Vice-Provost/Chief Academic Officer
Professor Orla Sheils was appointed 74th Vice-Provost on 3rd September 2021.
The Vice-Provost is the Deputy President and Chief Academic Officer of the College with overall responsibility for research and education in the university and with special responsibility in relation to academic staff matters. The Vice-Provost/Chief Academic Officer is responsible for academic and research policy, and for strategic planning.
The Vice-Provost/Chief Academic Officer chairs the following:
Together with the members of these groups, she coordinates strategic planning, research, undergraduate and postgraduate education, quality and the student experience.
The Vice-Provost/Chief Academic Officer reports directly to the Provost and is an ex officio member of the Board of the College, the University Council, and Executive Officers Group.
Biography
Professor Orla Sheils has served as Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Director of the Trinity Translational Medicine Institute (TTMI), and is currently Professor of Molecular Diagnostics. She has a DSc and a PhD in Molecular Pathology from Trinity College Dublin and an MA in Medical Law and Ethics from Kings College London.
The underlying theme of her research is to understand the causes and molecular basis of the development of disease, with particular reference to cancer, and to apply this knowledge to improving disease prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment. She has a particular interest in developing novel molecular diagnostics. Translational research is the common theme throughout Prof Sheils' research, linking identification of disease processes with targets for early disease detection or classification. She has been an independent investigator since 2001 and has supervised 28 students to PhD level and 12 to MD. She works closely with industry bringing novel technologies and applications to the translational research setting.