Dr Rachel Cahalane

I recently joined the University of Limerick as an Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering. My doctoral research on calcified atherosclerosis received the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland Bronze Medal in 2018 and was shortlisted for the Engineers Ireland Biomedical Research Medal in 2020. After graduating, I secured a postdoctoral position at Erasmus MC, where I worked on optically guided endovascular treatment for large-vessel ischemic stroke. I was then awarded an MSCA fellowship, during which I trained at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, applying histopathological, ultrastructural, and proteomic analyses to bioprosthetic valve degeneration. I spent the return phase at the University of Galway studying inflammatory cell mechanobiology. I founded the Heart Valve Society’s Young Professionals’ Network and I serve on the Women’s Leadership Committee of the International Society for Applied Cardiovascular Biology. An advocate for science communication, I haved engaged in Pint of Science, FameLab, and school outreach across Ireland.