SMART HEALTH SUMMIT - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• CEO, Digital Gait Labs

Aidan is a seasoned innovator with over 25 years of experience in collaborative research and development roles within the telecommunications industry. He has a practical blend of technical, program, and people management skills, honed through his involvement in large telecom's infrastructural projects over the last three decades. With a Ph.D. in Computer Science, 10 patents, and over 20 publications to his name, Aidan has made valuable contributions to the fields of edge devices/sensors, computer vision, artificial intelligence, and data analytics during his time as a senior researcher at Bell Labs. Furthermore, he has successfully navigated both startup and corporate environments, to bring his research from the lab to industry. In recent years, Aidan has earned recognition for his medical device research, particularly the GaitKeeper Project, which offers a disruptive motion capture technology platform for gait analysis in healthcare settings. When not immersed in the world of innovation, Aidan can be found either under or in the engine bay of his 1966 Ford Cortina!

Job Titles:

• Managing Director, HD Health

Clare was voted CIO of the Year 2023 (non-profit) and is currently a Fellow of the Irish Computer Society and Managing Director of HD Health. Her company provides digital health, compliance and clinical advisory services specialising in digital transformation, business development, process optimisation and medical device software compliance. Clare also works as Programme Director for the Leading Digital Health Transformation programme at RCSI. She also provides services to fulfil the role of Chief Commercial Officer at Infocare Healthcare, a state of the art clinical workflow solution provider internationally, where she also holds a position as a Non Executive Director. She also advises on RPA and Intelligent Automation opportunities across the public and private sector in partnership with ABP Innovation. Clare was previously Executive Director, Digital Health Transformation at HealthTech Ireland, the trade association representing the digital health, diagnostics and medtech industries. Prior to this, Clare worked in various senior digital health and governance roles across industry and the health service, in the Department of Health, HIQA, and the HSE as the National Programme Manager for the acute medicine programme. Clare holds a Bachelor of Business Information Systems and an MSc in Health Informatics from Trinity College, Dublin. She is involved in the EU Commission funded EIT Health mentorship programme mentoring early stage digital health companies, and also her alumni mentorship programme, mentoring students and recent graduates with an interest in the digital health space.

Job Titles:

• Technology & Standards Manager, HIQA ( Health Information & Quality Authority

Kevin has worked in the Health Information and Quality Authority since October 2008 and is currently the Standards and Technology Manager. He leads the development of interoperability standards for ehealth and the development of recommendations to inform national health policy. Kevin graduated from UCD medical school in 1993 and also obtained a Postgraduate Diploma from UCD in Computer Science in 1999.

Job Titles:

• Officer
• Principal
• Principal Officer & Head of Health Information Policy, the Department of Health

Sarah is a Principal Officer within the R &D and Health Analytics Division of the Department of Health. She is also Head of Health Information Policy. With over 15 years' experience in public sector health analytics and R&D, Sarah is leading the development and implementation of policy and strategy to strengthen the governance, quality, and use of health information for care and treatment and for secondary purposes such as research, policy and planning. This includes national and EU legislation. Sarah has held numerous roles focused on transformation including Head of The Women's Health Taskforce and Head of Policy, Strategy & Integration at the Department of Health. As a Senior Analyst in the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Services (IGEES) Sarah played a leading role in the strategic delivery of the National Covid-19 Biobank infrastructure, the Covid Tracker App, and the Healthy & Positive Ageing Initiative. Sarah is passionate about health sector collaboration and innovation for growth and transformation, and is an advocate for health literacy and patient empowerment and user-centred design.

Job Titles:

• Manager, Health Innovation Hub Ireland

Steven has over 18 years of experience in the biotech, medtech, pharma, and academic sectors. He has a PhD in Biotechnology, an MSc in Neuropharmacology, a BSc in Biotechnology, and a certificate in business management. Steven manages Health Innovation Hub Ireland (HIHI) at University of Galway and is responsible for the development and implementation of a national strategy for healthcare innovators. His role includes facilitating healthcare professionals to validate their innovative ideas by completing technology assessments, providing advice on next steps and funding sources. He also works with companies and entrepreneurs to engage the healthcare community, verify, evaluate, and pilot their products/services in a healthcare environment to move them closer to market. Steven is proficient in project management, stakeholder engagement, commercial and technical assessments, mentorship, and providing feedback and advice for de-risking and developing projects in different clinical and technological areas. Find out more on www.hih.ie

Job Titles:

• Chief Information Officer
• Chief Information Officer, HSE & EHealth Ireland
• Health Service Executive

Fran is Chief Information Officer of the Health Service Executive (HSE) and CEO of eHealth Ireland enabling the digital transformation of Ireland's health service. With over 25 years' in health ICT leadership, he has a comprehensive understanding and practical application of transformation and change management within the health sector. Before his appointment as COI Fran was the Programme Director for the Strategic e-Health Programme. He has been involved with all aspects of ICT and has played a leading role in delivering various projects and programmes including hospital administration and clinical systems, primary care messaging and health finance solutions. Fran led the creation and set up of the ICT Project Management Office within the HSE and has responsibility for delivering a number of key strategic e-Health programmes including the electronic health record for the country and the individual health identifier.

Job Titles:

• Managing Director, EIT Health Ireland - UK

An accomplished director and senior leader, Graham has held diverse roles across the private and public sectors. He is currently the Managing Director at EIT Health Ireland-UK, a Co-location Centre of EIT Health, which is part of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, a body of the European Union. With a strong interest in improving patient outcomes, Graham plays a key role as the Founding Director of Innovo Insights Ltd, a consulting firm focused on innovation in health and aging. He also served as a Trustee and Board Member at PTSD Resolution Ltd and led business and innovation activity for Newcastle University's world-class ageing research. With a global perspective, Graham drives initiatives that enhance patient care and advance healthcare innovation. Recently, Graham was appointed as an Honorary Visiting Professor at the College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences at Brunel University, London, to guide its innovation and public involvement activities. At EIT Health, Graham has held several key positions such as Deputy Managing Director, Innovation Manager, and Collaboration Lead. With a career spanning military service, industry strategy, and academic engagement, he has built expertise in programme management, innovation, and quality leadership.

Job Titles:

• CEO, Mater Private Network

John is the Group Chief Executive and cardiothoracic surgeon of the Mater Private Healthcare Group. He is responsible for all group operations at the Mater Private's hospitals in Dublin and Cork and at its cancer centres in Limerick and Liverpool. A graduate of University College Cork, he undertook his surgical training in Ireland and completed his training as a heart transplant surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic. He was appointed consultant cardiac and transplant surgeon at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in 1995 and since then has also been a surgeon in the Mater Private. In 2009 John was appointed chairman of the Mater Private Heart and Vascular Centre before being appointed Chief Executive of the Mater Private Hospital in Dublin.

Job Titles:

• Chief Commercial Officer, Co - Founder, SPRYT

Neill is a co-founder of Spryt, a digital health company that aims to make it easier for patients to manage and access their healthcare appointments, while also making the burden of managing multiple appointments easier on healthcare providers. Spryt is using AI and behavioral science to eradicate the no-show problem in the oncology care pathway. In addition to his work with Spryt, Neill is a founding member of Tech Link Ukraine, a not-for-profit organisation that helps those with tech skills who have been displaced by the war in Ukraine to find new jobs. Neill is a senior strategy adviser with several exciting startups and a Chief Talent Strategist with Tribes and a podcast host on Reboot/Distribute. He is also a fundraiser for Crocus Cancer Support.

Job Titles:

• Chief Medical Strategy Officer for Numan
• Chief Medical Strategy Officer, Numan, Visiting Lecturer, UCL Global Business School for Health, Chief Clinical Digital Advisor, ORCHA, UK

Sam is Chief Medical Strategy Officer for Numan, the online men's health provider. Sam's interests span digital health, clinical leadership and public health with a a strong interest in consumer-facing digital health services. He is a digital health technology advisor to a number of healthcare and technology companies, spanning a range of industries including telecommunications, assessment of apps, scaling new technology into the NHS and workforce solutions. Sam was previously National Director of Digital Development for NHS England and NHSX, where he was responsible for digital development of the ecosystem and leading a number of national transformation programmes. Sam has been involved in digital and clinical policy, working with regulators and addressing reimbursement models. He has worked closely with organisations involved in assessing digital health services in the UK and Europe and advises Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust on digital transformation and innovation adoption across medical technology and continues to work in primary healthcare. His academic interests involve teaching and education across digital health and entrepreneurship working with Ulster University, University of Central Lancashire and UCL Global Business School for Health.

Job Titles:

• Director of Innovation & Healthcare

Job Titles:

• Associate Prof of Medical Device Regulatory Affairs, TCD
• Associate Professor of Medical Device Regulatory Affairs
• Member of the International Rare Disease Research Consortium

Tom is Associate Professor of Medical Device Regulatory Affairs in Trinity College Dublin. Prior to this he worked as a senior medical officer in medical devices at the Health Products Regulatory Authority, where he served for 7 years. Tom Co-chaired the Clinical Investigation and Evaluation Working Group of the European Commission for 5 years. Tom has led various taskforces, work packages and projects at national and international level on regulatory and scientific topics related to medical device regulation. Tom is a member of the International Rare Disease Research Consortium (IRDiRC) working group on MedTech for rare diseases, and a member of the National Research Ethics Committee for Medical Devices in Ireland. Before working in medical devices, Tom worked as a medical doctor for a number of years.