School of Population Health

Report by Professor Edward Gregg, Head of School of Population Health

RCSI’s School of Population Health works to tackle global population health challenges through research, education and collaboration.

The School continues to consolidate and progress its growth and impact. This has been underpinned by pioneering science and education led by our multidisciplinary team.

Launch of MSc in Population Health Leadership

The first cohort commenced the MSc in Population Health Leadership in September 2024. Responding to the need for more applied, outcomes-focused population health education and training, the MSc and associated postgraduate awards equip learners with the ability to leverage critical understanding and decision-making to influence policy, systems and practices for positive population health outcomes. This new programme filled an important gap, with the School now delivering population health education at Undergraduate, Master’s and Doctoral levels.

Strengthening of research activity

Researchers across the School secured €5.1m in new funding, published 302 peer-reviewed papers and secured a patent, representing a 21% increase in external research funding on the previous year. Between 2020 and 2025, more than half (52%) of our publications involved international collaborators, one-third were published in top 10% journals, and the field-weighted citation impact was 2.39.

We also welcomed 26 postdoctoral fellows and research staff, and six doctoral scholars. Internal initiatives to strengthen research culture and infrastructure include a monthly seminar series, journal club, proposals club and research committee.

Launch of Women’s Health Research Network

In March 2025, we launched the Women’s Health Research Network to promote and advance women’s health research in Ireland. A launch conference brought together researchers, healthcare professionals, policymakers and patient advocates to discuss priorities and collaboration opportunities.

Delivery of knowledge broker programme

The School delivered an extensive programme of conferences, webinars, seminars and other knowledge exchange events. Conferences included the National Healthcare Outcomes Conference, Pathways to Achieving Medication without Harm, Ageing Medicine and Advancing Women’s Health Research in Ireland. These were complemented by a programme of webinars and a public engagement campaign through our newsletter and social media.

Implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals

A new online CPD course in Sustainable Healthcare was developed to help health professionals reduce the environmental impact of healthcare in practice. Available globally and free of charge, this programme was one of the initiatives by the School to advance the SDGs, which also included a workshop on research communication.