Gerard Flaherty

Personal Professor of Travel Medicine and International Health, School of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland | Adjunct Professor, International Medical University, Malaysia and Mahidol University, Thailand 

MD, PhD, BSc (Hons.), MB, BCh, BAO, FRCPI, MRCPI, Cert. Travel Med. (RCSI), Dip. SEM (GB & I), FFSEM (RCPI & RCSI), FAcadMEd, DTM RCPS (Glas), FFTM RCPS (Glas), FACTM, FFTM (ACTM), MFSEM (UK), MMedSc, Dip. HSc. (Clinical Teaching), MSc Int Trav Health (Sheffield), MECOSEP, MMEd (Dundee), Diop. sa Ghaeilge, Cert. Traffic Med, Cert. Ornith., Cert. Bird Behaviour, FIFA Dip. Foot. Med., PG Cert Sc. Healthcare Simulation and Patient Safety, FISTM, AFAMEE, FRGS, FIPC, MRSTMH, Dip. CWT.

Gerard Flaherty graduated from the National University of Ireland, Galway, in 2000 with a first-class honours degree and gold medals in each of the 8 final year subjects. As an undergraduate, Gerard gained an intercalated BSc degree in Anatomy and received numerous international academic distinctions, including the Duke Elder Prizer in Ophthalmology from the Royal College of Ophthalmology (UK), and the Annual Undergraduate Prize of the Faculty of Radiology (UK). He gained Membership of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland in 2002 and Fellowship in 2011. He holds a Diploma in Travel Medicine from the RCPSG (Glasgow). He has completed 3 master’s degrees, including a master’s degree in international and Travel Health (Sheffield), for which he received the prize for best dissertation and the master’s degree in medical education (Dundee). His two higher doctoral theses (MD and PhD) were based on his original research in travel medicine. Gerard was elected to the role of President-elect of the International Society of Travel Medicine in May 2021 and President in May 2023. He previously served as ISTM Counselor (2015-19).

He is a Fellow, examiner, former board member and education convener of the Faculty of Travel Medicine at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. He was also the recipient of the Cameron Lockie Prize for Travel Medicine in the UK and the Donald MacLeod medal in Sports Medicine. He is Past President, Research Officer and current NECTM liaison for the Travel Medicine Society of Ireland. He was Chair of the Northern European Conference on Travel Medicine (NECTM) 2012 scientific committee, which the Travel Medicine Society of Ireland hosted in Dublin, and Vice-Chair of the NECTM 2014 scientific committee in Norway. He also served on the international scientific committee for the 2015 NECTM, 2016 RCISTM, 2018 NECTM, and 2022 NECTM conferences in London, South Africa, Stockholm, and Rotterdam, respectively. He was Co-Chair for the 2021 CISTM17 conference, held virtually in May 2021.

He was elected to the Executive Board of the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM) in 2015 and has held several leadership positions, including membership of the Examinations Committee, the Older Traveller Interest Group Council, and Chair of the Publications Oversight Committee (2019-21) and Nominating Committee (2021-23). He is the current NECTM representative on the ISTM Liaison Committee and serves as Local Scientific Committee Co-Chair for the 10^th Northern European Conference in Travel Medicine to be held in Belfast, Northern Ireland in June 2026.

He is a member of the Asia Pacific Travel Health Society, and he has presented at multiple ACTM and APTHS educational meetings. He has held an Adjunct Professorship in Travel Medicine and International Health with the International Medical University in Malaysia since 2014 and an Adjunct Professorship in Travel Medicine at Mahidol University, Thailand. Gerard’s research interests in travel medicine include risk assessment in the pre-travel consultation, travel health behaviour, travellers with pre-existing medical conditions, high altitude medicine, mental health issues and travel, older travellers, technology and artificial intelligence in travel medicine, and education in travel health. He has 22 years clinical experience in travel medicine. He has completed tropical medicine courses and expeditions in Kenya, Tanzania, Nepal, Russia, Cuba, Peru, Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, Ghana, Morocco, and South Africa. 

Gerard’s previous academic roles as Professor of Medical Education and Past Undergraduate Medical Programme Director at NUI Galway and Head of International Students for the School of Medicine gave him responsibility for design, delivery, and assessment of the undergraduate medical curriculum, including the special study module programme. He is also a Past Chair of the Curriculum Review Committee and has sat on numerous committees at school and university levels, including the university examination appeals committee. Among his external examiner roles is his current term with the Pan-African Travel Medicine Federation course. He serves as Academic Integrity Advisor for the School of Medicine, College representative on the University Discipline Committee and on the University Society Coordinating Group. He received a President’s Award from NUI Galway for Teaching Excellence in 2008. He has been awarded Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Educators (UK). He served on the executive committee of AMEE between 2017 and 2020. He has been awarded Associate Fellowship of AMEE.

Gerard has over 280 publications and 110 research (oral and poster) presentations to date, as well as a textbook, and 10 textbook chapters. He is the first international (non-US) Section Medical Editor for the CDC textbook Health Information for International Travel. He has delivered numerous invited lectures to various institutions and organisations in over 30 countries. He is currently ranked tenth in the global lifetime list of travel medicine scholars and second in productivity (ScholarGPS, 2026). His Google Scholar profile is available at https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6BOXH2wAAAAJ&hl=en. Gerard serves as Associate Editor and formerly as Section Editor (non-communicable diseases) for the Journal of Travel Medicine. He is a regular reviewer for multiple travel medicine and medical education journals, including Journal of Travel Medicine, Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, Tropical Diseases, Travel Medicine and Vaccines, and Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease (TMID). He was a recent Guest Editor for a special travel medicine issue of the TMID journal. 

Gerard has served Croí, the West of Ireland Cardiac Foundation, as a volunteer expedition physician on fundraising high altitude treks to the Himalayas and Africa. He was instrumental in establishing the National Institute for Prevention and Cardiovascular Health, on whose Advisory Council he serves as Director of Academic Affairs and Fellowship. In addition to acting as Founder/Programme Director (2013-2020) for the Masters in Preventive Cardiology programme at University of Galway, he was responsible for the medical management and supervision of participants enrolled on the Croí MyAction preventive cardiology programme. In his leisure time Gerard travels (102 countries), cold water dips, golfs, forest-walks, enjoys tai chi, treks mountains, and bird-watches. He has been awarded Certificates in Ornithology and in Bird Behaviour. He is fluent in English and Irish (Gaelic) and speaks French and German with moderate proficiency. Gerard has been an active member of Mensa since 2023.

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·       Risk assessment in the pre-travel consultation |  Travellers with pre-existing medical conditions | Health benefits of travel |  High altitude medicine | Mental health issues and travel | Technology and artificial intelligence in travel medicine | Travel health education | Lifestyle approaches to cardiovascular disease prevention

Travel medicine | Global health | Clinical skills | Clinical pathology | Preventive cardiology | Academic writing and publishing