Committee 2023 - 2024

Name Position Institute
Shirin Moghaddam Chair University of Limerick
Davood Roshan Vice-Chair University of Galway
Silvia D’Angelo Secretary Trinity College Dublin
Gabriel Rodriques Palma Website Manager Maynooth University
Kate Finucane Outreach Officer University College Dublin
Amir Jalali Ordinary Member University of Limerick
Fatima-Zahra Jaouimaa Ordinary Member Lillys Pharmacy & Health Store
Jonathan Henderson Ordinary Member Queen’s University Belfast
Autumn O’Donnell Ordinary Member University College Cork
Catherine Higgins Ordinary Member University College Dublin
James Sweeney Ordinary Member University of Limerick

Shirin Moghaddam – Chair

I obtained my PhD in Statistics from National University of Ireland, Galway after I had finished my Bachelor and Master degree in Statistics at the University of Tehran, Iran. Following my PhD, I joined the prostate cancer research group in UCD Conway Institute as a postdoctoral research fellow and worked on accurate grading and staging of prostate cancer. I am currently Lecturer in Statistics & Data Science in University of Limerick. My research interests include Survival analysis, Bayesian approach and Machine learning, in particular, their application in cancer research.


Davood Roshan – Vice-Chair

I am Davood Roshan, a young statistician and lecturer of Statistical Science at University of Galway. My primary research interest is in the longitudinal analysis of clinical biomarkers. In particular, I am interested in developing individualised and dynamic reference ranges for clinical biomarkers that are recorded longitudinally over time. My research domain includes but not limited to medicine, sport, engineering, finance and etc. I also have special interest in translational statistics, data visualisations and data science with a focus on developing predictive tools. See my academic webpage.


Silvia D’Angelo – Secretary

Hi! My name is Silvia and I am a lecturer in the School of Computer Science and Statistics, Trinity College Dublin. My research involves developing novel statistical methodology for various types of multidimensional data. I quite enjoy working on data-related problems and over the years I have had experience with many different types of data, such as social networks, metabolomic or genomic data. Outside of Statistics, I am a hiking and tag rugby enthusiast and enjoy every sort of outdoor activity. See my personal webpage.


Gabriel Rodriques Palma – Website Manager

I graduated with first-class honours BSc in Biological Sciences from the University of São Paulo. Since starting my undergraduate degree, I have participated in several statistics, mathematical modelling, and machine learning projects. Thanks to these opportunities, I love being involved in multidisciplinary projects focusing on ecological and entomological research. I am a PhD researcher in Statistical Ecology at the Hamilton Institute of Maynooth University, funded by Science Foundation Ireland’s Centre for Research Training in Foundations of Data Science programme. My PhD project is “Statistical Modelling and machine learning applied to automating animal monitoring systems”. See my personal webpage.


Kate Finucane – Outreach Officer

I am Kate Finucane, a PhD researcher in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at University College Dublin. My research focuses on missing data imputation techniques using Bayesian methods, with applications to metabolomics. I hold a bachelor’s degree in Physics and Astrophysics from Trinity College Dublin and a master’s degree in Data and Computational Science from University College Dublin. I am also very passionate about scientific communication - I believe the public should be able to learn about the science they are funding! I am currently a producer of the Pint of Science Ireland podcast and have been involved in other podcasts, productions, and events in the past.


Amir Jalali – Ordinary Member

My name is Amir and I am a lecturer in Biostatistics in the School of Medicine at the University of Limerick. I am interested in statistical modelling, clinical decision-making, and transnational statistics. My research focuses on the application of statistical modelling and machine learning in cancer diagnostics and progression, particularly for prostate and breast cancers. I am also passionate about developing tools to facilitate the communication of statistical results to their target audience.


Fatima-Zahra Jaouimaa – Ordinary Member

Hi, I am Fatima Jaouimaa and I’m a PhD student in Statistics at the University of Limerick. I graduated with a BSc in Economics and Mathematical Sciences from the same university. My research area is survival analysis and in particular, I’m looking at multi-parameter regression in this setting.


Jonathan Henderson – Ordinary Member

I am Jonathan Henderson, and I am a PhD student in statistics at Queen’s University Belfast. I graduated in 2020 with an MSci in Mathematics and Statistics & Operational Research. My PhD is based in spatial statistics in particular, using point pattern analysis to examine the loss of retinal ganglion cells in glaucoma.


Catherine Higgins – Ordinary Member

My name is Catherine Higgins and I’m a PhD student in Statistics at University College Dublin, funded by the SFI CRT in Genomics Data Science. I graduated from the University of Galway (formerly NUI Galway) in 2021 with a BSc in Financial Mathematics and Economics. My research area is functional data analysis and my PhD is focused on the development of methods for gene regulatory network construction from high-throughput time course data.


Autumn O’Donnell – Ordinary Member

My name is Autumn O’Donnell and I’m a PhD student in Statistics at University College Cork, funded by the Human Capital Initiative Pillar 1. I graduated from the University College Cork in 2021 with an MSc in Data Science and Analytics and have a BEng in Biomedical Engineering from Cork Institute of Technology (now Munster Technological University). My research area is machine learning for survival analysis and my PhD is focused on the use of machine learning methodologies for incorporating genomic data into survival analysis for prostate cancer prognosis.


Past Executive Committees