Prof Deirdre Murray

prof-murray

Prof. Deirdre Murray, MD, PhD
Professor of Early Brain Injury and Cerebral Palsy / Professor of Paediatrics / Consultant Paediatrician, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University College Cork

Prof. Deirdre Murray is an expert in early brain injury and cerebral palsy, with a strong focus on newborn brain injury and developmental assessment. As the Deputy Director of the INFANT Maternal and Child Health Research Centre, she has contributed to pioneering studies aimed at predicting newborn brain injury through advanced techniques such as continuous multi-channel EEG, blood-based biomarkers, and early neurological assessments. Prof. Murray has received numerous accolades for her research, including the Health Research Board Clinician Scientist Award in 2012 to study early biomarkers in hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (BiHiVE study).

She is the Principal Investigator of the Cork BASELINE Birth Cohort Study (www.baselinestudy.net), a collaborative initiative examining the early environmental influences on neurocognitive and behavioural outcomes. Prof. Murray also serves as the current Secretary of the Brain, Development and Imaging Section of the European Society for Paediatric Research and co-leads the ELEVATE Strategic Research Programme, a study focused on early brain injury and cerebral palsy, co-funded by Science Foundation Ireland and the Cerebral Palsy Foundation.

In her clinical role, Prof. Murray leads the team for critically ill children, deteriorating children, and paediatric sepsis management at Cork University Hospital (CUH). She also runs outpatient services for complex paediatric cases, including children with tracheostomies, home ventilation, rheumatological disorders, and a rapid access clinical service for children under 1 year. Currently, she is working on establishing a High Dependency Care Unit for Children at CUH.

Clinical Experience:

  • Professor of Early Brain Injury and Cerebral Palsy, University College Cork

  • Consultant Paediatrician, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University College Cork

  • Deputy Director, INFANT Maternal and Child Health Research Centre

  • Principal Investigator, Cork BASELINE Birth Cohort Study

Special Interests:

  • Early Brain Injury

  • Newborn Brain Injury Prediction

  • Cerebral Palsy

  • Paediatric Sepsis Management

  • Complex General Paediatrics

Research Interests:

  • Early Blood-Based Biomarkers in Hypoxic-Ischaemic Encephalopathy

  • Predicting Newborn Brain Injury through EEG and Biomarkers

  • Neurocognitive and Behavioural Outcomes in Children

  • Early Environmental Influences on Child Development

Professional Memberships:

  • Secretary, Brain, Development and Imaging Section, European Society for Paediatric Research