Prestigious Fulbright Awards presented to UCD scholars
25 July 2025
Professor Ronan Cahill and Bernie Burke, UCD's Fulbright awardees Credit: Andres Poveda Photography
Two of UCD’s brightest scholars have been awarded Fulbright scholarships enabling them to be hosted at US universities for the next year.
The UCD awardees are (opens in a new window)Professor Ronan Cahill from the UCD School of Medicine, and Bernie Burke from the (opens in a new window)UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.
They were among 18 recipients of this year’s Fulbright Irish Awards, and were presented with their awards at a ceremony in the US Embassy.
“At a time of global change and uncertainty, the mission, values and legacy of the Fulbright Program of leadership, empathy, understanding, and collaboration endure, embodied by a new cohort of excellent Fulbright awardees embarking on academic and cultural exchanges in the United States,” said Professor Paul Donnelly, Chair of the Fulbright Commission Ireland Board.
“We take pride in their achievement and wish the awardees a rich and rewarding experience.”
Professor Ronan Cahill is a Professor of Surgery at UCD and Consultant Surgeon at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, specialising in colorectal cancer surgery. He leads the UCD Section of Surgery and directs both the UCD Centre for Precision Surgery and MMUH Digital Surgery Unit.
His research, which he will work on during his time at the University of Pennsylvania, focuses on surgical innovation, particularly AI in operative surgery.
“It’s really lovely to have the opportunity via Fulbright to deepen engagement and collaboration with Professor Dan Hashimoto and his super surgical group at the University of Pennsylvania,” said Professor Cahill.
“AI, telesurgery and computer assistance during surgery is the next big advance coming soon in our field for cancer and many other diseases, and it’s great to develop this broadly.”
The (opens in a new window)#Fulbright Commission in Ireland is delighted to announce 18 (opens in a new window)#Fulbright Irish Awardees for 2025-26. Congratulations Awardees!👏 (opens in a new window)#FulbrightFamily (opens in a new window)#Ireland (opens in a new window)#USA 🇮🇪🇺🇸
— Fulbright Ireland (@Fulbright_Eire) (opens in a new window)July 25, 2025
➡️Read the news: (opens in a new window)https://t.co/KB5gsyOQbh
Photo: Andres Poveda. (opens in a new window)pic.twitter.com/DIHy4VGTko
As part of the Careers Network team at UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, Bernie Burke designed and co-leads the award-winning MBA LEAP employability module.
She is currently completing a D.Ed. in the School of Education at Trinity College Dublin, where she is researching the impact of artificial intelligence on careers and employability development.
As a Fulbright scholar, Burke will collaborate with the Career Centre at the Georgia Institute of Technology on the application of AI to augment career development for students and adults in higher education.
“I feel very privileged to receive the Fulbright award and to represent Ireland at Georgia Technology University, a leading global centre of AI innovation,” said Burke.
“I am really looking forward to having the opportunity to collaborate with educators and researchers to explore how AI can be used to augment careers education.”
From August 2025 to August 2026, Fulbright awardees will be hosted at top US universities, where they will research, innovate and collaborate across a diverse range of fields.
Awardees serve as cultural ambassadors during their time in the US and share their knowledge, ideas and experience upon their return, creating lasting impacts for society.
Fulbright alumni include 44 current or former heads of state, 62 Nobel Laureates, 90 Pulitzer Prize winners, and 82 MacArthur Foundation Fellows.
By: Rebecca Hastings, Digital Journalist, UCD University Relations
To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie
