Dr Neil Rowan, a lecturer and internationally recognised researcher at Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT), has been appointed as an Adjunct Professor at the School of Medicine in NUI Galway.

Based at AIT’s Department of Nursing and Health Sciences, Professor Rowan has a strong history of collaborative research with leading medics, scientists and engineers at NUI Galway. Professor Rowan has collaborated with researchers in NUI Galway in the areas of anaesthesia and intensive care medicine, water research, food safety microbiology, and bacteriology.

Over his 20-year academic career, Professor Rowan has published some 70 papers in scientific and engineering journals, published five book chapters and delivered over 110 presentations at national and international conferences. He is delivering the keynote opening address at the 100^th anniversary of the International Association of Food Protection Conference in Chicago this August.

He has generated €8.6 million in research funding and holds fellowships of the Institute of Biology, Institutes of Food Science and Technology Ireland and UK. Professor Rowan frequently undertakes scholarly duties with the Food Standards Agency Scotland and the European Food Safety Authority, and is an expert evaluator for the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC).

Professor Rowan, a BSc in microbiology graduate from NUI Galway, said “I am humbled and honoured by this elevation and I very much look forward to facilitating further bridge-building in areas of research and teaching that are deemed of strategic importance to both AIT and NUI Galway.”

The Academic Registrar at AIT, Dr Joseph Ryan, congratulated Professor Rowan on the appointment. “It is well deserved recognition for consistent endeavour that has contributed so much to enhancing the research profile of this Institute and in forging valuable collaboration with NUI Galway and other leading HEIs here and abroad. It also reflects positively on the standing of the Institute and for that, the Professor deserves special appreciation.”

President of NUI Galway, Dr James J. Browne, said “We are very pleased to welcome Dr Rowan as an Adjunct Professor at the School of Medicine. The appointment is in recognition of his outstanding academic track record, his existing deep collaborative links with our School of Medicine which spans both research and teaching, and our desire to create a more formal basis for his future relationships with the School, to which we believe he will bring many further benefits.”

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