Assoc ProfessorMary Codd

Mary Codd qualified in medicine from University College Dublin. Following residency in internal medicine at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Dublin, and Middlesex Hospital, London, she trained in applied epidemiology and biostatistics at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, pursued an MPH in Epidemiology, follwoed by a PhD in Epidemiology & Biostatistics at the School of Public Health, University of Minnesota.

Mary was Project Coordinator of the first population-based cancer screening programme in Ireland, the ECCLES Breast Screening Programme, which spearheaded the National Breast Screening Programme, Breastcheck. She coauthored the EU Guidelines on Quality Assurance in Mammography Screening.

Mary was appointed to UCD in 2008 and is Associate Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics at the School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science. She is Director of the UCD MPH Programmes and the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master European Public Health Degree at UCD. Her outstanding track record in teaching at all levels has been rewarded with Teaching Excellence Awards both in UCD and internationally by Universitas 21 and ASPHER. She was Director of the consultative group, UCD CSTAR, a recognised UCD Academic Centre for Support and Training in Analysis & Research from 2015-2021. During the COVID-19 pandemic she set up and directed the UCD Contact Tracing Centre, a national specialised contact tracing centre with the Health Services Executive.

Her research in neuroepidemiology, cardiovascular epidemiology, screening, health services, infectious diseases and, most recently, pedagogical research on public health curricular and competency development, has resulted in over 400 scientific publications with more than 9,800 citations and a Google Scholar h-index of 48. She has been a member of the ASPHER Executive Board  since 2019, has led the ECDC/ASPHER Updated Core Competencies in Applied Infectious Diseases Epidemiology (2022) and the ASPHER Core Curriculum Programme for Public Health, 2024-present (www.ccp.aspher.org). Recent projects include: development of a Competency Framework for Mental Health in Public Health education with the WHO Regional Office for Europe, development of competencies for the Public Health Workforce in Ireland with HSE (Public Health - National Health Improvement), and producion of the first National Report on Health Inequalites in Ireland with HSE (Public Health - National Health Improvement). She is currently the ASPHER President for the period, 2026-2028.