Rate My Professor Muireann Irish

Professor Muireann Irish is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in the School of Psychology and Brain and Mind Centre at the University of Sydney, where she serves as Principal Investigator of the Irish Lab. She completed her BA in Psychology, PhD, and Diploma in Statistics at Trinity College Dublin. Previously, she was a Senior Research Fellow at Neuroscience Research Australia and the University of New South Wales. Her research examines cognitive, behavioural, and neuropsychiatric alterations in dementia syndromes, with a focus on frontotemporal dementia, episodic memory, imagination, future thinking, motivation, and anhedonia. Employing cognitive neuroscience, neuropsychiatry, neuroimaging, and artificial intelligence, her work targets early diagnosis, disease mechanisms, and interventions to enhance patient outcomes and quality of life. As Chair of the Sydney Dementia Network, she collaborates on multidisciplinary initiatives, including carer toolkits co-developed with Dementia Support Australia.

Irish holds a National Health and Medical Research Council Leadership Fellowship (L1) and has secured over $2 million in funding from the ARC and NHMRC. She has received prestigious awards, including the Elizabeth Warrington Prize from the British Neuropsychological Society (2019), Gottschalk Medal from the Australian Academy of Science (2020), International Neuropsychological Society Early Career Award (2021), Fellowship of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (2023), ARC Future Fellowship (2016-2020), L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Rising Talent Award (2017), NSW Premier's Prize for Early Career Researcher (2016), and NSW Young Tall Poppy Science Award (2014). Key publications include 'Preservation of episodic memory in semantic dementia: The importance of regions beyond the medial temporal lobes' (Neuropsychologia, 2016) and 'Considering the role of semantic memory in episodic future thinking: evidence from semantic dementia' (Brain, 2012). Her contributions have significantly influenced the understanding and management of dementia, promoting awareness and improved care strategies through public lectures and research dissemination.