Nicola Irwin

Dr. Nicola Irwin graduated from Queen’s University Belfast with a Master of Pharmacy degree (First Class Honours) in 2009. Following a pre-registration training year in community pharmacy, she returned to the School of Pharmacy and completed a PhD in the area of infection-resistant medical device development under the supervision of Professor Colin McCoy and Professor Sean Gorman. In 2013, Dr. Irwin was appointed as a Research Fellow on an Invest NI-funded Proof of Concept programme to develop lubricious catheter coatings for intermittent self-catheterisation devices. Traction generated from this project led to her being successfully awarded a personal Fellowship from the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2015. Dr. Irwin was appointed to her current position of Lecturer in Pharmaceutical Materials Science in the School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, in April 2016.

Dr. Irwin is a member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland.

Dr. Irwin’s current research interests are focused on the development of advanced surface technologies to combat the major issues associated with employment of medical devices, namely their ease of use and susceptibility to infection. To inform the development of infection-prevention strategies, a major focus of her research is involved with investigation of the mechanisms controlling bacterial adhesion to surfaces and subsequent biofilm formation.

Her research has been featured in the national press (BBC News and The Telegraph), published in peer-reviewed journals and filed as a patent.