Congratulations to our colleagues, Professor David Coleman, Dr Niall O'Connor and Dr Maria van Harten, who were awarded at the Faculty of Health Sciences Dean’s Awards ceremony, held on 21st May. Outgoing Dean of Health Sciences, Professor Brian O'Connell (2021-2026), was also presented with a farewell gift by Dean of Dental Affairs and Head of School Professor Alison Dougall.
Professor David Coleman received the Dean of Health Sciences Award for Distinguished Service to Health Services, and was recognised for his work which has had a major international impact over the years. His discoveries include (with colleague Professor Derek Sullivan) the novel pathogenic yeast Candida dubliniensis in HIV-infected patients, which sparked an international explosion of research on opportunistic fungal infections. He was also recognised for his research on triple-converting bacteriophages in the major bacterial pathogen MRSA. This also sparked intensive international studies, resulting in the discovery of the Immune Evasion Complex, one of MRSA’s major virulence attributes. Additionally, Prof Coleman's work on the epidemiology / population biology of emerging hospital and community MRSA and hospital-acquired vancomycin resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) clones has highlighted the role of travel, migration and animal reservoirs in their emergence and the spread of antibiotic resistance. He also pioneered translational research on automated systems for mitigating infection risks from the built environment.
Dr Niall O'Connor was presented with the Dean of Health Sciences Award for Outstanding Contribution to Teaching in Professional Practice. Dr O'Connor is a past President of the Metropolitan Branch of the Irish Dental Association (IDA) and has also served as Hon Treasurer of the IDA. He was awarded the M.G.D.S . by the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland (R.C.S.I.) in 2016, and presently is an examiner for their M.G.D.S. programme. For the past 36 years, Dr O'Connor has combined working in General Practice with a teaching position in the Dublin Dental Hospital where he has taught both undergraduate and post graduate students. Dr O’Connor has served as a part-time clinical teacher in the Dublin Dental University Hospital for nearly 40 years and currently teaches Advanced Restorative Dentistry to the final year students. He is a role model for students and actively demonstrates that exceptional professional patient care is a necessary accompaniment to clinical excellence.
Dr Maria van Harten received the Dean of Health Sciences Award for Innovation in Teaching, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to student learning. Recently, Dr van Harten developed a collaborative board game to raise student awareness of inequality and the social determinants of health. Through gameplay, students take on diverse patient identities and move into higher order learning about the social determinants of health and health promotion. The project builds on several evidence-based teaching principles, most notably on Kolb’s 4-stage process of Experiential Learning, where “learning is most effective when students engage in concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualisation, and active experimentation”. Gameplay also guides discussion of difficult issues like racism, poverty, and healthcare rationing in a safe environment without real-world consequences. Owing to its adaptability, this project can be incorporated across Health Sciences including ethics or professionalism modules, and interprofessional education sessions.
Professor Brian O'Connell, Dean of Health Sciences (2021-2026) was also presented with a gift by Dean of Dental Affairs and Head of School Professor Alison Dougall. Prof O’Connell is currently Professor of Restorative Dentistry in the School of Dental Science, Trinity College Dublin. Having studied dentistry at the National University of Ireland, Prof O'Connell completed his postgraduate training in Prosthodontics at the Eastman Dental Center, and a PhD at the University of Rochester, New York. He continued his postdoctoral work on the development of salivary gland gene transfer at NIDCR, NIH, and was founder of the Gener Therapy & Therapeutics Laboratory. At Trinity College Dublin, Prof O’Connell was a founder-investigator of the Trinity Centre for Bioengineering, where he worked on the development of bone scaffolds for tissue engineering. This led to research in medical devices and an interest in the application of clinical research. In 2012, he became an investigator in the Irish Longitudinal Study of Ageing (TILDA) and led the oral health module which is ongoing. As a result of his research, Prof O’Connell has a particular interest in the progress of oral health policy in Ireland and internationally. He is immediate Past-President of IADR, President of the Association for Dental Education in Europe, and a member of the Platform for Better Oral Health in Europe.
