November Chief Information Officer of the World Health Organisation to Deliver Keynote Address at NUI Galway MedTech Forum

Chief Information Officer and Digital Health Director of the World Health Organisation, Mr Bernardo Mariano Jr, will deliver the keynote address at the annual NUI Galway MedTech Forum. Focusing on the theme of ‘Campus Innovations for COVID-19 Global Solutions’, the Forum will take place virtually on Monday, 23 November, from 9am-1pm.  

This year the NUI Galway MedTech Forum will focus on COVID-19 innovations and larger University led initiatives that occurred on campus. Topics and speakers during the Forum include: 

• Digital Contact Tracing - Dr Jane Walsh, School of Psychology
• COVID-19 Data Science - Dr Andrew Simpkin, School of Mathematics, Statistics and Applied Mathematics
• Patient Ventilation - Dr Bairbre McNicholas, School of Medicine
• 3D Printing MedTech - Dr Ted Vaughan, Biomedical Engineering and CÚRAM
• Keep Breathing - Emily Wallace and Aaron Hannon, students with the School of Medicine
• The INSPIRE Project - Tim Jones, CÚRAM

Professor Derek O’Keeffe, Professor of Medical Device Technology NUI Galway, Consultant Physician at University Hospital Galway, and event organiser, said: “We are delighted to welcome Bernardo Mariano Jr to speak at our MedTech Forum this year as he is a global key opinion leader in digital health transformation. The annual MedTech Forum highlights the amazing innovators that we have on campus and the fantastic cross discipline research collaborations that result in novel solutions for patient care. This year the focus is specifically on the great work that we have done on COVID-19 MedTech innovations that have impacted locally, nationally and internationally.”

Professor Tim O’Brien, Dean of the College of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, NUI Galway and Consultant Physician in Endocrinology and Metabolism, Saolta University Healthcare Group, said: “The annual NUI Galway MedTech Forum highlights the rich medical/ science/ engineering ecosystem that we have in Galway and the depth of talent that is present both on campus, in our hospitals and in our industry partners. This year’s excellent programme highlights the result of harnessing this network of excellence to create novel solutions when COVID-19 brought so many problems. One of the key clinical transformations that occurred during the pandemic was the adoption of digital technologies to deliver care and our keynote speaker Bernardo Mariano Jr, will discuss this phenomenon and subsequent health opportunities from a unique global perspective.”

Bernardo Mariano Jr commented: “I am looking forward to speaking at the Fourm where I will discuss how at the World Health Organisation we promote collaboration to accelerate the digital transformation of the healthcare sector by building a trusted and ethical Digital Health ecosystem.”

The NUI Galway MedTech Forum is a free event and open to the public. For more information and to register visit: https://bit.ly/3lB8lbS or www.nuigalway.ie/physicianeerdegree

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