Primary Supervisors

Dr Eimear Morrissey is a Lecturer in Evidence-Based Healthcare at the University of Galway and Coordinator of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network EDICT – Advancing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Clinical Trials. She is a health psychologist and works across applied health research and health research methodology. Her research focuses on the design, evaluation and implementation of complex interventions, with a particular emphasis on equity, inclusion, and person-centred approaches in health research. Her work spans clinical trials methodology, implementation science, and participatory research, including meaningful patient and public involvement across the research lifecycle.

Prof. Declan Devane leads the Centre for Health Research Methodology at University of Galway, bringing together expertise in trials methodology, evidence synthesis, and public engagement to advance health research. He directs multiple research networks including Evidence Synthesis Ireland, Cochrane Ireland, and the HRB-Trials Methodology Research Network. His work focuses on improving healthcare decision-making through rigorous research methodology and evidence-based practice.

Dr Sinéad Hynes is an Associate Professor and Head of Discipline of Occupational Therapy (from April 2026) at the University of Galway. She is the Principal Investigator of the Cognitive Occupation-Based programme for people with MS (COB-MS) definitive trial. Her research focuses on developing and evaluating innovative, evidence-based rehabilitation approaches that deliver real-world benefits, shape clinical guidelines, and embed patient and public involvement and EDI at every stage. Dr Hynes’ work combines clinical expertise, methodological rigor, and collaborative vision to transform rehabilitation science and improve lives. She has valuable experience in research leadership and has supervise and mentor students at undergraduate and post-graduate (including PhD) level. ORCID: 0000-0002-3199-7355.

Dr Conor Judge is a Consultant Nephrologist, Electronic and Computer Engineer, PhD in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Senior Lecturer in Applied Clinical Data Analytics at University of Galway and Co-Director of the MSc in Applied Clinical Data Analytics. His primary focus is applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions to enhance patient care, particularly in the realm of chronic conditions like hypertension. He leads the development of an AI Clinical Decision Support System (AI-CDSS) for Hypertension management at the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences Institute of Clinical Trials, University of Galway. This project uses data from randomised controlled trials to predict complex treatment decisions for persons with hypertension and is a testament to his commitment to pushing the boundaries of what's possible with AI in healthcare.

Prof Shaun Treweek is a trial methodologist interested in efficient trial design, particularly around inclusive recruitment and retention. He led the development of the NIHR INCLUDE Ethnicity Framework, a tool to help trialists design inclusive trials, PRO EDI, a tool to help systematic reviewers consider equity in their reviews, and PRECIS-2, a tool to match trial design decisions to what the users of the results need. He leads an initiative called Trial Forge (http://www.trialforge.org) that aims to be more systematic about how we identify, generate and use research evidence in making trial design, conduct, analysis and reporting decisions.

Dr Magdalena Rzewuska Diaz is a mixed-methods health services researcher with a background in psychology, specialising in equity-focused implementation science. Her work centres on understanding, developing, embedding, and evaluating community-based care models that improve access to timely, holistic support for underserved populations with complex biopsychosocial care needs. Her research integrates qualitative and quantitative methods, is grounded in patient and public involvement and co-design, and is informed by her parallel practice as a community-based counsellor and psychotherapist within a charity where she also serves as clinical lead, supporting disadvantaged populations facing barriers to psychosocial care access.

Dr Benjamin Speich is a senior researcher working at the Division of Clinical Epidemiology, University of Basel, in Switzerland. His work is focusing on the conduct and methodological aspects of randomised clinical trials, including innovative aspects such as platform trials or hierarchical composite endpoints. He also leads a broad range of research-on-research projects aimed at (i) identifying shortcomings and challenges related to the conduct and validity of clinical trials and (ii) developing solutions to overcome these challenges.

Dr Sanne Peters is an Associate Professor in Epidemiology and Global Health at the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care. Her research focuses on sex and gender differences, as well as broader inequities, in cardiovascular diseases. She aims to reliably quantify where those differences exist and to identify the underlying genetic, biological, or behavioral factors. Another important part of her research aims at ensuring that sex and gender, as well as other aspects of diversity, are routinely considered and adequately represented in research and innovation.

Dr. Mira Zuidgeest works as Associate Professor at the UMC Utrecht. Trained as pharmacist and epidemiologist, with a PhD in pharmacoepidemiology, her work focuses on clinical trial innovation, the interaction between methodology and operations, how RWE can be generated through interventional research, how we can centre trials around participants rather than sites, and the effects of trial approaches on diversity of participants. She is board member of the GetReal Institute and member of the ACT-EU multistakeholder platform advisory group and was academic lead of the IMI Trials@Home project (www.trialsathome.com).

Dr Rieke van der Graaf is an Associate Professor of Bioethics at the Julius Center, UMC Utrecht, where she leads the Bioethics and Health Humanities department. Her work centers on research ethics—particularly in relation to vulnerable populations, diversity, equity, and inclusion in research, and the ethical dimensions of innovative trial designs. She also focuses on the ethics of emerging health therapies, as well as global health ethics and climate ethics. She serves as co-director of the WHO Collaborating Center for Bioethics in Utrecht. At UMC Utrecht, she teaches Medical Ethics and Research Ethics at the UMC Utrecht. She organizes an annual Summer School on Global Health Ethics and Equity at Utrecht University.

Dr Karolin Krause is a measurement scientist with the METHODS Team at the Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Statistics (CRESS) at Université Paris Cité. Her work focuses on improving the patient-centeredness, clinimetric quality, and consistency of data collected in comparative effectiveness research to: (a) characterize patient populations for the assessment of external validity and equity; (b) examine moderators contributing to treatment effect heterogeneity; and (c) assess treatment outcomes. Karolin focuses specifically on the measurement of constructs that are grounded in patient experiences and psychosocial context, and that cannot be captured through biological markers. Karolin holds a PhD in Psychology from University College London.

Prof Isabelle Boutron is Professor of Epidemiology at Université Paris Cité, Director of the Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Statistics (CRESS), and Director of Cochrane France. Her research focuses on the design, conduct, and reporting of clinical studies. She investigates methodological issues in the assessment of interventions and critically examines methods of evidence synthesis. She has published more than 250 peer-reviewed articles and is internationally recognized for her work on interventional research on research. Professor Boutron has contributed to several international initiatives promoting better reporting and reproducibility in health research. ORCID number: 0000-0002-5263-6241

Prof Viet-Thi Tran is a Full Professor of Epidemiology at Université Paris Cité and at the Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), in Paris France. He leads a research group around novel methods to generate primary evidence in the METHODS team (CRESS UMR 1153), which is specialized on therapeutic evaluation in chronic conditions. His work revolves around three topics: 1) minimally disruptive medicine, and especially on the use of digital tools to care for patients with chronic conditions; 2) citizen science methods; and 3) novel methods in therapeutic evaluation.

Prof Livia Puljak is a full, tenured professor at the Catholic University of Croatia, and the Head of its Center for Evidence-Based Medicine. Her research interests include research methodology, evidence-based medicine, and clinical epidemiology. She has published more than 300 articles in international peer-reviewed journals and mentored more than 80 defended Bachelor's, Master’s, and PhD theses. She was the inaugural director of Cochrane Croatia. She was listed among the 2% of researchers with the highest citation impact in the world each year since 2020. Detailed CV: https://liviapuljak.eu/cv-en/

Dr Alberto Borobia is a medical doctor, specialist in Clinical Pharmacology and head of the Pharmacology Department of La Paz University Hospital. Alberto also is the deputy Scientific Director of IdiPAZ (Hospital La Paz Institute for Health Research). He is a professor of Clinical Research and Clinical Pharmacology in the School of Medicine of La Paz University Hospital. He also is the general Coordinator of Spanish Clinical Research Network (SCReN), who are the Spanish partner of ECRIN and the Coordinator of the IHI READI project. His research focuses on innovative clinical trial design and pharmaceutical development.

Dr Cristina Murano, PhD in Health and Social Sciences, is senior researcher at the Department of Philosophy and Society of the Complutense University of Madrid. Her research addresses the ethical, social, and political dimensions of biomedicine, with a special focus on childhood, health policies, and forms of citizen participation in healthcare. She has extensive experience as advisor of several ethics committees, and she currently leads WP8 of the READI (Research in Europe and Diversity Inclusion) IHI project.

Dr Emma Kirwan is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Centre for Health Research Methodology. She holds a PhD in Psychology, and her research interests include how social and psychological factors contribute to health and well-being. Her methodological expertise spans mixed-methods research, evidence synthesis, and knowledge translation. She is committed to open science, inclusive research practices, and meaningful public engagement in research. Emma is Programme Manager of the EU-funded MSCA Doctoral Network, Advancing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Clinical Trials (EDICT).

Prof Matthias Briel is a physician and clinical epidemiologist with a strong interest in clinical trial methodology and meta-epidemiological research. He is the founder and head of the CLEAR Methods Center at the Division of Clinical Epidemiology, University of Basel, Switzerland. Matthias leads the Swiss clinical Trials Empirical Assessment & Methods (STEAM) Working Group with the aim to coordinate Swiss meta-research projects and tool development to make the planning and conduct of clinical trials more efficient, patient-relevant, and evidence-based.

She is a medical doctor specialized in Clinical Pharmacology, with extensive experience in pharmacogenetics, clinical research, pharmacovigilance, and translational medicine. She is currently a Specialist at Hospital Universitario La Paz and an Associate Professor at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Her research focuses on biomarker-driven precision medicine and innovative clinical trial design. She is an active member of national research ethics committees and leads Work Package 7 in the international READI project, promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and responsible research in clinical trials.