Chief Academic Officers 3rd Annual Meeting at TCD – Bridging Gaps, Building Futures: Integrating Disability and Inclusion through Academic Health Science Practice
As Chief Academic Officer for HSE Dublin and South East Prof Timothy Lynch had the privilege of attending and chairing the first session at the recent Chief Academic Officers (CAO) conference, "Bridging Gaps, Building Futures: Integrating Disability and Inclusion through Academic Health Science Practice", hosted at Trinity College Dublin.
The conference featured powerful presentations and panel discussions exploring how an academic health science can lead the way in embedding inclusion and disability awareness within healthcare systems. It brought together leading voices in the field, including:
- Professor Rosemary Gowran – HSE Clinical Lead, National Clinical Programme for People with Disability
- Professor Clíona Ní Cheallaigh - Associate Professor in the Department of Clinical Medicine, TCD and a Consultant in Infectious Diseases and General Medicine in St James’s Hospital, Dublin
- Professor Mary McCarron - Professor of Ageing and Intellectual Disability at TCD
- Dr Fionnuala Cooney - Regional Director of Public Health in the HSE Dublin and Midlands Region
- Professor Seán Dinneen - Consultant Endocrinologist, Galway University Hospitals, Professor of Diabetic Medicine, University of Galway
- Professor Sally Ann Lynch - Consultant in Clinical Genetics practicing primarily in CHI at Crumlin
- Professor Mark Mon-Williams - Director of the Wolfson Centre for Applied Health Research and Impact Director for Medicine and Health at University of Leeds
Dr David Loughrey (Assistant Professor in Community Health at the School of Nursing, Psychotherapy, and Community Health, based in Dublin City University) spoke about hearing impairment and risk of dementia.
Duncan Hughes and Leon the Parkinson’s disease disability dog - an extraordinary personal story of Duncan’s life dealing with Parkinson’s disease from a young age for the last 21 years. Leon is the one intervention that has improved his quality of life profoundly.
A particularly inspiring moment was the closing conversation with Regional Executive Officer - Kate Killeen White, Provost Linda Doyle, and Lily Collison, following Lily’s impactful presentation on the Irish Cerebral Palsy Programme of Excellence—a programme that is setting new standards for inclusive care and research.
This gathering reinforced the importance of integrating lived experience, research excellence, and inclusive practice to build a more equitable health system for all.
