Dr Gerard Flaherty from NUI, Galway Appointed IMU Adjunct Professor

February 2014 – Dr Gerard Flaherty, President, Travel Medicine Society of Ireland and Senior Lecturer in Clinical Medicine and Medical Education, National University of Ireland (NUI), Galway was appointed an Adjunct Professor in Travel Medicine and International Health at the International Medical University (IMU), Malaysia. Commenting on his appointment, Dr Gerard said,

“I had the honour of being appointed Adjunct Professor in Travel Medicine and International Health by IMU in February 2014. As a full-time employee of the National University of Ireland, Galway, one of the IMU’s longstanding partner medical schools, I look forward to making a worthwhile contribution to education and training in travel and tropical medicine at the IMU. I bring 12 years of experience in clinical and academic travel medicine to this honorary position. As a Fellow, Board member and Examiner for the Faculty of Travel Medicine at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, I hope to play a leading role in developing the practice of travel medicine in Malaysia. IMU is the ideal partner institution in this respect, given its innovative global outlook and commitment to the highest academic standards.”

“Tropical Medical Bureau (TMB) Ireland, one of the leading providers of specialised clinical travel medicine services in the world, have provided funding to NUI Galway for summer research medical students to carry out projects in travel medicine. This year’s research student in travel medicine, Calvin Teo Jia Han, is a third year medical student at NUI Galway, having transferred from IMU to our partner medical school in 2013. Calvin will be working on a very important project under my direct supervision over an 8-week period at the Galway branch of the TMB clinic this summer. The project, entitled “Profile of Travellers with Pre-existing Medical Conditions Attending a Specialised Travel Medicine Clinic” will examine thousands of records relating to patients with conditions such as diabetes, asthma, heart disease, epilepsy, and depression, taking a variety of medications for these disorders, in an effort to better understand the needs of this vulnerable group of travellers, and establish recommendations for travel health practitioners in relation to the pre-travel health advice, malaria chemoprophylaxis and travel vaccinations offered to them.”

“I hope that Calvin will have the opportunity to present the findings of our research at the prestigious Conference of the International Society of Travel Medicine, to be held in 2015 in Canada, and to publish the work in a peer-reviewed journal. Calvin is a very bright and enthusiastic student who is looking forward to this opportunity and I look forward to working with him closely on this project.” “NUI Galway is very grateful for the continued support of TMB which also facilitates the clinical component of the popular special study module in Travel Medicine offered to Year 2 students.” “I am confident that NUI Galway, TMB and IMU will collaborate on many more exciting and beneficial educational and research activities in the future. My position as Adjunct Professor at IMU puts me in a good position to help develop these partnerships.”