Louise Walsh

Specialist Medical Scientist

NHISSOT

Biography

Presentation Title: The Role of the Specialist Medical Scientist  at NHISSOT and Future Directions

Abstract: 

NHISSOT at Beaumont Hospital is a national service which provides HLA typing, pre- and post-transplant HLA antibody screening and donor crossmatching to support solid organ transplantation in the Republic of Ireland. Continuing expansion of transplant programmes, increasingly complex transplant populations, and growing service demands has created a need and demand for enhanced and advanced practice which has led to the creation of three new Specialist Medical Scientist roles. The Specialist Medical Scientists are dedicated to three core lab areas, Molecular, Antibody Screening and Crossmatching with focus on improving and enhancing service provisions and assessing and implementing projects for the benefit of key transplant cohorts pre- and post-transplant, meeting the needs of transplant units, and ensuring excellent patient outcomes.

Speaker Bio:

I obtained my BSc(Hons) in Biomedical Science from UCC in 2010. I completed my training in University Hospital Waterford and spent two years working in the Histology Department before moving to NHISSOT at Beaumont Hospital in September of 2013. I obtained my Masters from University of Ulster in 2016. My project was focused on outcomes in lung transplant recipients. I became a Senior in 2017 with special responsibilities in the Tissue Establishment at NHISSOT. I was appointed to the role of Specialist Medical Scientist at the beginning of 2023.