Board of Governors
Professor Laura Viani is President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland from June 2022.
She is Consultant Otolaryngologist and Neuro-Otologist to Beaumont Hospital and Temple Street University Children’s Hospital.
A graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, she pursued her Otolaryngology training in Dublin, Manchester and Liverpool and was appointed as Consultant to Beaumont Hospital in 1993.
She undertook Fellowships in skull base surgery in Cambridge, UK and in neuro-otology in Zurich, Switzerland before returning to Ireland in 1995 to perform Ireland’s first cochlear implant. She established the Republic of Ireland’s first and only cochlear implant program in 1995, which has grown to become the National Hearing Implant and Research Centre.
Her commitment to research, teaching and service is recognized through the numerous awards including the RAMI Registrar Prize (1986), Research Fellowship of the RCSI (1986), Augustine Mehigan Scholarship (1992), TWJ Scholarship 1993, Angel James Prize London (2000), the Graves Lecturer (2012), The Philip Stell Award (2019) and Outstanding Teaching Award from Bahrain and Middle East Otolaryngology (2019).
She was awarded the Inaugural CPL Global World Class Talent Award (2019). She presented The Joseph Toynbee Lecture at the Royal Society of Medicine London (2021). She has been a visiting Professor in the Cochlear Institutes of Sydney, Melbourne and Bahrain and she has been advisor on cochlear implantation to training centers worldwide.
Professor Viani was awarded the “Outstanding Contribution to Irish Medicine” award from Irish Healthcare Awards for her work and career, particularly for introducing cochlear implants into use in Ireland.
Professor Deborah McNamara is a Consultant General & Colorectal Surgeon at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin; Clinical Professor in Surgery at the RCSI University of Medicine and Heath Sciences; Co-Lead of the National Clinical Programme for Surgery and Vice President at RCSI.
She qualified from Trinity College Dublin and completed surgical training in Ireland and France, specializing in colorectal cancer surgery. She was Programme Director of the National Higher Surgical Training Programme in General Surgery (2010-2013) and Clinical Director for Surgery at Beaumont Hospital (2014-2017).
Her work as Chair of the Colorectal Cancer Guidelines and Clinical Leads groups of the Irish National Cancer Control Programme (2011-2024) lead to the publication of the first National Clinical Guidelines for colon and rectal cancer, endorsed by the Minister for Health as national policy in 2020. She served as Co-Lead of the National Clinical Programme for Surgery (2017-2024), leading large-scale healthcare improvement programmes in areas such as operating theatre efficiency, surgical care pathways and models of care for surgical specialties.
She has received a number of national and international distinctions including the Patey Prize, the AWS Olga Jonasson Award, the Millin Lecture and Honorary Fellowship of the American College of Surgeons.
Professor Cathal J. Kelly, M.B., B.Ch., B.A.O., L.R.C.S.I.&P.I., B.Sc., M.Ch., F.R.C.S.I. (Gen.) EMBA. C.D. F.R.C.P.S(Glasgow Hon.).
Professor Cathal Kelly is Vice Chancellor & CEO / Registrar of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, University of Medicine & Health Sciences, since December 2009, providing strategic leadership to RCSI and management of the senior executive team.
A Graduate and Fellow of RCSI, Professor Kelly previously held the post of Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences from 2006 to 2009.
Prior to his appointment as Chief Executive/Registrar, Cathal was a Consultant General and Vascular Surgeon, with a special interest in endovascular surgery, in Beaumont Hospital.
He combined this role with the chairmanship of the surgical division and an academic position in RCSI as Vice Dean for curriculum change. In addition to completing his basic and higher surgical training in Dublin, Professor Kelly pursued a Research Fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA.
In 2005, Professor Kelly was awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Medical Education at Queen’s University Belfast. In 2009 he was conferred with a Master of Business Administration Degree by Institutio de Empressa of Madrid. In 2015, he undertook the Senior Leadership Programme at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
In 2016, Professor Kelly was awarded Chartered Director status, having completed the IoD Chartered Director course, in Dublin, and passed the Certificate and Diploma examinations with distinctions.
Professor Kelly was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow in September 2023.
Professor Hannah McGee is Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at RCSI.
As RCSI’s chief academic officer, she is responsible for degree awarding activities in RCSI campuses from Dublin to Bahrain, Dubai, Malaysia and an upcoming partnership in China (Soochow). Her focus is ensuring delivery of quality international medical and health sciences curricula.
A graduate of Trinity College Dublin (BA (Mod); PhD), she was awarded a Doctor of Science (DSc) for published research by the National University of Ireland (NUI). A health psychologist, she has over 230 peer-reviewed publications focused on quality of life assessment, and population health aspects of ageing, cardiovascular disease and sexual health.
Among scholarly leadership roles, she has been president of the European Health Psychology Society and Chair of the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation Committee on Rehabilitation. She chaired the Ministerial Committee to develop the Irish Cardiovascular Health Policy – “Changing Cardiovascular Health. National Policy 2010-2019” and in 2020 was appointed by the Minister for Health as deputy chair of the National Research Ethics Committee for COVID-19 Research.
In May 2022, Professor McGee was admitted as a Member of the Royal Irish Academy (MRIA). The RIA is Ireland’s most prestigious academic body and election to its cohort of members is the highest academic accolade in the country.
Professor K. Simon Cross is Honorary Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery and recently retired from clinical practice. He continues to provide educational support to the RCSI Undergraduate School of Medicine at University Hospital Waterford. He is currently advising the HSE through its Incident Management Framework.
Professor Cross graduated from The Medical School of Trinity College Dublin in 1981. He trained as a Vascular & General Surgeon in Galway, Duke University, North Carolina USA, Guy’s Hospital Rotation (London) and Dublin. He was appointed to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary as Consultant Vascular & Kidney Transplant Surgeon in 1995. In 2001, he was appointed to University Hospital (UHW) as Consultant General Surgeon with a special interest in Vascular Surgery and established the Vascular Unit at UHW.
He became Senior Lecturer in RCSI in 2004 and was appointed as Honorary Associate Clinical Professor of Surgery in 2012. He was Convenor for the Waterford Surgical October Meeting for 14 years. He was elected to the Council of RCSI in 2014 and has been Chairperson of the following committees: Governance Committee, Postgraduate Practice & Development Committee, Court of Examiners Executive Committee and is now Chairperson of the Academic Council.
Brigadier (Prof) Fahad Khalifa Al-Khalifa is the Commander and Chief of Medical Staff of the Royal Medical Services - Bahrain Defence Force. Professor Fahad Al Khalifa is also the Head of the COVID Intensive Care units under the National Taskforce, the Chairman of Bahrain’s overseas treatment committee, the Chairman of the AO Foundation for Bahrain, and an Professor at RCSI Medical University of Bahrain.
Professor Fahad Al Khalifa (MB.BCh.BAO, LRCP&SI, FRCS Ortho (Canada), MSc Health Care) is a highly experienced surgeon specialised in sports and complex trauma, upper and lower extremity surgery, joint arthroplasty, degenerative joint disease and deformity correction.
Dr Shaikha May is the Founder and Executive Chairperson of the Board of Directors at Bahrain Bayan School. Dr May has been holding several leading positions across various sectors, including Vice Chairman of the Bahrain Institute for Political Development for three consecutive terms, Chairperson of a Business Incubator for Bahraini Artisanat and the Chief Executive Officer of Mayasem Communications W.L.L.
She has received numerous awards and recognition for her efforts, including the Efficiency Award in 2011 from His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and recently the Arab Women of the Year Award 2023 for her contributions to the advancement of education.
The chairman of Bahrain's Social Insurance Organisation, Mahmood H. Alkoohej has a background firmly rooted in engineering and business management, having led a wide range of government companies in the Kingdom of Bahrain, spanning the aviation, Industrial and investment sectors. He was the Chief Executive Officer of the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat, from 2012 until 2019. There, his leadership sparked the fund’s transformation into a profitable organisation as he oversaw the growth and diversification of its portfolio with strategic acquisitions in the Middle East, Europe and the USA. As the Chairman of Alba (Aluminum Bahrain) between 2008 and 2014, he spearheaded the company restructuring and the successful listing of 10% of its shares on both the London and Bahrain stock exchanges. Similarly, as the Chairman of Gulf Air between 2007 and 2008, he launched the airline’s single-ownership restructuring programme.
His History within the Ministry of Finance is noteworthy as he administered the privatisation of key public assets in his years as the Director of Government Shareholding, developing the national privatisation policy. In recognition of his public service to the Kingdom, AlKooheji is the recipient of a number of honours. Most notably, he was awarded the Order of Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, 4th class in 2000 and the Order of Achievement. 1st class by HM King decoration in France and the first Bahraini recipient of the Order of Friendship of the Russian Federation, he also served on the boards of important industrial and commercial companies in addition to the McLaren Group and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) in Bahrain. AlKooheji holds a BEng in Mechanical Engineering from Staffordshire University and an MBA from Henley College of Management, Brunei University.
Professor Otoom is a Physician and Clinical Pharmacologist.
He then undertook an MS and a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Houston-USA, and a Certificate in Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics from the University of Glasgow in UK.
He has a Certificate in Leadership from the Irish Management Institute-Ireland. He has held various senior academic roles, currently he is President of Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI)-Bahrain.
Prof Otoom had several Fixed Term Consultancies with WHO projects in Syria, Jordan, Oman, UAE, Kenya, Iran and Sudan. He is an advisor to several Education and Health Councils in the region and has wide experience in managing higher education and internationalization.
He serves on different strategic boards locally and internationally. His main research interest lies in clinical and experimental epilepsy, the rational use of drugs and medical education.
Prof Otoom received the award of Outstanding Education Leaders in the GCC from the Asian Confederation of Businesses and CMO Asia and is a recipient of the Prince Salman bin Hamad Medal for Medical Merit.
He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine in London where his name is inscribed on its Wall of Honour, marking his contribution in transnational medical education.
Mr Stephen Harrison-Mirfield serves as the Managing Director of RCSI Bahrain, a role he stepped into in 2022 after contributing as the Chief Operating Officer since 2013. In these positions, Stephen has quietly but effectively guided the University's evolution, merging innovative educational approaches with solid business strategies.
Before joining RCSI Bahrain, Stephen honed his operational efficiency and strategy implementation skills at KPMG Global consultancy. His time there was marked by a deep commitment to organisational improvement and team collaboration, delivering fit-for-purpose business improvement projects in both the private and government sectors.
Stephen's career started in the Human Resources field, becoming a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (FCIPD) in 2011. Around the same time, he diversified his career into a broader commercial management role. He continued his professional development with a post-graduate diploma in organisational leadership from the University of Oxford in 2018 and is currently studying for a doctorate in management focusing on international leadership and transnational education.
At RCSI Bahrain, Stephen's approach has always been team-oriented and inclusive. His leadership style fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement, which has led to significant advancements in the University's operations and educational offerings. While he plays a key role in strategy development and execution, he credits the collective effort of his team for the University's successes.
Dedicated to the growth of the institution and its community, Stephen's influence extends beyond operational management. He is known for his thoughtful approach to leadership and his dedication to the betterment of the University and its stakeholders. Stephen's journey reflects a blend of quiet determination, collaborative spirit, and a consistent focus on sustainable growth and excellence.
Stephen was honoured to receive the prestigious Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa Medal for Medical Merit in 2023 in recognition of his work throughout the pandemic in ensuring that the university continued its operations and contributed to the national effort in Bahrain in combatting the disease. An award that Stephen dedicates and attiributes to all the fantastic staff at RCSI Medical University of Bahrain that worked tirelessly throughout.
In addition to his role at RCSI Medical University of Bahrain, he was a Governor for St Christophers School (Bahrain for two years) and is currently a Non-Executive Trustee and Deputy Chair of the Board of Trustees for Birmingham City University Students Union.