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Governance
The highest standards of governance at APC is ensured through three core bodies – the Executive Management Group, the Governance Committee and the Scientific Advisory Board.
Executive Management Group
A large part of the APC’s success is due to the frequent meetings of the Executive Management Group (EMG), the Centre’s decision-making authority, which meets every Friday morning. This frequency, and the presence of senior management from both UCC and Teagasc, ensures that APC management can respond quickly to any opportunities or issues and facilitates rapid decision-making.
Other senior PIs as well as senior members of the Operations team (e.g. Operations Manager, Finance Manager) also attend these weekly meetings. EMG meetings are formalised through meeting agendas and minutes, with decisions taken by vote in the absence of consensus.
Governance Committee
The role of the Governance Committee is to provide oversight and advice to the APC leadership in order to inform the strategic and operational action plans to ensure delivery of the APC’s strategic objectives and achievement of KPI targets.
Dr. Pamela Byrne was the Chief Executive Officer of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) from March 2015 to March 2025. With a PhD in Environmental Toxicology from University College Cork, she has extensive experience in food regulation, risk assessment, and public policy. Prior to joining FSAI, she held senior roles in Abbott Nutrition, the Department of Agriculture, and the European Commission. Dr. Byrne also chairs several national and international advisory boards and is a Fellow of the International Union of Food Science and Technology
Professor Helen Whelton is Head of the College of Medicine and Health at University College Cork (UCC) and Chief Academic Officer for the HSE South/Southwest Hospital Group. An expert in dental public health and epidemiology, she has led major national and EU-funded research projects, including studies on oral health policy and the use of Big Data in dentistry. Formerly Dean of Dentistry at the University of Leeds, she has also served as President of the International Association for Dental Research and continues to shape healthcare education and research in Ireland.
Professor Pat Dillon is Director of Research at Teagasc, Ireland’s agriculture and food development authority. A graduate of University College Dublin and PhD holder in Grassland Science from University College Cork, he is internationally recognised for his expertise in sustainable, pasture-based livestock systems. Since joining Teagasc in 1990, he has led major national programmes in animal and grassland innovation and now oversees Teagasc’s four research pillars: Animal & Grassland, Crops & Environment, Food, and Rural Economy.
Dermot Breen is an accomplished leader in both business and governance. Professionally, Dermot spent 17 years as Director of Corporate Affairs at Tesco Ireland. He served as Chairman of the Irish Cancer Society from 2016-2020 and was previously a member of the Governing Body of UCC and on the Senate of the National University of Ireland. He has also held numerous non-executive director roles, including with BlackRock Inc Global Series plc, Dublin Chamber of Commerce, Irish Payment Services Organisation, Retail Ireland, and IBEC’s National Council (2001–2014), and was a founding participant in the British‑Irish Chamber of Commerce.
Liz Dooley is Senior Director of Global Engineering & Technology at Janssen Pharmaceuticals, part of Johnson & Johnson. With over 20 years of experience in biotechnology and pharmaceutical operations, she leads global initiatives in clinical manufacturing and facility development. Liz holds a master’s degree in biotechnology from University College Cork and actively contributes to industry advancement through her roles with ISPE and academic advisory boards.
Professor Brian MacCraith is an Irish physicist and academic leader who served as President of Dublin City University (DCU) from 2010 to 2020. A graduate of NUI Galway with a PhD in Optical Spectroscopy, he is internationally recognised for his pioneering research in optical sensors and biomedical diagnostics. He founded DCU’s National Centre for Sensor Research and the Biomedical Diagnostics Institute. A member of the Royal Irish Academy, he has chaired national initiatives including Ireland’s COVID-19 Vaccination Taskforce and the Future of Media Commission.
Professor Ian Sanderson is Emeritus Professor of Paediatric Gastroenterology at Queen Mary University of London and a leading researcher in intestinal health and childhood inflammatory bowel disease. A former Fulbright Scholar at Harvard Medical School, he pioneered research showing how diet influences immune gene expression in the gut. His work has earned international recognition, including awards from the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. He continues to explore how dietary factors regulate intestinal genes and growth in paediatric patients.
Professor Sarah Culloty is Head of the College of Science, Engineering and Food Science at University College Cork (UCC) and Director of the Environmental Research Institute. A marine biologist and expert in ecological parasitology, her research focuses on the health of marine ecosystems, particularly diseases in shellfish. She has secured over €6 million in research funding, published more than 95 peer-reviewed papers, and contributes to national and EU platforms on aquaculture and climate change.
Scientific Advisory Board
The APC Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) is comprised of distinguished researchers who are leaders in their fields, selected to represent the full spectrum of research themes in the APC.
The SAB meets annually to:
- critically review APC research programmes
- advise on strategic direction of APC research
- provide independent scientific advice to the Director on specific scientific issues
- support and champion APC and its research
- advise on commercial possibilities of IP generated from the research in APC.
Professor Emmanuelle Maguin is a Senior Research Director at INRAE (the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment), where she leads research on microbiomes and microbial ecosystems. She co-directs the INRAE HOLOFLUX metaprogramme and co-coordinates the EU-funded CSA MicrobiomeSupport initiative. Her work focuses on the role of microbiota in human and animal health, food systems, and environmental sustainability. Professor Maguin is also a member of the Board of Directors of the International Phytobiomes Alliance, contributing to global microbiome research strategy.
Professor Emeran Mayer is a Distinguished Research Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, with appointments in Medicine, Physiology, and Psychiatry. A pioneer in brain-gut microbiome research, he is Executive Director of the G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience and Founding Director of the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center. With over 40 years of NIH-funded research, he has published more than 370 scientific papers and authored several books, including The Mind-Gut Connection. His work bridges neuroscience, gastroenterology, and integrative medicine, emphasizing the interconnectedness of mind, body, and environment.
Professor Susan Lynch is Director of the Benioff Center for Microbiome Medicine and Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). A microbiologist by training, she earned her PhD from University College Dublin and completed postdoctoral work at Stanford University. Her research focuses on the gut and airway microbiome and its role in chronic inflammatory diseases, particularly in early life. She has pioneered translational studies linking microbial ecosystems to childhood asthma and allergy, and co-founded Siolta Therapeutics to develop microbiome-based therapeutics.
Professor Nicola Segata is a Full Professor and Principal Investigator at the CIBIO Department of the University of Trento and the European Institute of Oncology in Milan. A computational biologist, he specializes in metagenomics, microbiome research, and microbial genomics. After completing postdoctoral work at Harvard in the NIH Human Microbiome Project, he founded the Laboratory of Computational Metagenomics in 2013. His lab integrates computational and experimental approaches to study the human microbiome at strain-level resolution and its role in health and disease.
Professor Karen Scott is a Principal Investigator at the Rowett Institute, University of Aberdeen, and a global leader in gut microbiology. Her research focuses on how diet influences the structure and function of the gut microbiota, bacterial gene expression, and the spread of antimicrobial resistance. She co-directs the Centre for Bacteria in Health and Disease and serves on the Board of Directors of ISAPP, where she was President from 2016 to 2019. Professor Scott is also Chair of the Global Grants for Gut Health Award Panel and a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher (2022–2023).
