Páraic Ó Ciaruáin’s PhD will pioneer the use of the Biodesign innovation process in paediatric orthopaedics for the first time in Ireland. His research will directly address the shortage of devices designed specifically for children, aiming to deliver practical, clinically relevant solutions that improve care for young patients with complex musculoskeletal conditions. His research will embed him in national and international paediatric orthopaedic departments. In these hospitals, he will work closely with clinicians, patients, and families to identify an urgent, unmet clinical need in paediatric orthopaedics, an area often overlooked by medical device innovation. Páraic’s PhD is co-supervised by Prof Nowlan and Dr Eoin O’Cearbhaill in close collaboration with our clinical partners at the UCD Centre for Children’s Orthopaedic Research & Innovation and internationally.

Páraic is a graduate of UCD’s Biomedical Engineering Programme. He graduated top of his year group of with a Gold Medal, where his thesis focused on developing a prototype for a novel guided growth device. His experience includes internships with two medical device start-ups and a role as a research assistant in the group on translational biomechanics.