The Clinical Trials Unit within the St. Luke's Radiation Oncology Centre at St. James Hospital
The St. Luke’s Radiation Oncology Centre at St. James’s Hospital is part of the St. Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network (SLRON), incorporating the three public radiotherapy centres in Dublin.
Together, we provide world-class radiation therapy and access to cutting edge clinical trials for our patients.
The Clinical Trials Unit Team
Under the leadership of Professor Sinéad Brennan, Director of Research, and Emma Noone, Research Project Manager, the St. Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network (SLRON) Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) plays a pivotal role in advancing radiation oncology research.
Our research team includes doctors, radiation therapists, nurses, physicists, and research staff. We work together to make research part of everyday patient care. We are dedicated to ensuring every clinical trial is carried out safely, ethically, and with compassion.
Clinical Trials are Primarily about Improving the Quality of Care for Patients
Participation in clinical trials has been consistently linked to improved treatment outcomes and survival for cancer patients.
Taking part in a trial may give you access to new treatments and may also help future patients.
Here Professor Gerry Hanna explains why patients should consider joining a clinical trial:
” We are really grateful to those patients that participate in clinical trials voluntarily for the benefit of future patients”
Patient safety is at the forefront of all our activities.
All trials conducted within SLRON have been thoroughly reviewed and approved by a Research Ethics Committee, ensuring that every study meets the highest standards of ethical and clinical governance.
We are committed to offering as many patients as possible the chance to participate on a clinical trial
SLRON is a national leader in cancer research, in 2024 we were proud to meet the National Cancer Strategy goal of enrolling 6% of patients in clinical trials.
In 2024, more patients joined trials at SLRON than at any other hospital in Ireland.
This is a reflection of our strong research culture and the trust patients place in our team.
Professor Sinéad Brennan - Site Lead at the St. Luke's Centre, St. James's Hospital.
Professor Sinead Brennan is a consultant radiation oncologist working within SLRON. As founder and national clinical lead of IRROG, she has played a transformative role in expanding Irish patients’ access to cutting-edge radiotherapy and international clinical trials. A Clinical Associate Professor at Trinity College Dublin, a Fellow of the Faculty of Radiology (RCSI), and a Principal Investigator for multiple head and neck and breast cancer trials, she has made substantial contributions to improving outcomes for people with cancer.
In her roles as Director of Research for SLRON and site lead at the St. Luke’s Centre in St. James’s Hospital, she has consistently driven innovation, quality, and equity in cancer care, ensuring that Irish patients benefit from the latest evidence-based treatments.
Meet some of the team at the St. Luke's Radiation Oncology Centre at St. James's Hospital.
Professor Sinéad Brennan
Professor Sinéad Brennan
Professor Sinéad Brennan serves as the National Lead of IRROG and has been a Consultant Radiation Oncologist at St. Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network (SLRON) and St. James’s Hospital since 2010. She is also a Clinical Associate Professor at Trinity College Dublin, with a clinical and academic focus on head and neck and breast cancers.
Professor Brennan plays a central role in the design, delivery, and governance of radiotherapy research in Ireland. She is a senior leader within Cancer Trials Ireland, serving on both the Executive Committee and Senior Management Group, and chairs the Irish Head and Neck Cancer Disease Subgroup. She has also been a Director on the Board of the Irish Cancer Society from 2016 to 2025, and is an active faculty member of the Radiology and Radiation Oncology Committee at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
Her leadership extends into the Trinity St James’s Cancer Institute, where she is a member of the Executive Committee, helping shape integrated cancer research strategies. Professor Brennan has led numerous international multicentre clinical trials as Irish Principal Investigator, including DARS, CompARE, and PRESERVE, and continues to advocate for improving trial access, speeding up approval processes, and embedding the patient voice into every step of clinical research.
Professor Gerry Hanna
Dr. Charles Gilham
Professor Pierre Thirion
Vitor Oliveira
Rebecca O’Donovan
Róisín Ó Maolalaí
Brendan McClean
Brendan McClean
Dr. Brendan McClean is the Director of Physics at the St. Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network (SLRON) in Dublin and has dedicated his career to advancing cancer treatment through innovation, research, and education.
After earning a BSc and PhD in Physics from Queen’s University Belfast, he completed postdoctoral research in medical physics at the University of Alberta in Canada. He went on to work as a Senior Radiotherapy Physicist at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton before returning to Ireland in 1995 to take up his current leadership role at SLRON.
Brendan plays a key role in shaping radiotherapy research in Ireland. He is the Physics Lead for the National Cancer Control Programme, Chair of the SLRON Research Ethics Committee, and a Board Member of the St. Luke’s Institute of Cancer Research. He also oversees the Michael Moriarty Research Laboratory Scientific Committee, helping to ensure that research is carried out to the highest ethical and scientific standards.
A passionate advocate for education, Brendan teaches and mentors students through the University College Dublin MSc and PhD programmes and contributes to international training initiatives with organisations such as the IAEA, ESTRO, and EFOMP.
He has authored more than 25 peer-reviewed publications (2015–2025) and continues to lead efforts to improve the safety, precision, and effectiveness of radiotherapy for patients across Ireland.
Ruth Woods