Prof. Lorraine O’Driscoll is a Full Professor and Chair of Pharmacology and Biomedicine; the Senior Member of Pharmacology Discipline in TCD; PI at Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute (TBSI); Research Director of the OECI-designated Trinity St James’s Cancer Institute (TSJCI); and Co-Lead of the All-Ireland Cancer Research Institute (AICRI). Lorraine is an elected Fellow of both TCD (FTCD), and of the Royal Society for Biology UK (FRSB), and Vice-President of the Royal Irish Academy (RIA).
Following her PhD in biotechnology, Lorraine undertook biomedical research for industry in the US and Europe. She was instrumental in the early stage development of an EU/international biotechnological company and also gained post-doctoral experience at Harvard University and the University of Miami.
Lorraine has led/is leading several large-scale initiatives, including extracellular vesicles (EVs) in health and disease. For example, she was founding Chair of the first -and largest- funded EV Research Consortium worldwide i.e., the ME-HaD consortium that included 360 academic, clinics, and industry participants in 31 countries; and Director/Coordinator of a €6Mi H2020-funded programme (TRAIN-EV), training 15 PhD students in EVs technologies in academia, industry, and clinics. She is also the Founder and Lead Investigator of the €4Mi All Ireland Cancer Liquid Biopsies (CLuB) Consortium, studying EVs. Translating bench research to utility, she is PI on 5 cancer clinical trials. Honoured as the only female in STEM ever granted an IRC Advanced Laurate Award (€1Mi), other honours including elected Member of the RIA (2011 as the only female in STEM; now RIA Vice-President); 2020: Elected to Fellowship of the Royal Society of Biology; 2019: Eurolife Distinguished Lecture Medal, honoured in Leiden; 2017: Irish Cancer Society Researcher of the Year; 2014: Pfizer Healthcare Gold medal in Pharmacology, Pfizer; 2011: Barcroft Medal, RAMI; 2007: Innovation Award, Invent; 2006: DCU’s Targeted Initiative Research Award; 2004: Albert College Fellowship Award; 1996: Royal College of Physicians Scientific & Medical Award; 1991: Pfizer Young Investigator Award. Lorraine was elected to the Board of Directors of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV), was Chairperson of 2 of ISEVs International Conferences and is an Invited Board Member of the American Society for Extracellular Vesicles.
Lorraine has delivered 25 invited Keynotes Lectures and 237 Invited Talks to academics, clinicians, industry, policymakers, the public, and patients. Her research has been cited >31,000 times. She has supervised 36xPhD students and 5xMD students to completion. To support knowledge generation, Lorraine has secured >€18Mi as PI, €21.5Mi as co-PI; also, co-PI on capital grants >€95Mi.