Mentors & Leads
We innovate at the forefront of healthcare in a real world clinical setting
Head of Innovation
Dr. Natalie Cole
Dr. Cole has over 20 years of national and international experience in Health Research & Innovation. She initially pursued a career in academic research and was Assistant Professor of Neurogenetics at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago.
On returning to Ireland Dr. Cole supported the development of the spin-out company Neuropath at Trinity College Dublin.
Dr. Cole has extensive change and project management experience and was Change and Benefits lead for the Office of the CEO of the HSE and delivered large complex healthcare projects. Dr. Cole has a passion for the translation of innovative projects for the benefit of patients and service users.
Bio Health Economist
Tim Creedon
Tim is a Health Economist in a joint post with Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) and Trinity College Dublin, where he serves as Assistant Professor in Health Economics in the Centre for Health Policy and Management (School of Medicine). He moved to Dublin this August from Washington, DC, having previously served as an Economist in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Tim has 20 years of experience in healthcare, beginning in direct community services for supportive housing and mental health care in Cambridge, MA and New York, NY, followed by clinical psychiatry research at Massachusetts General Hospital. These early experiences motivated Tim to seek ways to address systems-level drivers of health and social care, leading him to earn his MA and PhD in Social Policy (with a focus on health economics and health policy) from Brandeis University. In his new role at TUH, Tim is excited to collaborate with clinicians and healthcare innovators across the hospital and the communities it serves, applying the theoretical and empirical tools of health economics to evaluate new innovations and assess their potential to improve patient outcomes, enhance equity, and manage costs.
Bio Digital Innovation Manager
John Staunton
John is programme manager with a background in helping organisations to deliver business and service transformations enabled by technology. He has joined in the role of Senior Digital/IT Manager in our TUH Innovate Health team. He has previously worked in Ireland and internationally for EY, Accenture, Microsoft and a tech start-up. His customers have spanned many sectors including government, healthcare, ICT, consumer goods, energy and financial services. He has also set up new strategic alliance partnerships for EY in the Irish market with Microsoft and other leading technology suppliers. He holds Engineering and MBA degrees from University College Dublin, and recently completed a MSc in Artificial Intelligence at Technological University Dublin (TUD). He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with the global Project Management Institute (PMI).
John is excited in his new role to be supporting digital innovation at TUH that can improve patient care, operational efficiency, and healthcare service delivery. His extended family includes many doctors, a pharmacist and an occupational therapist – so John is now delighted to be officially joining the exciting and hugely fulfilling world of healthcare as well
Innovation Administrator
Jennifer McMahon
Jennifer is the Innovate Health Administrator at TUH, bringing many years of administrative experience to our team.
She has been a wonderful part of the TUH community since 2023, where she is known for her helpful nature, positive energy, and a natural capacity for bringing structure and order to a demanding clinical environment. Jennifer has spent her career finding ways to make daily work life easier, specializing in turning a lot of moving parts into simple, smooth routines. She loves helping people and keeping everyone connected. In her new role with the Innovate Health team, Jennifer will be helping to look after our daily operations. She is truly excited to support the team, help manage our workflows, and help our clinical staff and tech partners work happily together to bring new healthcare ideas to life for our patients.
Laboratory Quality Innovation Manager
Dr. Ann Leonard
Dr. Ann Leonard leads the Laboratory Medicine Innovation Hub (LMIH) at Tallaght University Hospital, the first of its kind in Europe. Ann is a chief medical scientist and a research fellow/clinical senior lecturer at Trinity College Dublin.
Ann is also the co-founder of the National Peri-Ananlytic and Laboratory Medicine Society (PALMSoc) and Tallaght University Hospital Academy of Phlebotomy (TAP).
Dr. Leonard has a keen interest and expertise in the peri-analytic phases (pre and post) of the laboratory total testing process and has a proven track record in supporting and delivering innovation in this area.
Professor of Medicine
Professor Seamas Donnelly
Professor Donnelly is an international leader in Translational Medicine and his research epitomizes classical bench to bedside on an international stage. He was recently awarded an Honorary Professorship by the University of Edinburgh for international leadership in Translational Medicine.
Professor Donnelly has partnered with academia and industry in assessing wearable and non-wearable sensors as valid measurements of an individuals quality of life. Recent industry partners have included Novartis, Resmed and Fujitsu.
Prof Donnelly is lead-PI on the Dublin-Midlands Health Innovation Hub Ireland and is responsible for both the assessment of early-development technologies in the healthcare sector and the delivery of a boutique of postgraduate educational offerings in the healthcare innovation space.
Clinical Engineering Innovation Liasion
Neil Tilley
Neil is a Clinical Engineer in Tallaght University Hospital and also works as Clinical Engineering liaison for Health Innovation Hub Ireland. Neil works with a team of 5 clinical engineers who are responsible for medical device technology in Renal Services, Outpatients, Emergency Department, Medical Equipment Library, Age Related Healthcare and the general ward areas.
He has a BSc in Physics, Medical Physics and Bioengineering and an MSc in Energy Management, both from Technological University Dublin.
Consultant Physician and Clinical Associate Professor of Medical Gerontology
Professor Sean Kennelly
Professor Kennelly is a consultant physician in geriatric and stroke medicine in Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) and Clinical Associate Professor of Medical Gerontology in Trinity College. He is Director of the Institute for Memory and Cognition, and the Cognitive Clinical Trials Unit in Tallaght University Hospital, Dublin.
He is clinical director of the National Intellectual Disability Memory Service in TUH. He is co-lead investigator on Dementia Trials Ireland, a national clinical trials network, and is chair of Dementia Research Network Ireland (DRNI).
A fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in London & Ireland, Professor Kennelly has extensively published in his main research areas of Ageing, brain health and dementia.
He has served as chief and principal investigator on several international clinical trials in early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. He is principle investigator and lead-clinical advisor on several industry collaborations investigating novel applications of digital gait and speech biomarkers in detection of cognitive decline.
He has experience and interest in supporting the development and application of digital solutions to support people with changing care needs “live well” within their own homes.