Professor Tara Moore BSc (First Class Hons), Ph.D, NTF, FHEA, FFFLM (Hon), FRSA, FRSB, FRSM
Tara Moore, Professor of Personalised Medicine, holds a chair at Ulster University in Northern Ireland and is Chief of Research and Innovation at Avellino USA.
Subsequent to her return home to Northern Ireland from Research fellowship training in Harvard Medical School, Tara has undertaken research sabbaticals in Mount Sinai Hospital New York, Dundee Wellcome Trust Laboratories and The Stem Cell Institute in University of Modena and Reggio. As a result of intensive training to obtain skills and expertise Tara has a wealth of experience of working in Universities and industrial laboratories focusing on development of partner diagnostics and treatment for genetic eye disease. During the last decade her research team have developed an extensive portfolio of pre-clinical data on gene silencing using siRNA and CRISPR Cas9 gene editing for corneal dystrophies. Tara’s research team concentrates on genetic eye disease and her work is disseminated worldwide through her contribution to over 150 conference presentations, guest lectures and workshops and internationally co-authored peer reviewed publications. Tara has contributed to numerous text books and authored over 150 peer reviewed publications in high impact peer reviewed journals reflecting internationally competitive research of high quality – over 4500 citations, generating an h-index of 34 and i10-index of 74.
During the pandemic due to her research background in virology and immunology, Tara has taken the lead on numerous clinical evaluations and user experience studies of point of care SARs CoV-2 viral antigen rapid tests and antibody assays to allow them to reach the market.
She is a Fellow of Royal Society of Biology, UK, Royal Society of Arts, UK, Royal Society of Medicine, UK and Honorary Fellow of Royal College of Physicians (London) FRCP, FFLM. She is also expert reviewer for numerous peer reviewed journals and editor/academic editor for a number of the top peer reviewed journals. She is an expert reviewer for Athena Swan, the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme for HEA and numerous funding bodies including MRC and Wellcome Trust. Tara represents Northern Ireland on the UKRI Strengths in Places panel for the distribution of research and innovation funding to support significant regional growth.
The research laboratory Tara leads excels in training research students with students gaining the University’s John Scott Convocation Award for best Post Graduate student, for three consecutive PhD graduations. Her PhD student was also awarded thesis of the year award and destination of employment of staff and students trained in Tara’s laboratory spans Harvard Medical School, Duke University and many other prestigious research laboratories worldwide. Her contribution to health has been recognised by the prestigious WISE Award and the Winston Churchill Fellowship and she was nominated and voted as a double awardee for the Ophthalmologist’s Power List 2019 categories of Emerging Leaders and Inventors and in 2020 received the THE Research supervisor of the year award alongside The Royal Irish Academy and American Chambers of Commerce US-Ireland Research Innovation Award.
Tara’s commitment to education is equal to that of her passion for advancing medical research- she is fellow of Higher Education Academy, a National Teaching Fellow and was awarded a Rising Star award for her innovative teaching as a junior lecturer; she has spearheaded the development of courses in medical education: Tara developed the first ever university training programme for Physician Associate profession for Northern Ireland. Integrating it successfully into both primary and secondary care and obtained millions of pounds worth of funding from the Department of Health, Northern Ireland to ensure sustainable ability. Graduated PAs have now taken up post in Northern Ireland across all the Health and Social Care Trusts. Tara is also founder of the only Royal College of Ophthalmologists endorsed and co-badged Post graduate Diploma in Cataract and Refractive Surgery. This course has now ensured many hundreds of eye surgeons worldwide are educated to the highest of standards in preparation for both laser and lens extraction eye surgery. Tara also founded the first online training programme for Forensic Medical Officers involved at the front line of child sexual abuse. The long-standing success of this educational initiative resulted in nomination and election of Tara to Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine Royal College of Physicians (RCP) – the highest accolade this organisation can bestow on an individual.
Outside work Tara is mother to seven children, six daughters and one son and her hobbies include polo, at which she claims to be a very mediocre player when compared to her daughters, whom she plays alongside.
https://theophthalmologist.com/power-list/2019
https://www.ulster.ac.uk/staff/tara-mcmullen
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