Biography

Muireann Irish is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow and Associate Professor of Psychology at the Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney. Originally from Ireland, Muireann completed a Bachelor degree in Psychology at Trinity College Dublin, then a PhD in Cognitive Neuropsychology before relocating to Australia in 2010. Since then, Muireann has produced >100 publications and has received over $2.5million in competitive funding from such sources as the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council, The Brain Foundation, and Dementia Australia. Muireann's research focus is the cognitive neuroscience of memory. She has always been interested in how we remember the past, however, it was her grandmother's experience of Alzheimer's disease which prompted her to specialise in exploring memory changes in dementia. Ultimately, she hopes her research will inform the development of new interventions to improve quality of life and wellbeing in dementia. The quality of Muireann's work has led to her being awarded a number of prestigious awards including a 2015 L'Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science award, the 2016 NSW Premier's Prize, Early Career Researcher of the Year; 2017 L'Oreal-UNESCO International Rising Talent Award. She is committed to the promotion and retention of women in science and, in 2017 was named as one of 30 'Superstars of STEM' to provide positive role models to young girls to pursue a career in science.

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