Academic biography

Paula Flanagan is an Assistant Professor, General Nursing in the School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health. She is a registered general nurse and holds a BSc (Hons) Health Promotion (University of West London), a Masters in Public Health (University College Dublin) and a PhD from the University of Galway.

Paula has a diverse professional background spanning clinical practice, research and public health. She has led numerous quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods research projects, as well as evidence reviews focused on key public health issues.

Prior to transitioning into academia, she worked at the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, where she contributed to national influenza and COVID-19 surveillance, as well as international tuberculosis contact tracing. She later worked as an Evidence Synthesis Methodologist in the Office of the National Clinical Director for Health Protection, where she was responsible for applying appropriate methodologies in developing rigorous, high quality Health Protection guidelines. 

Her clinical expertise lies in infectious diseases, with nursing experience both in the UK and in Ireland.