Family support is key for newly-minted Tipperary professor
Professor Siobhain O'Mahony went to school in Bansha and Tipperary Town
A Tipperary woman who has recently been promoted to Professor at University College Cork has said that her Tipperary roots have inspired her to take her career to where it is now.
Professor Siobhain O’Mahony went to Tankerstown National School in Bansha and then went on to secondary education in St Ailbe’s in Tipperary Town.
Following that, Prof O’Mahony went to University College Cork (UCC) where she studied Biological and Chemical Sciences before graduating with a Bachelors Degree in Neuroscience, from the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience.
Speaking to the Tipperary Star, Prof O’Mahony shared said that it was her parents’ gentle support that inspired her in the early days of her academic journey.
“My parents always encouraged us to pursue our ambitions in a very gentle, supportive way,” Prof O’Mahony said.
“I remember my mum often saying how she would have loved to study science, and that really stayed with me.”
“There was always this want or a feeling of trying to achieve a little bit more in the household as well,” the Tipperary woman said.
Inspired by her undergraduate studies, Siobhain then went on to NUI Galway (now the University of Galway) to complete a Masters in Neuropharmacology in the Department of Pharmacology.
“I was driven by a curiosity to understand how research could uncover the workings of the brain and the roots of brain disorders,” Prof O’Mahony explained.
“I wanted to explore how we could go even further, designing interventions or therapies that might one day truly help people affected by these conditions.”
The Masters taught Prof O’Mahony about the anatomy of the brain, brain disorders and how to research disorders of the brain, focusing on how people with depression, anxiety and schizophrenia.
It was a research project that Prof O’Mahony undertook as part of this programme that ignited her passion for brain health, and researching the ways that gut health can impact on the brain.
It was through meeting her two most influential academic mentors, Professor Ted Dinan and Professor John Cryan, that Siobhain’s passion for the connection between the brain and gut health was able to flourish.
“We were the some of first people in the world then to come up with this concept of microbiome-gut-brain axis, it was like voodoo science at the time,” she said.
“At the time, we conducted experiments that revealed something remarkable—that the bacteria in the gut can produce the same neurotransmitters and chemicals as the brain, and that these microbes can influence brain function,” Prof O’Mahony explained.
From this, Siobhain developed an interest in early-life stress, and how that can impact on the bacteria within the gut and how this can influence the stress coping mechanisms that people learn from a young age.
Since 2008, Siobhain has been lecturing in UCC, in the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, the same department she started her BSc in Neuroscience in 1997.
“I’m very engaged with my lab, my goal is to create an environment where young researchers can build confidence, develop their skills, and learn to think independently,” Prof O’Mahony said.
“It’s a gentle, guided process—and for me, it’s especially important to mentor and empower more women to find their place and thrive in STEM”.
During her time at UCC, Prof O’Mahony established a first-ever Masters in Human Anatomy, directing the programme from 2017 to 2020, then going on to direct the BSc in Neuroscience programme from 2020-2023.
Despite all her success, Prof O’Mahony says none of it would have been possible without the support of her family.
“None of this would be happening without my parents,” she said.
“And I’m incredibly grateful to my husband—his constant encouragement has been a pillar of strength throughout.
“It’s also important for me to show my children that a woman can become a professor too—to lead, to make a difference, and to still be present for her family.”