Trinity College Head appointed as new Imperial College Principal

Prof Dermot Kelleher

By Gary Culliton.

Prof Dermot Kelleher, the Head of the School of Medicine at Trinity College, has been appointed as Principal of the Medical School at Imperial College in London. Imperial is one of the top five medical schools in the world.

Prof Kelleher said it was an offer to which he “had to give very serious consideration”. The appointment will take effect from July.

A process is in train to identify a replacement for Prof Kelleher, and the aim is to appoint a new Head before his departure. The position is likely to be advertised externally.

During Prof Kelleher’s time at the helm, the new Biomedical Sciences Building has become the home of the TCD Medical School and there is a very large medicine ‘footprint’ on the campus. A new curriculum has also been introduced.

“This has been exciting. It has given our students the opportunity to do inter-collated Masters degrees,” Prof Kelleher said. “There are now undergraduate and graduate routes into the medical profession. Some other colleges have diversified and that’s a good thing, but Trinity has focused on the undergraduate approach.”

gary.culliton@imt.ie