OFFICERS
COUNCIL MEMBERS
RITA RYAN
Dr. Rita Marie Ryan is a Professor of Pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University and UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, a top ten USNWR children’s hospital, in Cleveland, Ohio. This is the same hospital where Dr. Eleanor Molloy (former IAPS President) did part of her neonatology training years ago. Dr. Ryan is a physician-scientist who studies neonatal lung biology in the laboratory and also performs general neonatology clinical research. Her main disease of interest is bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a chronic lung disease of premature infants. All four of Rita’s grandparents were born in Ireland and include Farry, Tully, Malone and Ryan. Her grandmother Malone and grandfather Ryan from county Kilkenny came through Ellis Island and Hoboken NJ respectively, met at a Kilkenny ceili in NYC, had eight children, and Dr. Ryan is the third oldest of their 26 grandchildren. Rita wants to get her Irish citizenship which her dad and sister have. Dr. Ryan is a former President and Council member for IAPS.
SHEENA DURNIN
Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine in Children’s Health Ireland at Tallaght since March 2019. Undergraduate degree in Software Systems. Graduate of University of Wales (Cardiff and Swansea Schools of Medicine) with honours. Postgraduate cert in Sexual Assault Forensic Examination from University College Dublin. Masters of Health Sciences (Clinical Education) with honours from National University of Ireland, Galway. Previously worked for two years as paramedic with Health Service Executive. Completed paediatric higher specialist training in Ireland and undertook a fellowship including Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health GRID training in PEM in Birmingham Children’s Hospital, UK and Leicester Royal Infirmary, UK for two and a half years. Site lead on multiple PERUKI studies. Special interests in research, neurodiversity, procedural sedation, point of care ultrasound and echocardiography. Dr. Durnin is the current President of the IAPS.
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN
M.D., Dublin University, Dublin, IRL, 1974
Consultant Pediatric Pulmonologist , Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 1980.
Private Pediatric Practice, Boston, MA, 1986-present.
Immediate IAPS Past-President
WILLIAM (WILLIE) O'CONNOR
Born, Cork Ireland 12-28-1949
Medical School: University College Cork (UCC).
MB BCH BAO 1972.
Transitional Intern/Resident in Anatomic Pathology, USA.
Yale program, Waterbury CT; and Georgetown University ,Washington DC.
Faculty Pathologist University of Kentucky, Lexington 1977.
Member Irish and American Pediatric Society: joined 1978 (sponsor Dr Jackie Noonan) to present.
Interests: Education and research in Pediatrics, Pediatric Pathology and Cardiovascular disease in children.
Hobbies: Irish Silver makers especially provincial, and Irish Postal History.
MARTIN WEISSE
Medical School
University of Texas- Houston
Pediatric Residency
Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio Texas
Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellowship
Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu Hawaii
Bio & Interests
Professor Weisse serves as Vice Chair for Faculty Development in the Dept of Pediatrics in the WVU School of Medicine, and a Consultant in Infectious Diseases at West Virginia University Children’s Hospital.
Current and career interests include clinical infectious diseases, medical education and pediatric training, tropical and global medicine, and faculty development.
He is a retired Colonel, having served in the US Army Medical Corps.
Dr. Echezona Maduekwe is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology at Stony Brook University. He is an expert in the specialized care of newborns, particularly those facing considerable health challenges or premature birth. After considerable medical training in Ireland, he chose to relocate to the United States in 2006, completing his Pediatric Residency at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, New York, and his fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York.
Dr. Maduekwe's contributions extend beyond clinical practice, encompassing significant research endeavors. His investigations span diverse areas such as oxygen toxicity, hematological measurements in umbilical cord blood, neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia, Hypoglycemia risk scores, Oxi-pneumogram and reflux, neonatal impact of prenatal magnesium exposure, Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, and neonatal endotracheal tube depth determination. A fervent advocate for evidence-based medicine, Dr. Maduekwe is deeply committed to research that advances outcomes for prematurely born infants.
COLM TRAVERS
Education
Medical School
University College in Dublin, Ireland
Pediatric Residency
Royal College of Physicians of Ireland
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Interests
Reducing major morbidities and mortality among preterm infants, long term outcomes in survivors of prematurity, implementation of evidence based practice, disparities in neonatal-perinatal care, and global neonatal health. Dr. Travers is the current Scientific Advisor for the IAPS.
NUALA QUINN
Dr Nuala Quinn is a Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine at CHI Temple Street and the Paediatric Clinical Lead for Trauma, HSE.
Dr Quinn graduated from the University of Liverpool in 2006, having also completed an intercalated degree in Medical Law and Ethics at University of Manchester in 2005. She completed paediatric medical training in Ireland, during which she attained a Masters in Paediatric Emergency Medicine from the University of Edinburgh and was awarded a first class honours. In 2015 she completed her fellowship in Paediatric Emergency Medicine at the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH), Melbourne. At RCH she developed a keen interest in paediatric trauma and worked as the Trauma Fellow at RCH for one year where she was involved in the delivery of paediatric trauma education at a state wide level. At RCH she also developed further subspecialty interests in Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) and Echocardiography in Life Support. She has a CCPU in echocardiography in life support from the Australasian Society of Ultrasound Medicine. She is a keen researcher, with multiple publications and the recently accepted MAPPAED study – a multi-site, international collaboration on the mid-arm point for thoracostomy and chest drain insertion in paediatric trauma. She is an Honorary Research Fellow at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Centre in Melbourne.
In 2021 she was appointed as the Paediatric Clinical Lead for Trauma with the National Office for Trauma Services. The Trauma System for Ireland is currently being implemented and Dr Quinn is tasked with the full integration and inclusion of paediatrics into the national system. Paediatric Healthcare in Ireland is undergoing significant change with the re-configuration of services and the new children’s hospital which will be the location of Ireland’s Paediatric Major Trauma Centre.
Is as Tír Eoghain í. Cónaíonn sí i mBaile Átha Cliath lena fearcéile, tá beirt pháistí acu. Tá dúil aici sa léitheoireacht agus an Ghaeilge.
DECLAN QUINN
Dr. Quinn's research has focused on pharmacology with stimulants in ADHD. He has been involved in pharmacokinetic studies with different stimulants. This interest has now extended to animal models of ADHD. Current studies also involve continuous performance tests in adults with ADHD and controls and looking at the differential response to medication. Studies are also taking place, looking at the prevalence of ADHD in the correctional settings. There is also an extensive educational component around ADHD. He has been involved in the development of Canadian practice guidelines for ADHD.
DUBHFEASA SLATTERY
Professor Slattery is a Dublin and Harvard trained consultant respiratory paediatrician. She is chair of medical professionalism at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the Bon Secours Health System, where she is developing and implementing a programme in professionalism that aims to improve patient centred care, incorporating patient safety and clinician wellbeing. Her interest in research, education, patient safety, and quality of care led her to her current role in professionalism. She continues clinical work at Temple St Children’s University Hospital in Dublin. As head of clinical risk at the State Claims Agency she analysed national data on patient safety incidents, clinical claims, and costs in Ireland’s public healthcare service, culminating in multiple national reports.