Prof. Patricia Kearney

I am Professor of Epidemiology in UCC and my research interests are in large-scale observational epidemiology, clinical trials and implementation science. I was the lead PI in Ireland for the EUFP7 funded TRUST clinical trial, ‘Multi-modal Effects of Thyroid Hormone Replacement for Untreated Older Adults with Subclinical Hypothyroidism; a Randomised Placebo-controlled Trial, the largest trial ever undertaken worldwide among people with subclinical hypothyroidism. At the time the trial started, there was no clinical research facility (CRF) in UCC, UCC had not previously sponsored a clinical trial and few staff had training or experience in clinical trials. I worked with the newly developed CRF-C to develop expertise and capacity in clinical trial research, training research nurses, doctors and pharmacists. In addition, I developed a network of over 100 GPs actively recruiting participants for TRUST with satellite sites across the South of Ireland. A HRB-TMRN funded PhD student worked with me on TRUST investigating the role of Risk Based Monitoring in clinical trials. The HRB-TMRN supported a Study Within A Trial (SWAT) associated with TRUST to look at patient preferences for dissemination of the results of clinical trials. I am currently leading the Choosing Healthy Eating for Infant Health (CHErIsH) study, funded through a HRB ICE Award. CHErIsH is a pilot study of an infant feeding intervention to prevent childhood obesity developed based on a systematic approach to the design, implementation and evaluation of the intervention. The TMRN funded a Core Outcome Study led by one of the ICE Fellows of childhood obesity interventions associated with CHErIsH. I am co-PI of the ongoing Improving Diabetes Eye Screening (IDEAS) study, a feasibility study of an intervention to improve diabetic retinopathy screening uptake. I am PI of a HRB-TMRN SWAT evaluating the impact of Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) on the IDEAS trial intervention.