2026-2027 Programme Participants
Obesity and Gastric Surgery Team
Ronan Benson
Dip., BSc (Hons), MSc
ronan.benson
bioinnovate.ie
Ronan Benson holds an MSc in Medical Device Design from NCAD, Trinity College Dublin, and University College Dublin, and a first-class honours degree in Industrial Design from Sligo IT, where he was awarded the Governing Body Medal. He has over 15 years’ experience in the design and development of medical devices across a broad range of clinical areas.
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Kerri Cooper
MB, BCh, BOA (Hons), BSc, MSc
kerri.cooperbioinnovate.ie
Kerri is a surgical registrar and healthcare design innovator working at the intersection of clinical practice, medical device design, and emerging manufacturing technologies. She studied Medicine at Trinity College Dublin, intercalating with a degree in Healthcare Management at Imperial College London. She has spent recent years working in plastic surgery in London, gaining hands-on experience of the clinical and technical demands surgical devices must meet in practice.
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Sahar Avazzadeh
BSc, MSc, PhD
sahar.avazzadehbioinnovate.ie
Sahar Avazzadeh is a research scientist and innovation leader with a PhD in Stem Cell Neuroscience and over a decade of experience across academic research, translational R&D and healthcare innovation. Her career has spanned neuroscience, cardiac electrophysiology, drug development and medical technology, with a strong focus on translating scientific discoveries into solutions that can make a meaningful difference for patients. Sahar worked across academia and industry, leading multidisciplinary R&D programmes and supporting technologies from early proof of concept through preclinical development, IP generation, regulatory planning and preparation for first-in-human studies.
READ MORENeurology & Neuro Interventional Radiology Team
Eddie Kavanagh
CMfgE, AEng AMIEI, MSc
eddie.kavanaghbioinnovate.ie
Eddie Kavanagh holds a Master’s in Bioengineering and has built his career at the intersection of product development, manufacturing strategy, and scalable innovation. Most recently, he worked within DePuy Synthes, Johnson & Johnson MedTech, defining and executing manufacturing technology strategy aligned to long term business growth. Eddie began his engineering journey through a fitting apprenticeship, followed by early roles with C-CAD Computing and Pace Technologies, and lecturing in CIT. He joined J&J in 2002 as a Tool Designer, building core capability in CAD/CAM processes, GD&T training, and close integration with R&D.
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Olivia Wynne
BE (Hons), PgCert, PgDip, MBA
olivia.wynnebioinnovate.ie
Olivia Wynne is an engineering leader with two decades of experience in the automotive industry, including over a decade in leadership roles, specialising in software and systems development within regulated, safety-critical environments. She spent her career working on advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), most recently in a senior leadership role where she led cross-functional teams across global programmes delivering complex, integrated vehicle features spanning software, systems, and safety domains. Throughout her career, Olivia has operated at the intersection of technical delivery and organisational leadership, working across global teams to align competing priorities and drive system-level outcomes.
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Iana Staroverova
iana.staroverovabioinnovate.ie
Iana Staroverova is a psychophysiologist and data analyst. She was born in 1993 in Russia and graduated from Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Psychology, Department of Psychophysiology. After graduation, she worked for four years in the Department of Neurophysiology and Psychosomatics at a private medical clinic, where she specialized in electroencephalography (EEG) and biofeedback (BFB) therapy. In 2017, she founded a startup in the field of post-stroke rehabilitation. The project focused on developing a device for restoring hand mobility using electrical muscle stimulation combined with gamified biofeedback.
READ MOREUroGynaecology Team
Elva Arulchelvan
BComm, HDip, PgCert, PhD
elva.arulchelvanbioinnovate.ie
Elva Arulchelvan recently completed a PhD in Psychology & Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin, where she led a clinical study investigating the effects of non-invasive electrical brain stimulation on memory in individuals with subjective memory decline & mild cognitive impairment. Her doctoral research, supported by the Alzheimer's Association, focused on understanding the mechanisms of forgetting & exploring approaches to improve memory. Her work has resulted in several first-author publications in leading neuroscience journals & invited presentations at international research institutions, including the Karolinska Institute. Before returning to academia, Elva worked in project management, technology, & commercial roles at companies including HubSpot, Deliveroo, & Wufu Investments.
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Harriet O'Boyle
BSc, PgDip
harriet.oboylebioinnovate.ie
Harriet O’Boyle is a clinical-commercial leader with over 16 years at the intersection of frontline patient care and medical device commercialisation. She spent eight years as a Critical Care and Cardiac Catheterisation Nurse across Ireland and the UK, navigating the pressures of high-acuity environments where device limitations, workflow inefficiencies, and unmet clinical needs are felt most acutely. Harriet transitioned into MedTech commercialisation seven years ago first as a Clinical Specialist and then as an Account Manger. Here she led national account strategies for a global medical device manufacturer, managing complex portfolios across public and private hospital groups.
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Jenny Kirwin
BSc, HDip, PG Cert, Dip
jkirwanbioinnovate.ie
Jenny Kirwan is a Speech and Language Therapist with over 16 years of clinical experience both internationally and across Ireland. Currently working at University Hospital Galway, Jenny brings deep frontline expertise and a proven passion for healthcare innovation to the BioInnovate programme. Jenny spent ten years at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in Dublin, progressing to Clinical Specialist Speech and Language Therapist in the area of Frailty. Alongside her clinical role, Jenny joined the Mater Transformation team, where she applied design thinking, lean principles, and human-centred design methodologies to drive meaningful change in healthcare delivery, which speaks directly to the BioInnovate ethos of needs-led medical device innovation.
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Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore is a MedTech professional with nearly twenty years of experience across the full medical device development lifecycle. As a Staff Engineer at ICS Medical, he has led technical development for a range of early-stage startup projects — taking complex devices from initial concept through to commercial manufacturability. Thomas built his career from the ground up, starting as a Product Builder at Creganna Medical in 2006. Over the years he became a go-to expert in catheter design and advanced manufacturing processes such as braiding, coiling, and welding.
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Cormac Smith
BEng, MSc
cormac.smithbioinnovate.ie
Cormac is an accomplished technical and innovative engineer, with 20 years’ experience across numerous engineering roles in the Medical Device Industry in Galway. He holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from University College Dublin and a Master of Science in Polymer and Process Engineering from Queen’s University Belfast. He has developed strong technical expertise in medical device design, process development, and manufacturing through his experience in the medtech industry. His role prior to joining the Bioinnovate Programme was as a Research & Development Engineer with Merit Medical Ireland, where he led teams in the design and development of advanced guidewire products.
READ MOREBioInnovate is supported under the Innovators’ Initiative Programme Co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the Northern and Western Regional Programme 2021-2027. Learn more.
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