responsible for staff management and development, communication, budget management and teaching resource allocation. The Section Leader role has been established in consultation with UCD Human Resources to ensure consistency of approach with Section Leaders in other Schools across the University.
Each Section Leader sits on the School Executive Management Committee with larger sections having a second representative also on the School Executive.
School Organisation - Teaching & Learning
- Leadership in Education
Head of Teaching & Learning
Head of Teaching & Learning, Dr Jason Last provides leadership on all educational matters within the School. He chairs the School’s Education Strategy Group, participates in the College Teaching & Learning Committee and represents the Medicine Programme Board on the University Undergraduate Programme Board. The Teaching & Learning function is supported by a number of key educational leaders and School educational committees.
Director of Preclinical Education
In addition to being the primary point of contact for the School in Teaching & Learning, Dr Jason Last (Senior Lecturer in Anatomy) also has specific responsibility for Preclinical Education (traditionally Stages 1-2) of the Medicine programmes and is Programme Director of the Graduate Entry Medicine programme.
Director of Clinical Education
Dr Suzanne Donnelly (Senior Lecturer & Consultant Rheumatologist at Mater Misericordiae University Hospital) is responsible for developing the clinical curriculum (traditionally Stages 4-5) of the Medicine programmes. Dr Donnelly leads School efforts to integrate vertically and horizontally the clinical curriculum as well as introducing educational innovations throughout the curriculum. She works with clinical subject leaders to ensure curriculum balance and to that teaching objectives map to our target graduate attributes.
Director of Postgraduate Education
Dr Dermot Power (Senior Lecturer, Consultant Geriatrician & Mater Dean of Postgraduate Studies & Director of Postgraduate Education within the Dublin Academic Medical Centre) is responsible for developing the School’s graduate education programme and continuous professional development efforts.
Programme Coordinators
A number of academic staff with specific responsibility for programme coordination ensure academic coherence and lead teaching and learning initiatives within programmes. These include:
- Biomedical Health & Life Science Programme – Prof Bill Watson (Biomedical Sciences)
- Medicine Programme (Stages 1, 2 & 3) – Dr Jason Last (Biomedical Sciences)
- Graduate Entry Medicine Programme (Stages 1 & 2) – Dr Jennifer Thompson (Biomedical Sciences)
- Medicine (Stages 4 & 5) & GEM (Stages 3 & 4) – Dr Suzanne Donnelly (Medicine & Medical Specialties)
- Physiology Programme – Dr Stuart Bund (Biomedical Sciences)
- Radiography Programme – Mr Jonathan McNulty (Diagnostic Imaging)
- Teaching & Learning Strategy Group
Chaired by the Head of Teaching & Learning, this committee is responsible for guiding the strategic development of educational practice within both undergraduate and graduate taught domains across the School. The Committee comprises:
- Dr Jason Last, Head of Teaching & Learning (Chair)
- Dr Geoff Chadwick, Clinical Skills Centre, Director
- Dr Suzanne Donnelly, Director of Clinical Education
- Dr Shay Giles, Graduate Taught Programmes Coordinator
- Mr Jonathan McNulty, Head of Radiography Teaching
- Dr Dermot Power, DAMC Director of Graduate Education
- Dr Louise Rainford, Diagnostic Imaging Section Leader
- Mr Paul Harkin, Director of Strategic Development
- Ms Bridget Coughlan, Medicine Curriculum Support Coordinator
(Left to Right : Dr Suzanne Donnelly, Ms Bridget Coughlan, Dr Jason Last, Mr Paul Harkin, Dr Geoff Chadwick, Dr Louise Rainford)
The Teaching & Learning Strategy Group meets on a monthly basis and reports to the Head of School via the School Executive Management Committee.
- Education Programme Management
Undergraduate and graduate programmes are managed through a hierarchy of educational committees which integrate into the University’s academic governance structures. Key educational committees include:
Undergraduate Medicine Programme Board
The Undergraduate Medicine Programme Board is responsible for academic oversight of all undergraduate programmes within the School, namely:
- BSc in Biomedical Health & Life Science
- BSc. in Radiography
- MB BCh BAO in Medicine (Direct Entry)
- MB BCh BAO in Medicine (Graduate Entry)
Note : The School also contributes significantly to the B.Sc. in Physiology which is administered through the UCD Science Programme Board.
The Undergraduate Medicine Programme Board is chaired by the Dean of Medicine (Head of School) and comprises programme and stage coordinators from the key undergraduate programmes, and six student members nominated by the Students’ Union. The Board meets on a monthly basis, is administratively supported by the Health Science Programme Office and reports to the University Undergraduate Programme Board.
The Programme Board structure separates the academic functions of programme design and implementation from the administrative activities such as performance and resource management which are managed by the School Sections. Hence the Programme structure enables a collegial environment that is focused on the design and implementation of educational best practice rather than how teaching will be resourced.
Research & Innovation Organisation
- Research Leadership
Head of Research & Innovation
Professor Catherine Godson has oversight of the School’s research and innovation activities and is supported by both Research Strand Leaders and the Graduate Research Degrees Committee. Prof Godson participates in the College of Life Science committee of Heads of Research and the Conway Institute Steering Committee ensuring coherence with the School and both College and the Institute’s research efforts.
Research Centres
The UCD School of Medicine & Medical Science has successfully established a number of funded centres which amalgamates its principal investigators and collaborators around common research questions. Typically these centres are funded for a defined period and focus on an agreed research work programme or programmes.
Research Strands
Individual investigators within the School are encouraged to align themselves within groups of complementary research interests or shared technology needs. These Research Strands are broadly aligned to the School’s strategic research interests however are designed to be organic and self-selecting. Researchers may be aligned within more than one research strand. Also, research strands are subject to ongoing evolution as the School’s research priorities are refined and developed.
There are currently three principal research strands within the School although other research groups and interests continuously emerge either within the School or across other Schools and Research Institutes.
Research Centres
Research Strands
UCD Centre for Immediate Care Services
Biological Imaging & Biomarker Discovery
UCD Clinical Research Centre
Inflammation & Infection
UCD Centre for Research in Infectious Disease
Diabetes & Vascular Biology
UCD Diabetes Research Centre
- Research & Innovation Committees & Groups
Graduate Taught Programmes Board
The School’s Graduate Taught Programmes Board, chaired by Professor Denis Cusack is responsible for School oversight of all graduate taught programmes. This committee comprises programme coordinators for each programme as well as the Head of Teaching & Learning, Director of Quality and School Liaison Librarian. This Programme Board meets twice per semester and reports to both the Head of School (for resourcing decisions) and to the College of Life Science Graduate School – Taught Graduate Programmes Board (for academic oversight). Due to the large number of programmes within the School, for operational efficiency a series of sub-committees have been established involving specific Programme Coordinators.
The Graduate Taught Programmes Board is responsible for academic oversight of all educational matters (e.g. approving curriculum design changes, appointment of external examiners, student admission, etc) and at relevant times in the academic year, this Board incorporates the School Taught Programmes Examination Committee to review and approve student progression. This Programmes Board is responsible for all aspects of programme operations with the exception of tuition fees and resource allocation which remain the responsibility of the Head of School/Section Leaders.
Graduate Research Degrees Coordination
With the creation of the College of Life Sciences Graduate School, the School of Medicine’s Graduate Research Degrees Committee has been recast as two subcommittees which focus on operational aspects of both clinical and non-clinical research degrees. The presence of Dr Clare O’Connor (Director of the College of Life Sciences Graduate School) on both Research Degree sub-committees ensures that there is consistency across all research degree programmes and strong coordination with the Graduate School.
MD, MCh, MAO Sub-Committee
The School’s clinical research degrees are managed within the School’s MD/MCh/MAO Degree Sub-Committee which is chaired by Prof Michael Keane (Section Leader, Medicine & Medical Specialties). This committee is responsible for oversight of all academic matters related to the three clinical research degrees and comprises:
The School’s non-clinical research degrees are managed within the School’s Masters/PhD Degree Sub-Committee which is chaired by Dr Marguerite Clyne. This committee includes:
This committee provides academic oversight of non-clinical research degree programmes, oversees thematic PhD programmes, nominates chairs of Doctoral Studies Panels, recommends external examiner appointments and develops School policy for the implementation of University regulations.
- Associated Business Units
There are a number of associated business units which share common staff or facilities. These business units have separate organisational structures and report to University senior management. Such units include:
Coombe Healthcare Centre
This primary care facility based at the Coombe Women’s & Children’s Hospital provides front line healthcare services to approximately 4,500 registered patients within the Dolphin’s Barn area of Dublin’s south inner city. It also facilities undergraduate student placement and supports significant research activity in strategically important chronic disease areas including infectious disease (Hepatitis C, HIV) and psychiatry (schizophrenia).
UCD Clinical Research Centre
The UCD clinical research facilities at Mater Misericordiae University Hospital and St Vincent’s University Hospital are managed under a single governance structure which separates strategic oversight and institutional representation from day-to-day management and operations. Clinical and Scientific Directors report to the Chief Academic Officer, Dublin Academic Medical Centre via the DAMC Medical Executive.
National Virus Reference Laboratory
The National Virus Reference Laboratory (NVRL) was established some thirty years ago by the Department of Health and Children and University College Dublin (UCD) to provide a national diagnostic and reference service for clinicians investigating virus infections. NVRL remains an integral part of UCD Medical Microbiology and both entities have been incorporated into the UCD Centre for Research into Infectious Diseases (CRID).
Medical Bureau of Road Safety
The Medical Bureau of Road Safety was established in 1968 under Part V of the Road Traffic Act, 1968. The Bureau's principal functions are to carry out analyses, for their drug or alcohol content, of specimens of blood and urine, provided for the Gardaí by people suspected of drink or drugs driving offences. The Bureau issues certificates in respect of the results of these analyses, which may be used as evidence in prosecutions for offences. The Bureau also participates in the Evidential Breath Testing Programme, providing Evidential Breath Testing instruments and training to Gardai. The Bureau is financed by an annual grant from the Department and the five member Board is appointed by the Minister for the Environment and Local Government.
- Leadership in Administration
Ms Nadia D'Alton, Director of Administration and the Health Sciences Programme Office, provides leadership on all administrative matters within the School and Programme Office. Administrative staff are deployed under delegated managers within 6 principle teams across 9 different sites in order to ensure an effective and flexible service for stakeholders within the School of Medicine and Medical Science.School Organisation - Administration
UCD, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland. Tel : 353-1-7167777 - Leadership in Administration
- Associated Business Units
- Research & Innovation Committees & Groups