CAO Conference | November 6, 2026 | Agenda

5 Nov 2026

Happening On 06/11/2026

Hosted by HSE South West with support from UCC, the conference will explore the role of research and artificial intelligence in shaping the future of healthcare. 

Looking to the Future: Research, AI and Intelligent Healthcare

Friday, 6th November 2026 | The Kingsley Hotel, Cork

Co-Hosted by HSE SW, UCC, & National CAO Group

AGENDA

8:15- 9:00 Registration and coffee

09:00–09:20 Welcome and opening addresses

Welcome: Video address by An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin TD

Opening Address: Professor Martina Hennessy, MB, PhD, FRCPI, FRCP (Lon). Director of the Wellcome-HRB Clinical Research Facility at St James’s Hospital, Dublin. Chief Academic Officer, HSE Dublin Midlands; Dr Andy Phillips, Regional Executive Officer, HSE South West

09:20–09:35 Session 1: Research-active healthcare systems: why they matter

Moderator: Professor Helen Whelton, Chief Academic Officer, HSE South West, and Head of the College of Medicine and Health, UCC

The Importance of Clinical Research in Neonatal Care Presentation by: Professor Gene Dempsey, Consultant Neonatologist, Cork University Maternity Hospital, and INFANT Research Centre, UCC

09:35–09:55 Opening keynote

Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser, UK Department of Health and Social Care, and CEO, National Institute for Health and Care Research.

09:55–10:25 Session 1 panel discussion

Professor Lucy Chappell; Professor Gene Dempsey; Professor David Burn, President, University of Galway; Professor Rose Galvin, Professor of Physiotherapy, University of Limerick; Brian O’Mahony, CEO, Irish Haemophilia Society; Dr Finnian Hanrahan, Research Centres, Research Ireland

10:25–10:55 Coffee and networking

10:55–11:15 Session 2: Translating research into better healthcare

Moderator: Professor Michael Sack, Director, CRF UCC–HSE South West

Dr Ana Terrés, HSE Assistant National Director, Head of Research and Evidence, Launches the forthcoming HSE Strategic Framework for Health and Social Care Research

11:15–11:45 Session 2 panel discussion

Dr Ana Terrés; Dr John O’Neill, Head of Research & Innovation Policy Unit, Department of Health; Sandra Broderick, REO, HSE Midwest; Professor Anthony O’Regan, President, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI); Dr Glen Doherty, HSE Director of Research Dublin SE; Professor Imelda Coyne, Professor of Nursing in Children and Young People's Health, Trinity College Dublin

11:45–12:05 Session 3: Research, AI and the future of healthcare

Moderator: Professor Margaret O’Connor, Deputy Regional Clinical Director, Consultant in Geriatric & General Internal Medicine - HSE Mid West

Keynote by Dr Zayna Khayat, Health futurist, Chief Program Officer at AMS Healthcare and Adjunct Professor and Executive in Residence at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Canada.

12:05–12:20 AI and ethics

Address from Bishop Paul Tighe, Secretary of the Culture Section of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Culture and Education, followed by questions, with Introduction by Professor Timothy Lynch, CAO Dublin & South East, Vice Principal of Health Affairs, UCD

12:20–12:50 Session 3 panel discussion

Dr Zayna Khayat; Damien McCallion, Chief Technology and Transformation Officer, HSE; Professor Seán Hynes, Professor of Pathology and Consultant Pathologist at the University Hospital Galway; Rachael Doak, in4kids/CHI National Young Persons Advisory Group (YPAG) representative; Mag O’Keeffe, VP, Advanced Operations & AMagine, Stryker, and Professor Tomás Ward, DCU, Co Lead, RINN AI

12:50–13:00 Closing remarks

Professor Helen Whelton, Chief Academic Officer, HSE South West, and Head of the College of Medicine and Health, UCC

13:10 Networking lunch

For more on this story contact:

Anna Toner, anna.toner@ucc.ie