NUI Maynooth Appoints Professor Bernard Mahon as Vice President for Research

NUI Maynooth has appointed leading immunologist, Professor Bernard Mahon, as Vice President for Research. Professor Mahon will take up his new position from 1 February 2013. The Vice President for Research is responsible for the formulation and implementation of the University’s strategic plan for research development.

Professor Mahon joined NUI Maynooth in 1994 and for the past seven years served as Dean of Science and Engineering, where he was instrumental in restructuring the Faculty. He has also served as a member of NUI Maynooth’s Academic Council and Governing Authority. Prior to this, he was Scientific Director at the University’s Institute of Immunology, where he helped secure €16 million funding for new research infrastructure.

Professor Mahon is a leading immunology researcher, specialising in global health issues. He began his career in the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control in the UK, researching the safety of polio vaccines. He moved to Ireland and worked on new whooping cough vaccines now entering human clinical trials. More recently, he has focused on adult stem cell research, analysing how stem cells interact with the immune system. He has three patents for applications in biomedicine.

Professor Mahon has participated in national and sectoral committees on higher education policy and was Chairman of Irish Universities Promoting Science (IUPS). He is a former member of the Irish Health Research Board, contributing to the strategy, governance and implementation of health research policy in Ireland. He has also worked alongside prominent commercial partners such as Johnson and Johnson and Intel.

Congratulating Professor Mahon on his new role, Professor Philip Nolan, President of NUI Maynooth said: “I would like to congratulate Professor Bernard Mahon on his appointment as Vice-President for Research. Bernard is a very accomplished scientist, and an experienced academic leader. NUI Maynooth has a strong reputation for excellence in research and his leadership will be critical to consolidating our strengths, to ensure NUI Maynooth plays a leading international role in a number of thematic areas of research that address the major societal challenges of the 21st century.”

Discussing his new role, Professor Bernard Mahon said: “I am delighted to be taking up this new role. These are exciting and challenging times for research and scholarship in Ireland, and NUI Maynooth has a cohort of world leading researchers well able to respond to the challenges we face. I am very proud of the research infrastructure at NUI Maynooth that has been built up through investment and hard work over many years and I look forward to supporting and developing our various communities in this important university.”

Professor Philip Nolan paid tribute to outgoing Vice President for Research, Professor Ray O’ Neill, who will move to the important new role of Vice President for Innovation, leading the implementation of key elements of the University Strategic Plan 2012-17.

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