About us

We bring together evidence synthesis expertise to strengthen Ireland's health security.

The Evidence Synthesis Hub for Health Security Ireland (the Evidence Hub) is hosted by Evidence Synthesis Ireland at the University of Galway, funded by the Health Research Board on behalf of the Department of Health, and operates under the office of Ireland's Chief Medical Officer.

Where the Hub came from

The Hub grew out of Ireland's research response to COVID-19. That experience showed the value of having people and systems ready to bring evidence together before a crisis, rather than assembling them during one. Establishing an evidence synthesis hub to support preparedness was a recommendation of the Report of the Emerging Health Threats Function Expert Steering Group (opens in a new tab) in October 2024.

Our values

We aim to provide evidence syntheses that are:

  • Useful: we focus on evidence that decision-makers can use.
  • Timely: we work at the pace the decision requires, while being clear about what can and cannot be answered.
  • Transparent: we explain our methods, sources, assumptions and limitations.
  • Collaborative: we work through a national and international network.
  • Inclusive: we consider public, patient, community, equity and implementation perspectives.

The Hub works in three layers: a core team based in Galway, a network of organisations that contribute evidence synthesis capacity and expertise, and the partners that host, fund and commission the Hub's work.

Core team

The people who run the Hub day to day.

Professor Declan DevaneProfessor Declan DevaneScientific Lead and Principal Investigator
Dr Lieve VanleeuwDr Lieve VanleeuwHub Operations and Commissioning Manager
Dr Paula ByrneDr Paula ByrneSenior Research Fellow and Evidence Synthesis Methodologist
Johanna PopeJohanna PopeResearch Associate
Dr Dominika BhatiaDr Dominika BhatiaResearch Fellow and Evidence Synthesis Methodologist

Associated members

Colleagues based in Evidence Synthesis Ireland who contribute expertise to the Hub's work.

Dr KM Saif-Ur-RahmanDr KM Saif-Ur-RahmanEvidence Synthesis Methods Lead
Dr Barbara WhelanDr Barbara WhelanSenior Research Fellow and Evidence-to-Policy Lead

Short biographies will be added shortly.

Our network

The Evidence Hub works through a hub-and-spoke model: a central team coordinating a network of organisations that contribute specialist evidence synthesis capacity and topic expertise, each with a named lead. The network is flexible and grows over time.

Network organisation to be confirmedNamed lead to be confirmed
Network organisation to be confirmedNamed lead to be confirmed

Network organisations and their named leads will be listed here as they are confirmed.

Our partners

The Evidence Hub is independent in how it produces evidence, and works in partnership with the organisations that host, fund, commission and support it.

Department of Health (opens in a new tab)Commissions the Hub's work through its Health Security Unit and the office of the Chief Medical Officer.
Health Research Board (opens in a new tab)Funds the Hub on behalf of the Department of Health and manages the award.
Evidence Synthesis Ireland (opens in a new tab)Hosts the Hub and brings national evidence synthesis expertise and training.
University of Galway (opens in a new tab)Home institution of Evidence Synthesis Ireland and the Hub.
Cochrane Ireland (opens in a new tab)Part of the global Cochrane network for trusted evidence synthesis, based alongside the Hub in Galway.
Ireland GRADE Network (opens in a new tab)Building skills across Ireland in GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation), the standard way of judging how much confidence to place in evidence.

Key terms

Health security

Health security means being ready to prevent, detect and respond to threats that could harm health at population level, covering every type of hazard, and recognising that human, animal and environmental health are connected (a One Health approach). These threats include infectious disease, antimicrobial resistance, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents, and environmental and climate-related risks. It is not only about emergencies. It is also about preparedness, building the systems, skills and relationships needed before a crisis happens.

Evidence synthesis

Evidence synthesis is a structured way of bringing research together. Instead of relying on a single study, it looks across the available evidence and explains what is known, what is uncertain, and where the gaps are. It includes systematic reviews, rapid reviews, living evidence summaries, qualitative evidence syntheses, evidence briefs, economic evidence and evidence on implementation.