Personal profile
Biography
Professor Declan Devane (PhD, MSc, PgDip(Stats), BSc, DipHE, RGN, RM, RNT) is an Established Professor of Health Research Methodology and Deputy Dean of the College of Medicine, Nursing, and Health Sciences at the University of Galway, Ireland. With over twenty years of experience in clinical trials and evidence synthesis, Declan focuses on improving healthcare interventions, enhancing clinical trial methodology, advancing evidence synthesis methods, and promoting patient-centred research.
He is the founder and director of Evidence Synthesis Ireland, Cochrane Ireland, and the Health Research Board-Trials Methodology Research Network, initiatives aimed at enhancing the quality and impact of health research nationally and internationally. His research spans multiple clinical areas, including diabetes, maternal health, critical care, and infectious diseases, emphasising methodologies that actively involve patient perspectives.
Declan has published over 330 peer-reviewed papers, including more than 30 influential Cochrane systematic reviews (h-index: 59 Scopus; 71 Google Scholar), and has secured over €20 million in research funding as Principal Investigator and over €100 million as co-applicant/collaborator. He has led numerous clinical trials with participant numbers ranging from 100 to over 3,000, serving on various national and international Trial Steering Committees and Data Monitoring Boards.
His work has informed global healthcare guidelines, including those by the World Health Organization, and he continues to train and mentor researchers, contributing actively to the field of health research methodology.
Research Interests
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Clinical trials
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Randomised trials
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Trials methodology
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Evidence synthesis and systematic reviews
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Patient-centred research approaches
Teaching Interests
- Research methods
- Evidence based health care
- Systematic reviews and meta analysis
- Trials methodology
Related documents
Education/Academic qualification
PhD,PGDip,MSc,BSc,DipHE,RGN,RM,RNT
PhD,MSc,PgDip,BSc,DipHE,RGN,RM,RNT
Accepting PhD Students
- Accepting PhD Students
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 1 No Poverty -
SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being -
SDG 4 Quality Education -
SDG 5 Gender Equality -
SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation -
SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth -
SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure -
SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities -
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production -
SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Fingerprint
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Comparison of AI-assisted and human-generated plain language summaries for Cochrane reviews: a randomised non-inferiority trial (HIET-1) [Registered Report - stage II]
Devane, D., Pope, J., Byrne, P., Forde, E., O'Byrne, I., Woloshin, S., Culloty, E., Dahly, D., Elgersma, I. H., Munthe-Kaas, H., Judge, C., O'Donnell, M., Krewer, F., Galvin, S., Burke, N. N., Tierney, T., Saif-Ur-Rahman, K. M., Conway, T. & Thomas, J., Mar 2026, In: Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 191, 112102.Research output: Contribution to a Journal (Peer & Non Peer) › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Estimands: what they are and why we should use them
Kahan, B. C. & Devane, D., Jan 2026, In: Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 189, 112054.Research output: Contribution to a Journal (Peer & Non Peer) › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Factors influencing use and choice of Core Outcome Sets and Outcome Measurement Instruments in trials of interventions to prevent childhood obesity: a mixed-methods survey
Looney, E., Duffy, M., Dutch, D., Brown, V., Browne, J., Devane, D., Harrington, J. M., Hayes, C., Johnson, B. J., Kearney, P. M., Kirkham, J. J., Leahy-Warren, P., Murphy, A. W., Redsell, S., Seidler, A. L., Skouteris, H., Dahly, D. & Matvienko-Sikar, K., Mar 2026, In: Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 191, 112105.Research output: Contribution to a Journal (Peer & Non Peer) › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Jurisdictional scans: methodological considerations for systematically analyzing and comparing policy approaches across different jurisdictions
Saif-Ur-Rahman, K. M., Waddell, K., Lavis, J. N., Burke, N. N., Tierney, M., Whelan, B. & Devane, D., Jan 2026, In: Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 189, 112025.Research output: Contribution to a Journal (Peer & Non Peer) › Article › peer-review
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Prediction of time to insulin initiation in gestational diabetes mellitus: a secondary analysis of the EMERGE trial
Zhu, Y., Alvarez-Iglesias, A., Egan, A. M., Smyth, A., Newman, C., Macias, D. A., Devane, D., Dunne, F., O'Donnell, M., O'Shea, P., Gillespie, P. & Simpkin, A. J., Jan 2026, In: Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice. 231, 113070.Research output: Contribution to a Journal (Peer & Non Peer) › Article › peer-review
Open Access
Activities
- 4 Current Postgraduates (Research) Supervised
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Johanna Pope
Devane, D. (Primary Supervisor)
2024 → …Activity: Other › Current Postgraduates (Research) Supervised
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Xuenan Pang
Devane, D. (Primary Supervisor)
2024 → …Activity: Other › Current Postgraduates (Research) Supervised
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Simone Lepage
Devane, D. (Primary Supervisor)
2024 → …Activity: Other › Current Postgraduates (Research) Supervised
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Mengqi Li
Devane, D. (Primary Supervisor)
2024 → …Activity: Other › Current Postgraduates (Research) Supervised