Professor Orla Sheils is Vice-Provost/Chief Academic Officer and Deputy President of Trinity College Dublin.  Professor Sheils has served as Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Director of the Trinity Translational Medicine Institute (TTMI), and is currently Professor of Molecular Diagnostics. She has a DSc and a PhD in Molecular Pathology from Trinity College Dublin and an MA in Medical Law and Ethics from Kings College London.

The underlying theme of her research is to understand the causes and molecular basis of the development of disease, with particular reference to cancer, and to apply this knowledge to improving disease prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment.  Professor Sheils has been an independent investigator since 2001 supervising students to PhD and MD levels. She works closely with industry bringing novel technologies and applications to the translational research setting.