Kathleen Curran

Prof. Kathleen Curran is a Professor at University College Dublin (UCD) and director of the UCD machine learning in medical imaging and diagnostics innovative research lab (https://www.ucd-ml-mi.com/). She serves as an Affiliated Principal Investigator in the Centre for Biomedical Engineering, an INSIGHT funded investigator, and a funded investigator in the Science Foundation Ireland centre for research training in machine learning (ML-Labs).

Her research integrates artificial intelligence, computer vision, and clinical medicine to develop interpretable AI solutions for medical diagnostics. Key focus areas include fetal ultrasound imaging, cardiac MRI reconstruction, neuroimaging for Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis, and biomarker discovery for conditions like lymphangioleiomyomatosis and placenta accreta spectrum. She pioneers techniques in diffusion models, explainable AI, and multi-modal learning to address challenges in low-data medical scenarios.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals dominant trends in applying generative models for medical data augmentation, developing uncertainty-aware diagnostic systems, and creating interpretable clinical AI tools. Her work consistently targets high-impact clinical applications including fetal development monitoring, cardiovascular disease management, and neurological disorder detection, with strong emphasis on real-world clinical implementation.

Scientific recognition includes:

• 2019 InterTrade Ireland FUSION Project Exemplar Award (with Axial Medical Printing Ltd.)
• Three Enterprise Ireland Commercialisation Fund awards as Principal Investigator
• Horizon Europe consortium funding for SMASH-HCM project (Stratification, Management, and Guidance of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Patients using Hybrid Digital Twin Solutions)

Prof. Curran leads significant research funding initiatives including Horizon Europe and multiple Enterprise Ireland awards. Her group actively collaborates with industry partners like Axial Medical Printing Ltd. and participates in national research centers such as INSIGHT and ML-Labs, driving translational AI research from bench to bedside.

The UCD machine learning in medical imaging and diagnostics lab (https://www.ucd-ml-mi.com/) serves as her primary research hub, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations between computer scientists, clinicians, and biomedical engineers to advance clinical AI solutions.