Associate Professor Cormac McCarthy appointed Clinical Co-Lead for National Rare Diseases Office (NRDO) by RCPI and the HSE

Congratulations to UCD School of Medicine’s (opens in a new window)Associate Professor Cormac McCarthy, who has been appointed Clinical Co-Lead for the National Rare Diseases Office (NRDO) by RCPI and the HSE, commencing in February 2026.

This role will lead on implementation of the Rare Disease Strategy and support ERN (European Reference Network) work as well as accelerate the education and research framework for rare disease.

Cormac McCarthy is the national lead for ERN-LUNG and coordinates the Rare Lung Disease service in St Vincent’s University Hospital. Prior to being appointed in UCD, he was the Rare Lung Disease Scholar at the NIH Rare Lung Disease Consortium in the United States, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. His primary research areas were on the molecular mechanisms of lung disease, utilising the pathogenesis approach to develop new therapies. He continues to have a strong interest in all lung diseases, with a particular focus on interstitial lung disease, rare lung disease, and diffuse cystic lung diseases.

About the NRDO

The National Rare Diseases Office (NRDO) was established by the HSE in 2015. We are the national rare disease ‘coordination hub’ and the HSE main contact and driver of rare disease initiatives and projects. In accordance with the National Rare Disease Plan for Ireland (2014-2018) and the HSE Model of Care for Rare Diseases (2019), our aim is to support people with rare conditions and their families by improving accessibility and quality of services.

What the NRDO do:

• Provide evidence-based information through the National Rare Disease Information Line, a free information service
• Drive implementation of recommendations in the National Rare Disease Plan for Ireland and HSE Model of Care for Rare Diseases
• Orphanet Ireland host and curator
• Co-ordination hub - to support integration of national centres of expertise in rare conditions and European Reference Networks into the national health care system
• Development of integrated care pathways for rare conditions
• Education and Training - to lead and further develop national education initiatives and tools
• Participate in EU funded grants and collaborative research initiatives as appropriate e.g EU4Health Programme, EC ERN Joint Action for ERN Integration, OD4RD Orphanet Grant, RD Partnership.