The award recognises a researcher or health professional, at any stage of their career, whose research has had a significant impact on people’s health, health policy or practice.

Nominations* for the 2021 call are now open along with full details for eligibility and guidelines available for nomination.

The winner of the inaugural HRB Impact Award in 2019 was Professor Mary McCarron, Trinity College Dublin, who received the award for how her research has transformed the health, care, and living environments for people ageing with an intellectual disability. 

Commenting on what she and her team have achieved on foot of receiving the first HRB Impact Award, Prof Mary McCarron says, 
‘I am so pleased to share that we have utilised funding from this award to provide internship and job opportunities for people with an intellectual disability (ID) through Trinity Centre for Ageing and Intellectual Disability. 

‘In addition, over the past year, people with ID have been involved in co-creating accessible job descriptions; co-presenting in webinars to a global audience of 7,000; serving on the Scientific Advisory Board and Steering Committee for IDS-TILDA; training fieldwork researchers and staff at Trinity College Dublin; engaging with policymakers; leading health programming for peers; developing new Apps; and showcasing immense creativity in dealing with Covid19.  

It gives me a great sense of personal fulfillment to be in position to create opportunities for people with ID which empower them to contribute and participate in meaningful ways, to have a sense of place, belonging and self-worth. I want people with ID to age well and with dignity – and I know we are making progress when I hear things like: “Being included has changed my life and opened up so many opportunities for me,” from Ms. Mei Lin Yap.’

Speaking about the potential for the award, Dr Mairéad O’Driscoll says, 
‘The HRB Impact Award gives us the opportunity to recognise someone whose research has made an incredible impact on people’s health or care, or on health policy. The prize money also ensures the recipient can build on their research success as Mary’s outcomes testify’.

*Individuals must be nominated to receive the award, and they must agree to be nominated. Nominees must be a Principal Investigator who received funding from the HRB, or someone employed on a HRB-funded award who made a significant contribution to the work. This may have been at any time during their career, but it must be directly linked to the research that resulted in the impact on people’s health or on health policy or practice for which they are receiving the award.