Congratulations Dr Olivia O'Leary appointed Programme Director, BSc Neuroscience

22 Sep 2023

Dr Olivia O'Leary, Senior Lecturer & Principal Investigator, Department of Anatomy & Neuroscience, SFI-funded Investigator, HRB-funded Investigator and Funded Investigator, APC Microbiome Ireland, has recently been appointed Programme Director BSc Neuroscience.

Speaking about her recent appointment as Programme Director of the BSc Neuroscience Dr O'Leary commented that she is delighted to take on the role of Director of the BSc Neuroscience degree and she welcomed the appointment of her colleague Dr Jane English as third year BSc Neuroscience coordinator. Olivia thanked Dr Siobhain O'Mahony the outgoing Director and Dr André Toulouse the outgoing third year coordinator for their work on the BSc Neuroscience programme since 2020.

The BSc Neuroscience is an interdisciplinary degree course hosted by the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, with significant contributions from a number of other departments. Neuroscience is studied from the molecular and cellular level through to behaviour, psychology, and clinical neuroscience. Staff in the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience participates in teaching the second, third and fourth-year modules modules of the Biological and Chemical Sciences (CK402) programme leading to the BSc (Hons) Neuroscience degree.

The BSc Neuroscience programme graduated its first students in 2000, the only BSc Neuroscience programme in Ireland at the time. The flagship degree has grown over the years and with alumni having many varied careers, some embarking on postgraduate studies in neuroscience or related life sciences research. and in many other fields including Medicine, Allied Health Professions, Education, Bioengineering and Law. Some BSc Neuroscience graduates have pursued medical training at graduate entry level, including here at the School of Medicine in UCC and have gone on to specialist training in Neurology and Neurosurgery. Similarly, some have pursued graduate training in Allied Health professions such as Physiotherapy, Radiography, Speech therapy or Occupational therapy.

Dr Olivia O'Leary in the news

• Dr Olivia O'Leary discusses the science of workplace stress in Irish Examiner article
• Congratulations Dr Olivia O'Leary invited speaker, USA National Academies of Sciences: Frontiers in Microbiome-Gut-Brain Science meeting
• UCC researchers unlock breakthrough discovery to increase resilience to stress
• Dr Olivia O’Leary awarded Science Foundation Ireland funding to identify the mechanisms through which microbiota in the gut influence brain function
• Dr Olivia O’Leary awarded funding to research the role of the maternal microbiome in shaping increased susceptibility of females to stress-related psychiatric disorders.
• Dr Olivia O’Leary receives ECNP 2020 Citation Award.

BSc Neuroscience Links

https://www.ucc.ie/en/anatomy/studyneuroscience/

https://www.ucc.ie/en/ck402/neuroscience/

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Photograph and news item B. Riedewald