Research Career: 2020- present: Established Professor in Biomedical Engineering

2016- 2020: Personal Professor in Biomedical Engineering2014- 2016: Lecturer in Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering and Informatics, NUI Galway

2009- 2014: SFI Stokes Lecturer: College of Engineering and Informatics, NUI Galway

2007- 2009: Lecturer: School of Engineering Sciences, University of Southampton, UK

2005- 2007: Lecturer (Fixed term): Dept of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, NUI Galway

2004- 2005: Postdoctoral Researcher: Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, USA

Professor McNamara is an internationally recognised research leader and Established Professor at University of Galway, currently serving as Head of the School of Engineering.

She has led an internationally recognised programme of research in mechanobiology, publishing over 100 peer-reviewed papers, delivering plenary lectures at major international conferences, and contributing invited book chapters. She is the recipient of major competitive awards, including European Research Council grants and Science Foundation Ireland funding, alongside recognition such as the Irish Research Council Researcher of the Year award and the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland Silver Medal in Bioengineering. She has also played a key role in advancing medical device innovation through sustained collaboration with multinational industry partners.

Professor McNamara has held a number of roles relevant to shaping research strategy and infrastructure at the University of Galway. As Vice Dean for Research and Innovation in the College of Science and Engineering, she led initiatives to strengthen national and European funding success, enhance interdisciplinary collaboration, and increase international research visibility. She established a Sustainable Development Goals seed fund that successfully translated initial investment into significant competitive research outcomes. During this period, she also contributed to major institutional developments, including university-wide research support reform and the establishment and strategic development of key research institutes and industry partnerships. As Head of the School of Engineering, she has led major strategic and operational initiatives focused on research excellence and has developed strategic industry partnerships supporting academic recruitment and the establishment of new research centres.

She currently serves as Chair of the European Research Council Starting Grant Panel, is an expert reviewer for major funding agencies across Europe, and acts as a scientific advisor for international research centres. In these roles, she contributes to the assessment and advancement of research excellence at the highest international level.

The primary objective of the research in Professor McNamaras group is to delineate the normal mechanosensory and signalling mechanisms of bone cells. The secondary objective is to determine whether bone tissue mechanics or mechanobiology are impaired during osteoporosis. The final objective is to develop in vitro approaches that can enhance bone tissue regeneration and thereby advance treatment of bone pathologies. The research expertise in Professor McNamaras group incorporates experimental and computational techniques including micromechanical testing, finite element modelling and theoretical mechano-regulation theories. In addition her group uses in vitro cell culture, advanced microscopy and immunohistochemistry techniques to characterise bone cell biology. Using such methods we focus on: Mechanical properties of bone tissue during osteoporosis Bone mineral composition during osteoporosis Identifying the noncollagenous components of bone tissue during disease Identifying bone cell mechanotransduction machinery in vivo and in vitro Characterising bone cell responses to their mechanical environment in vitro Bone mechanobiology during disease Developing novel mechanobiology-based approaches to bone tissue regeneration. In addition to these studies Professor McNamara has research collaborations with Stryker Instruments and Boston Scientific. Studies with Stryker Instruments aim to advance understanding of the mechanical and thermal properties of bone and cutting tool materials during surgical cutting procedures. Studies with Boston Scientific aim to advance understanding of transcatheter bioprostheses using experimental approaches and computational modelling

Medical Implant and Device Design (ME421)Biomechanics (ME416)Introduction to Biomedical Engineering (ME218)