Professor Aideen Sullivan receives 25 year Long Service award from UCC President Professor John O'Halloran

9 Jan 2024

Congratulations Professor Aideen Sullivan who received a 25 year Long Service award from UCC President John O'Halloran at the 2023 Long Service Award Ceremony 2023 which was held on Thursday 7^th December 2023.  

The University provides a ‘Long Service Award Scheme in acknowledgement and appreciation of the contribution and commitment of staff to its continuing success’. Now in its 35th year, the 2023 ceremony celebrated and acknowledged the work and contribution of 64 staff members, who have completed 25 and 35 years’ service in the University.

Professor Aideen Sullivan is Head of the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience in UCC and is Director of the BSc (Hons) degree in Medical and Health Sciences, she joined UCC in 1998 as Lecturer in the Department of Anatomy.  A graduate of University College Dublin, she was awarded a BSc (First Class Honours) in Pharmacology in 1992, and a PhD in Neuropharmacology from the University of Cambridge, UK in 1995. After a two-year post-doctoral research position in Imperial College London School of Medicine on a project funded by the Parkinson's Disease Society, Aideen began her UCC career.

On her appointment to the Department of Anatomy, Aideen was instrumental in leading a significant expansion to the Department’s interdisciplinary teaching, with the establishment of the BSc degree in Neuroscience in 1998, the first Neuroscience degree in Ireland. The BSc Neuroscience is now a very established successful and recognised degree programme. More recently, Professor Sullivan led the development of the new cross-College BSc degree programme in Medical and Health Sciences (CK707), which had its first student intake in 2018 and of which she is Director.

Aideen was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2006 and to Professor (Scale 2) in 2014, the first such appointment in the Department. In March 2021 she was appointed Head of the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience.  

Photo: overview of UCC's 35th Long Service Award Ceremony in Áras na Mac Léinn

Professor Sullivan’s research activities are focused on the development of novel approaches to the treatment of Parkinson's disease. She is an expert in investigating neuroprotective therapies, which have the potential to slow or reverse the progression of this debilitating disease. On this topic, she runs a collaborative research programme which has secured funding from a range of national and international organisations. Recently she and her colleague Professor Gerard O’Keeffe secured funding from the UK trust, Cure Parkinson’s, to further their research on neurotrophic factors as a neuroprotective therapies for Parkinson’s. This study is using gene therapy to deliver neurotrophic factors in an effective and long-lasting manner to the brain, in a clinically relevant animal model of Parkinson’s and will lay the foundation for future clinical trials aimed at stopping Parkinson’s pathology from worsening. Other ongoing research in Professor Sullivan’s group include studies on gut-brain axis, epigenetics and environmental toxins in cell and animal models of Parkinson’s, as well as patient-facing research on the impacts of exercise, lifestyle and environmental factors on Parkinson’s.

Her research on Parkinson’s led Professor Sullivan to be the founding Director of the Cork Parkinson’s Disease Research Cluster and the vice-Director of the Cork NeuroScience Centre. She practices research-led teaching and encourages capable students to pursue research careers and is very active in mentoring students and colleagues. She was awarded a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (2006) and in 2010 attained a FETAC certificate (awarded Distinction) in Peer-Mentoring.

Professor Sullivan is passionate about public and patient engagement and outreach and is active in promoting Neuroscience in Ireland. She has organised several scientific and public conferences in the areas of Parkinson’s disease, stem cells and Neuroscience research. In 2015, she organised the very successful BRAINTALK (http://www.ucc.ie/en/braintalk/) Parkinson's community conference and art exhibition at the Glucksman Art Gallery, UCC. She regularly visits People with Parkinson’s support groups, primary and secondary schools, speaking about research advances. She leads several research projects involving input from and in collaboration with People with Parkinson’s.

Aideen is very active in pursuing equality, diversity, and inclusion in Higher Education. She participated in the Leadership Foundation's Aurora programme for women in Higher Education and in UCC's ‘Through the Glass Ceiling’ Programme for Female Academics and Researchers. She was Chair of the ‘Flexible Working’ group for UCC’s successful Athena SWAN Bronze Award in 2019. She is a member of the University’s and the College of Medicine and Health’s Athena SWAN steering groups and is co-Chair of the School of Medicine Athena SWAN committee, which submitted the School’s first application for Bronze Award in 2023.

Staff in the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience congratulated Professor Sullivan on a very impactful 25 years and wish her many more years of continued success and happiness in UCC.

Photo: Professor Aideen Sullivan and Dr Tom Spalding at the awards ceremony

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Photographs: Gerard McCarthy of Gerard McCarthy Photography

News item: Bereniece Riedewald