Oonagh Giggins graduated from UCD with a first class honours BSc degree in 2009. She completed an MSc through research in 2010, and completed a PhD evaluating the use of wearable sensors in rehabilitation exercise performance in 2014. Following the completion of her PhD Dr Giggins spent some time working clinically before returning to UCD in 2015 to take up her first post-doctoral role with the Personal Sensing group in Insight.

‘During my time in Insight, I was awarded an SFI Industry Fellowship to undertake a research project with the Digital Solutions team in Novartis. I was seconded to work within their Global Service Centre in Dublin 2016 and completed a project there evaluating the utility and clinical validity of a range of connected health sensors for their use in healthcare and clinical trials.

‘I took up a post-doctoral role in NetwellCASALA in Dundalk Institute of Technology in 2018. NetwellCASALA is a research centre and Living Lab where we design, develop, test and trial digital health and wellbeing solutions with and for older people, for longer and better living in the community. I lead the wearables for Human Performance theme within the centre and have been leading on a number of digital health assignments during my time in NetwellCASALA. Most recently I led on trial evaluating a digital health platform developed to support virtual cardiac rehabilitation. Another project I led on examined the impact of a circadian lighting intervention on nursing home residents. This project was shortlisted for the 2019 Irish Healthcare Centre Awards in the Best Use of Information Technology category. I have been successful in securing funding from the Higher Education Authority and enterprise for postgraduate research projects, and currently I supervise a number of graduate research students and early career researchers within NetwellCASALA

‘My post-doc in Insight provided me with an excellent grounding for my career in academic research. It allowed me to develop independence and focus my research interests. I was afforded opportunities to develop new skills which I now use day-to-day in my current work. My post-doc in Insight also gave me the opportunity to collaborate and then work with a leading industry partner, which has been of huge value in my career to date.’