CoMH Postgraduate Student Committee Wellness Day

31 Jan 2022

When Covid 19 restrictions again caused the cancellation of the annual College of Medicine and Health Postgraduate Dinner, the CoMH Postgraduate Student Committee with the encouragement of the Vice Dean of Graduate studies Professor Yvonne Nolan, Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, took the event outdoors and hosted an innovative Wellness Day to 'spread a little joy and give research students the opportunity to see each other in person before the Christmas break'.  

(Left) Caoimhe Lynch (Anatomy and Neuroscience) CoMH PG Committee member and event organiser,  Leanne Ahern postgraduate student (Physiotherapy), Professor Yvonne Nolan Vice Dean of Graduate Studies, Lars Wilmes postgraduate student (Department of Anatomy & Neuroscience), CoMH PG Committee members and event organisers Michael Vaughan (Physiology) and Emily Knox (Pharmacy and Anatomy and Neuroscience). (Right) Group at the CoMH PG SC Wellness Day stand including Professor Yvonne Nolan Vice Dean of Graduate Studies and Dr Susan Rafferty-McArdle APC Microbiome Ireland and Graduate Studies committee member at CoMH. 

On Friday December 3^rd 2021 the Student Committee set up their Wellness Day stand adjacent to the Biosciences Institute UCC, and although wearing masks and restricted to elbow bumping hellos, committee members cheerily greeted fellow postgraduate students new and old, and welcomed staff, friends and colleagues from the College of Medicine and Health to their Wellness Day event.

(Left) CoMH PG Committee member Allison Mula (Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy) greeting Clinical Therapies postgraduate students. (Right) CoMH PG Committee member and event organiser Michael Vaughan (Physiology) distributing Wellness Day goodie bags to APC postgraduate students. 

Visitors were presented with a Wellness Day goodie bag which were compiled with help from the College Graduate Studies Team, the Graduate Attributes programme, and items from the UCC Student Centre Shop, the Everyday matters Programme (Dr Eithne Hunt) and Infinity Soap & Body company (Michelle O’Riordan).

(Left) CoMH PG Committee member Rie Matsuzaki (Anatomy and Neuroscience), CoMH PG Committee member and event organiser Michael Vaughan (Physiology) and CoMH PG Committee member Allison Mula (Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy) greeting CoMH postgraduates. (Right) Department of Anatomy Post graduate students receive Wellness Day goodie bags.

The PG committee event organisers included PhD Students; Caoimhe Lynch (Anatomy & Neuroscience), Michael Vaughan (Physiology), Joanna Pereira (APC Microbiome Ireland) Edel Burton (Public Health) and Gareth Morgan (Senior Executive Assistant for Graduate Studies, CoMH). Busy on the day greeting visitors and distributing goodie bags were committee members Allison Mula (Clinical Therapies) Rie Matsuzaki (Anatomy & Neuroscience).  Special thanks to Bereniece Riedewald for capturing the day in photos.

(Left) Professor Yvonne Nolan Vice Dean of Graduate Studies, with Postgraduates Martina Mazzocchi, Patricia Flynn and Adam O'Mahony (Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience). (Right) Dr Colette Hand, Department of Pathology and Graduate Studies committee member at CoMH with daughter Niamh receiving a Wellness Day goodie bag at the CoMH PG SC Wellness Day.

The Vice Dean of Graduate Studies Professor Yvonne Nolan and Committee members would like to thank all those who contributed to this very successful event and to all  who dropped in to say hello and ‘Let’s keeping looking after one another in 2022’.

Emeritus Professor and former Vice Dean of Graduate Studies, CoMH Eileen Savage, Kathryn Neville, CoMH College Manager; Jane Hurley (Senior Executive Assistant for Graduate Studies, CoMH) and baby Alex,  Dr Niall Hyland, Department of Physiology; Professor Yvonne Nolan, CoMH Vice Dean of Graduate Studies.