Prof Gabrielle Colleran elected President of the IHCA

The IHCA has appointed Prof Gabrielle Colleran as its President.

Prof Colleran will shape the IHCA’s agenda by focusing on the need for additional clinical capacity and emphasising the importance of the green transition in healthcare.

Prof Colleran is a distinguished Clinical Associate Professor in Paediatrics at Trinity College Dublin and Assistant Clinical Professor in Women’s and Children’s Health at the University College Dublin School of Medicine. She leads the radiology department at the National Maternity Hospital and is the Radiology Lead for the national fetal MRI programme.

A former Vice-President of the IHCA, Prof Colleran takes over the presidency from Prof Rob Landers, Consultant Histopathologist at University Hospital Waterford.

Prof Colleran graduated with first class honours from NUI Galway in 2005 and completed her radiology training at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, before taking up a paediatric radiology fellowship at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital, where she served as Chief Fellow in paediatric radiology.

With over 16 years of medical experience, including 11 years as a radiologist and five years as a Consultant Paediatric Radiologist, Prof Colleran has published nearly 40 peer-reviewed research works. She is noted for her research on breast cancer predisposition genetics and paediatric imaging techniques.

Prof Colleran is the Co-Chair of the fetal taskforce of the European Society of Paediatric Radiology and has received HSE-SPARK grant funding for her research on patient-centred MRIs for children with autism. She is also a member of several key committees and working groups within the Faculty of Radiologists and the neuroimaging working group within the Neonatal and Children’s Brain Consortium Ireland.

Known for her dedication to education and training, Prof Colleran has received multiple teaching awards, including from Harvard Medical School. She is passionate about improving healthcare access and quality, advocating for patients and healthcare staff.

Her academic interests include fetal and neuro MR, contrast ultrasound, medical education, and healthcare capacity improvement.

Living in Dublin with her family, Prof Colleran enjoys cycling, sea swimming, and yoga.

Speaking following her appointment, Prof Colleran said: “It is a great honour and privilege to be appointed President of the IHCA during such a transformative period in Irish healthcare. I will seek to advocate for all hospital consultants in Ireland in a manner which will also aim to deliver profound benefits for Irish patients as a whole.

“As IHCA President, I will work to advocate for a serious reduction in waiting times for patients, aiming for a six-week maximum. It is simply unacceptable to our membership that in a prosperous, dynamic country, that hundreds of thousands of our citizens are confined to lengthy waiting times which lead to compounded negative outcomes. 

“There has been some progress made in recent years, but we also need to take into account the legacy of historic underinvestment in care in this country which presents a series of ongoing challenges to deliver the necessary level of productivity within the system.

“Furthermore, healthcare is one of the leading sources of carbon emission on earth and every health system in the world must work to reduce emissions without compromising patient care. We aim to make the case to Government for sensible reductions in energy consumption and a reduction in single-use items where clinically appropriate across the public system.”

Prof Colleran hopes to serve a full two-year term as President, joined by her two Vice-Presidents: Prof Anne Doherty, Consultant Liaison Psychiatrist at the Mater Hospital in Dublin, who continues in the role; and newly elected Vice-President Mr Colin Peirce, Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon at the University Hospital Limerick.

Also newly elected by the Association’s national council were Membership Secretary Dr Áine Burke, Consultant Haematologist at Sligo University Hospital, and Treasurer Dr Vincent Wall, Consultant Anaesthesiologist at the South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital, Cork.