Dr Freda Browne
Freda is an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing Midwifery and Health Systems and teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate nursing and midwifery programmes. Freda has over 13 years of experience in nurse education in both clinical education and higher education settings. Her research interests are in scholarship of teaching and learning, which is reflected in her teaching practice and publications. She has completed the UDL Digital Badge and Facilitators Badge in 2020, and in 2021 has supported a roll out of the Digital Badge across UCD. Since completion of the UDL Badge, she has been embedding the principles of UDL across the modules on which she teaches. She will be supporting the October National UDL Digital Badge roll out as a Peer Facilitator.
Prof Deirdre Campion
Deirdre currently is Professor and Head of Subject of Veterinary Biosciences in the School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, where she teaches Veterinary pharmacology and veterinary physiology. Deirdre has a long history of service in UCD, having joined as a permanent staff member in 1995. She previously held the position of Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning for the MVB and veterinary nursing programmes, and later the Head of Subject & Director of Veterinary Nursing. Deirdre has recently been appointed to the expert group European Committee of Veterinary Education (ECOVE), which oversees quality assurance of veterinary undergraduate education across Europe and Asia. Deirdre achieved the Digital Badge for Universal Design in Teaching and Learning in 2019, and enjoys using the skillsets gained for the benefit of her own teaching, and also in promoting diversity and inclusion in educational practices.
Assoc Prof Caitríona Cunningham
Caitríona is an Associate Professor at UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science. Her research and teaching focuses on musculoskeletal health, related health services and promotion of physical activity and exercise. She is a state registered Physiotherapist with over ten years clinical experience and has a strong commitment to facilitating the translation of evidence into practice, with active involvement in national and international research, professional and community networks. As a former Associate Dean of Teaching and Learning, she promotes excellence in teaching and education developments across a range of health and sports programmes. She is a member of UCD’s Widening Participation Committee and chairs the associated Widening Participation Outreach Coordinating Network. In 2015, she co founded the innovative UCD Physio Hub to facilitate the delivery of Physiotherapy-led exercise and health promotion programmes to a wider community and provide ‘real world’ learning and research opportunities.
Dr Tom Flanagan
Tom joined the UCD School of Medicine in 2008 as Lecturer/Assistant Professor in Human Anatomy and leads the Tissue Engineering Research Group at the School. Tom’s teaching focuses primarily on the topics of neuroanatomy, cardiovascular anatomy and histology, and he is motivated by the challenge of explaining difficult concepts to students using creative strategies underpinned by imagination, invention and innovation. Tom has been consistently acknowledged as an effective educator with several awards, including the UCD Medicine Pre-Clinical Teacher of the Year Award (2015, 2016). Always striving to enhance his teaching to benefit all of his students, he has completed the Professional Diploma in University Teaching & Learning at UCD, and is currently completing the Professional Diploma in Creativity and Innovation for Education (UCD Innovation Academy). Alongside his passion for teaching and for seeing his students succeed, Tom is focused on addressing disability awareness and inclusivity through his roles as Disability lead on the School of Medicine EDI Committee, and on both the Disability and Neurodiversity Working Groups of the College of Health & Agricultural Science EDI Committee. As a University for All Faculty Partner, Tom hopes to combine his passions for teaching and inclusivity by developing universal design for learning (UDL) strategies in his own practice, and also influencing the practice of his colleagues, in order to maximise the potential of our diverse student population.
Asst Prof John Gilmore
John is Assistant Professor in Nursing at UCD’s School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems. John’s teaching and scholarship broadly centres around a theme of inclusion health; he sees nursing not only as practice of healthcare but also as a praxis of social justice. His PhD explored Irish Gay Men’s experiences of discussing sexuality with healthcare practitioners, and he has contributed internationally to discourse and practice in LGBT+ Health. Prior to coming to UCD in Spring 2020, John worked at Canterbury Christ Church as a Senior Lecturer in Nursing. In 2019 he was admitted as a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK) based on a portfolio of inclusive pedagogical interventions. Along with his role at UCD John holds a contract at Saint Vincent’s University Hospital where he continues to practise as an ICU Specialist Nurse.
Dr Phil Halligan
Phil is a lecturer/Assistant Lecturer at the School of Nursing, Midwifery & Health Systems, and teaches nursing and midwifery undergraduate and graduate students on the topics of Leadership, Management and Quality Improvement. Phil has held many positions at home and abroad. In addition to her role as an academic, she is a key player on a team that supports students in clinical practice who register as having a disability. She has published and presented widely on the topic of supporting students with a disability research and they provide advice and guidance to colleagues in this area. She is a member of many local, and national committees that support inclusion in education.
Dr Karen Keaveney
Karen is Head of Subject for Rural Development, and an Assistant Professor in the School of Agriculture and Food Science. She has worked in UCD since 2014. Previously, Karen was a Lecturer in Rural Spatial Planning in Queen's University Belfast. She has held a number of visiting appointments internationally, including Visiting Research Fellow in the Joint Centre for Housing Studies, Harvard University, and Visiting Professor in the Department of Geography, University of Toronto. She has been a member of both the Social Science and Geographical Sciences Committees in the Royal Irish Academy. She is a qualified Urban and Regional Planner (UCD) with an undergraduate degree in Human and Physical Geography (NUI Galway) and PhD in Geography (Maynooth University). As a Rural Geographer and Planner, Karen’s research interests are in rural planning and housing, rural development, and agricultural education. She has expertise in community engagement, local decision-making and governance, rural power relations and socio-economic change in the countryside. She is currently a co-PI on the 'InPLACE Project' which is investigating the impact of COVID 19 on commuting towns in rural Ireland.
Dr Deirdre O’Connor
Deirdre is a Lecturer in Resource Economics at the School of Agriculture and Food Science where her teaching spans a range of undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes. Her research interests are in the areas of Rural Development and Food Policy. She has a strong interest in issues of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and is involved in a number of related initiatives within UCD. She chairs the UCD EDI Disability Sub-Committee and is a panel member of UCD’s Mental Health First Aid Peer Support initiative. She received a UCD Values in Action award in 2020 for her work on awareness-raising in relation to invisible disabilities.
