Professor Eilís Dowd received her PhD from the University of Edinburgh, after which she completed postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge, McGill University and Cardiff University. She now holds a full professorship at the University of Galway, where one of her primary interests is in the potential of biomaterials to enhance brain repair. This research was the subject of the Parkinson’s documentary “Feats of Modest Valour” which won the “Scientist Award” at the Imagine Science Film Festival in New York. Her contributions have been recognized through leadership positions including the presidencies of both NECTAR (the Network for European CNS Transplantation and Restoration) and Neuroscience Ireland (Ireland’s official neuroscience society). She has also served on the Governing Councils of both the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and the International Brain Research Organization, and holds editorial roles with the British Journal of Pharmacology, the European Journal of Neuroscience and Neuronal Signaling.