Discovery welcomes Northeastern University Visiting Global Professor Asieh Golozar

In January UCD Discovery welcomed Asieh Golozar as their first Global Visiting Professor of 2023. Professor Golozar is Director of Clinical Research at the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI) Center, Northeastern University (NU). OurVisiting Global Fellowship Programmeinvites eminent and highly distinguished researchers from leading global institutions to visit our stunning parkland campus in Dublin, Ireland. Prof Golozar visited for a week where she met key figures in data analytics and health across Irish academia and industry.

After a whirlwind week of both science on her first trip to Ireland, Prof Asieh Golozar does not hesitate when asked to choose a highlight.

“The first thing that comes to my mind are the people,” she says. “Absolutely amazing. Really nice to talk to, very helpful. It's been an unforgettable trip. I want to come back.”

Her carefully curated schedule included meeting Dr Ronan Glynn, Partner and Health Sector Lead at EY Ireland. 

“We had a meeting at Ernst & Young that was set up so that we could have a discussion about some of the work that I'm doing at Northeastern and the potential ways that we can start thinking about healthcare data and collaborations,” says Prof Golozar.  We talked the utility of healthcare big data in pandemic response and how real-world evidence can be used responsibly for regulatory decision-making.  We further discussed potential gaps in the field of observational research and future collaboration opportunities in Ireland. It was a wonderful meeting and there were a lot of ideas on how to move forward and which topics to follow up on. I do hope that this can initiate future transatlantic collaboration.”

As part of her visit, Prof Golozar also delivered the keynote at the UCD Cancer Research Symposium at St Vincent’s University Hospital. Titled ‘Oncology Real-World Evidence - Are We Delivering?’, this talk showcased her work in large-scale observational research on cancer to a stellar audience of clinical and academic colleagues.

“. As a cancer and genetic epidemiologist, I am passionate about the ability to use large-scale observational data to address a wide series of questions in oncology such as understanding the burden of specific cancer, the unmet needs, response to different treatment options, adherence to clinical guidelines across different geographies and setting.  And most importantly, using genetics to inform and align us in terms of precision oncology at a population scale.”

As well as Prof William Gallagher, professor of Cancer Biology in the UCD School of Biomolecular & Biomedical Science and the UCD Conway institute,

Prof Golozar’s also  spent time with UCD Discovery Director Prof Patricia Maguire, co-lead of the AI_PREMie research project, which uses artificial intelligence to disrupt diagnostic practices in preeclampsia and save lives of mothers and their newborn babies. 

She also met with, among others, Dr Maura Hiney, Adjunct Professor at UCD Discovery and expert in Research Integrity (RI); Prof Cecily Kelleher, College Principal at the UCD College of Health and Agricultural Sciences; Prof Denis Shields, Director of the UCD Bioinformatics Centre; Assoc Prof Brian Mac Namee, Centre Director for the SFI Centre for Research Training in Machine Learning and a principal investigator in The Insight Centre for Data Analytics; and Prof Hasheem Mannan of UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems. 

“It was an amazing to visit UCD campus and spend dedicated time meeting with different academics and potential collaborators across various faculties.

Concurrent  to Prof Golozar’s visit, NU leadership also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a formal partnership with UCD around a shared focus on key global challenges in healthcare.