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Appointments to the Health Products Regulatory Authority
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
Dr Paula Kilbane
Dr Paula Kilbane CBE FRCP FFPHM trained in London in public health medicine and subsequently held consultant posts there prior to returning to Northern Ireland in 1986. Following a post of Director of Public Health, she became a CEO in two of the Health Boards in Northern Ireland from 1993 to 2009.
Following relocation to Dublin in 2012, she served on a number of Boards in the public, not-for-profit, and private sectors. She is currently a member of the Board of HIQA (second term) where she has chaired the Regulatory Committee, and CES - The Centre for Effective Services.
She has served on a number of all-island bodies and in other sectors, including European funding and higher education.
Her professional interests include regulation, risk assessment, quality and patient safety, health information systems and health technology and strategic redesign of services.
A graduate of QUB, she is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians UK and a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health (UK and Ireland). She was awarded the CBE in 2003 for services to health in Northern Ireland.
Dr Kilbane is appointed from 28th June 2021 to 31st December 2025.
Dr Sharon O’Kane
Sharon is an experienced Non-executive and Executive Board member with deep technology, innovation and governance expertise in the private, public and university sectors. She is a scientific and technical business leader within the international Medical Device and Pharmaceutical sectors, with experience spanning start-up company foundation through publicly listed global corporations.
Sharon is an R&D scientist who has been a Company Director for over 23 years, with experience of both private and public biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Sharon is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director of the global medical device company LivaNova plc (LIVN: Nasdaq), where she is Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee.
Sharon is a Visiting Professor at the University of Ulster, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, and Entrepreneur in Residence at University College Dublin (UCD). Previously Sharon was the Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Manchester, a Non-Executive Director of the Manchester Inward Development Agency, and a founding member of the Manchester Business Leadership Council. Sharon is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors USA, Institute of Directors (IoD) Ireland, IoD UK, and Women on Boards.
Sharon has a Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors and has had Corporate Governance training at Harvard Business School. She earned a BSc (1st Class Honours) in Biomedical Sciences, a Diploma in Industrial Studies and a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Ulster. Sharon has received a number of academic and patent publications, prizes and awards.
Dr O’Kane is appointed from 15th July 2021 to 31st December 2025.