Cillian de Gascun, MD, MRCPI, FRCPath, is an Irish consultant virologist who has served as Director of the

National Virus Reference Laboratory The National Virus Reference Laboratory (NVRL) is located in UCD, Dublin, Ireland and is affiliated to the University College Dublin School of Medicine. The NVRL provides a diagnostic and reference service for clinicians in Ireland investigati ...

in UCD since 2013. He previously served as the Chair of the NPHET Coronavirus Expert Advisory Group from 5 February 2020 to February 2022.

Medical career

De Gascun graduated with a BA MB BCh BAO from

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

in 1998. While completing

senior registrar :''This article primarily explains the Senior Registrar doctor grade within the United Kingdom until 1996'' A Senior Registrar was a grade of doctor in the United Kingdom or Ireland before being superseded during reforms in the 1990s. The senior ...

training in

clinical microbiology Medical microbiology, the large subset of microbiology that is applied to medicine, is a branch of medical science concerned with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases. In addition, this field of science studies various ...

and

virology Virology is the scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host cells for reproduction, th ...

at the

, he completed an MD at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

and was made a fellow of the

Royal College of Pathologists The Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) is a professional membership organisation. Its main function is the overseeing of postgraduate training, and its Fellowship Examination (FRCPath) is recognised as the standard assessment of fitness to pr ...

. De Gascun spent two years as a consultant virologist with Surrey Pathology Services in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

before he was appointed Laboratory Director of the

in UCD in 2013. From 5 February 2020 to February 2022, de Gascun chaired the Coronavirus Expert Advisory Group, a subgroup of the

National Public Health Emergency Team A National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) is a group within Ireland's Department of Health (Ireland), Department of Health. It is in the power of the Minister for Health (Ireland), Minister for Health to convene such a group when a publi ...

(NPHET), that monitored national research and developments in relation to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, and provided expert advice to Nphet and the

Health Service Executive The Health Service Executive (HSE) ( ga, Feidhmeannacht na Seirbhíse Sláinte) is the publicly funded healthcare system in Ireland, responsible for the provision of health and personal social services. It came into operation on 1 January 2005 ...

(HSE) in relation the pandemic in Ireland. In April 2022, he was named to the COVID Advisory Group, which replaced NPHET.

References

Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Irish virologists Irish medical doctors Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of University College Dublin Irish pathologists Irish public health doctors {{Ireland-med-bio-stub