Speakers & Faculty

Dave Shanahan is the Chief Executive Officer of Athena Pharmaceuticals, a leading Irish pharmaceutical company pioneering AI-driven drug discovery and clinical innovation. With over two decades of experience in healthcare leadership across Ireland and internationally, Dave is deeply committed to ensuring technological advancement in medicine is guided by human values, clinical wisdom, and patient-centred care. He convened this Summit to bring Irish healthcare into a critical national conversation about AI.

Dr. Eva-Maria Hempe leads NVIDIA's healthcare and life sciences practice across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. At NVIDIA, she drives strategic initiatives that accelerate AI adoption in clinical settings — from medical imaging and genomics to drug discovery and clinical decision support. A recognised thought leader on the intersection of GPU computing and precision medicine, she advises health ministries and hospital networks across the EMEA region on AI transformation strategy.

Damien McCallion serves as Chief Information Officer of the Health Service Executive, Ireland's national health service. He leads the national digital health transformation agenda including the landmark AI for Care 2026–2030 Strategy. With deep expertise in large-scale public sector IT delivery, Damien has overseen Ireland's COVID-19 digital response, the HSE's electronic health record rollout, and the development of the Online Health Record system.

Ronan Glynn is a Partner at EY Ireland and former Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Ireland, having served at the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic response. Now leading EY's health advisory practice, Ronan bridges clinical insight and strategic consulting to help healthcare organisations navigate complex transformation. His EY research on AI readiness among Irish clinicians represents a landmark evidence base for this Summit.

Professor Patricia Maguire holds the Chair in Biochemistry at University College Dublin and serves as Director of the UCD Institute for Discovery. She leads the AI PREMie research team, exploring AI applications in platelet research, emergency medicine and diagnostics. A Fellow of the Royal Irish Academy, Prof. Maguire is a passionate advocate for embedding ethical AI principles into clinical education and translational research from the outset.

Newton Tree leads AI deployment programmes across NHS England, with a particular focus on diagnostic imaging AI at scale. Having overseen the rollout of chest X-ray AI tools across multiple NHS trusts, Newton brings hard-won operational insight on what it takes to safely deploy AI in busy acute settings — including the governance, change management, and clinical integration challenges that technology alone cannot solve.

Professor Nuala Healy is a Consultant Radiologist and Breast Surgery Lead at Beaumont Hospital, one of Ireland's largest acute hospitals. She has pioneered the integration of AI-assisted screening tools into Beaumont's BreastCheck and breast imaging service, demonstrating measurable improvements in early cancer detection rates. Her work is widely regarded as a model for AI implementation in Irish radiology.

Dr. Niall Sheehy is a Consultant Radiologist and Clinical Lead at the National Medical Imaging Service (NMIS) at St. James's Hospital, Dublin's largest teaching hospital. He has led a comprehensive programme to evaluate and deploy AI tools across radiology workflows — from CT pulmonary angiography to plain film reporting — sharing the practical realities of scaling AI from pilot to full clinical integration in a major Irish acute centre.

Professor Ken McDonald is a Consultant Cardiologist at St. Vincent's University Hospital and a nationally recognised leader in heart failure research. He leads Ireland's cardiomyopathy screening programme and has been instrumental in deploying AI-driven ECG analysis tools to identify patients at risk of heart failure before they become symptomatic. His work demonstrates AI's life-saving potential in preventive cardiology.

Thomas Russell is CEO of Verodat, an Irish health data intelligence company building the infrastructure for trusted, interoperable AI workflows in clinical settings. Thomas brings a pragmatic view of what it takes to move beyond AI pilots — addressing the governance, data quality, and workflow integration challenges that determine whether AI tools deliver sustained clinical value or remain isolated proofs of concept.

Donal Bailey is Chief Medical Director of Centric Health, Ireland's largest independent primary care group with over 80 practices nationwide. He leads clinical governance and innovation across Centric's GP network and has been at the forefront of evaluating AI tools for use in general practice — from clinical decision support and chronic disease management to administrative automation and patient communication.

Mitchell O'Gorman is CEO of X Wave, an Irish health technology company developing next-generation clinical decision support systems powered by AI. X Wave's platform is currently deployed across multiple Irish primary and secondary care settings, helping clinicians make faster, safer decisions by surfacing relevant patient data, drug interaction alerts, and evidence-based care pathways at the point of care.

Ailish Reape leads pharmacy innovation at Boots Ireland, overseeing the integration of AI tools across Boots' nationwide pharmacy network. From AI-powered dispensing accuracy systems to patient adherence programmes and drug interaction screening, Ailish is bringing the pharmacist of the future to life — one where technology handles the administrative, freeing pharmacists to provide deeper clinical care and patient counselling.

Sarah Nooken is an Advanced Nurse Practitioner at NHS England with extensive experience in acute and community nursing settings. She has been a leading voice in the NHS nursing community on the responsible adoption of AI — particularly AI-assisted clinical documentation, predictive patient deterioration monitoring, and intelligent care coordination tools. Sarah ensures the nursing perspective remains central to AI design and deployment decisions.

Shane Brett is one of Ireland's foremost authorities on AI governance, risk and regulatory strategy. As a Senior AI Board Adviser, he counsels organisations across the public and private sectors on navigating the EU AI Act, building responsible AI frameworks, and establishing board-level AI oversight. His session on the EU AI Act's implications for Irish healthcare provides clinicians and executives with the regulatory clarity they need to move forward with confidence.