Meet The Team

Dr Sinéad Hynes is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Galway and a CORU-Registered Occupational Therapist. She is leading the COB-MS research trial.

Shima Shapoori is a trial manager and postdoctoral researcher with expertise in multiple sclerosis, neuroimmunology, and biomarker discovery. She completed her PhD at the University of Galway, where she investigated biomarkers in multiple sclerosis, focusing on their potential to advance diagnosis, monitoring, and personalised treatment. Alongside her research, she gained experience in clinical research coordination and translational neuroscience. Shima has been awarded several grants and awards for her research and science communication, including recognition from ECTRIMS and ECNP. In her current role, she manages the COB-MS trial, ensuring rigorous research governance, participant engagement, and data integrity.

Formerly a software engineer, Joan translates complex Multiple Sclerosis research into clear, informative narratives from a patient's perspective. Her evidence-based approach provides readers with reliable insights, presented with clarity and warmth. Joan is a EUPATI fellow and has participated in a clinical trial. She was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS in 2010 and loves helping to create possibilities for people in her community. She participated in the Prioritising Recruitment in Randomised Trials study (PRioRiTy) identified research priorities for how to improve the process of how people are recruited to clinical trials. The partner study, PRioRiTy 2 identified research priorities to improve the process for how to improve retention in clinical trials. She currently is a part-time research assistant on the COB-MS trial.

​Ewelina has completed a BA, HDip and MSc in Health Psychology at the University of Galway and is an accredited member of the Psychological Society of Ireland. Her undergraduate research explored how attachment style and identity predict false-self presentation on social media in people with Borderline Personality Disorder. Her Master's Thesis explored interoception and stress as antecedents of burnout in neurodivergent and neurotypical students, utilising the community-created "Spoon Theory" as a celebration of patient voices. She has worked on projects at Croí Galway and the National Institute for Prevention and Cardiovascular Health, working directly with patients to understand their experiences of healthcare post-stroke / cardiac event. Ewelina will now be working full-time alongside Sinéad and Shima in the Galway Centre

Sean works full-time on the COB-MS project as a research assistant where his primary role is in data collection and the administering and scoring of the outcome measures for the trial.

Sean holds a BSc Psychology and MSc Behavioural Neuroscience, both from UCD. His Master’s thesis focused on the neurobiological mechanisms underlying dyslexia and whether there is a relationship between impairments in word recognition and facial recognition in dyslexia. During the course of his studies, he gained experience with administering, scoring and with the psychometrics behind several neuropsychological tests.

Emma Rogan is a renowned community builder, brain health activist, communicator and Certified Disability Management Professional. For more than 15 years she has worked in a number of roles in MS and neurological patient organisations in Ireland and Europe. Her education includes a BA in Journalism and Communications, an MSc in Equality Studies and she specializes in employment and return to work facilitation and practice. Public and patient involvement (PPI), the inclusion of young people with MS, people from marginalized communities & LGBTQIA+ people in research, are of particular importance to her. She is active on BluSky https://bsky.app/profile/emmadragon.bsky.social for anyone wanting to communicate about MS and brain health. Emma is delighted to have the opportunity to bring her professional experience and personal knowledge to the COB-MS Project team. 

Eva has a BA in Psychology from the University of Galway, and a SpCert in Youth Arts from Maynooth University. From 2022-2024 she worked with the Active* Consent programme, where she co-ordinated a CPD module and led a research project on the use of socially engaged art to explore sexual consent promotion with students. Recently, she completed a research and statistics traineeship with the European Institute for Gender Equality in Lithuania. While there, her research focused on cyberviolence, intersectionality in health research, and gender equality policy. Eva now works part-time on the COB-MS project.

Hannah is a University of Galway BSc Occupational Therapy graduate, with a clinical background in community neuro-rehabilitation. She has a keen interest in neurological conditions and cognitive rehabilitation, focusing on practical, occupation-centred interventions.

Hannah is passionate about supporting people living with MS to manage cognitive challenges and improve their day-to-day function and quality of life

My name is Emma, and I am a third-year Occupational Therapy student at the University of Galway. To date, I have completed clinical placements in hand therapy and community settings. I have a particular interest in neurological conditions, especially their cognitive impacts. I hope to pursue a career in neurorehabilitation in the future, including working with individuals living with Multiple Sclerosis. I am delighted to be joining the team this summer and contributing to research on MS clinical trial recruitment through social media platforms.

My name is Sinéad, and I am a third-year Occupational Therapy student at the University of Galway. To date, I have completed clinical placements in paediatrics and acute care for older adults. I have a strong interest in research and evidence-based practice. I am looking forward to joining the COB-MS team this summer where I  will be assisting with research exploring whether a sense of belonging influences participant retention in clinical trials.