Dr. Matthew O' Connell

Dr. Matthew O' Connell joined TILDA as a Research Fellow in January 2012. His first degree was in Sport and Exercise Sciences from the University of Birmingham. Following this he completed a Ph.D. at the University of Manchester, graduating in 2011. His thesis was titled "Frailty and Anabolic Hormones in Ageing Men", and involved work on the observational European Male Ageing Study (EMAS) and a clinical trial of testosterone therapy in frail men. Prior to joining TILDA, he remained in Manchester to complete a short post-doctoral contract looking at longitudinal changes in sex hormone levels in the EMAS. His main research interests are in the biology and physiology of ageing and frailty. At TILDA, his work will initially focus on physiological changes associated with frailty.

Current Research Topics

• Assessing frailty by deficit accumulation in the older Irish population
• Frailty and orthostatic haemodynamics
• Frailty and gait performance
• Systematic review of the epidemiological application of Fried's frailty criteria