Professor Tara Moore

Overview

Tara Moore, Professor of Personalised Medicine, concurrently  holds a chair at Ulster University in Northern Ireland and is Chief R&D Officer for Avellino Labs in Menlo Park San Francisco USA

Subsequent to her return home to Northern Ireland from Research fellowship training in Harvard Medical School, Tara has undertaken research sabbaticals in Mount Sinai Hospital New York, Dundee Wellcome Trust Laboratories and The Stem Cell Institute in University of Modena and Reggio. As a result of intensive training to obtain skills and expertise Tara has a wealth of experience of working in Universities and industrial  laboratories  focusing on development of partner diagnostics and treatment for genetic eye disease.

Tara’s research team concentrates on identifying genes which cause disease and in developing gene editing and gene silencing treatments for autosomal dominantly inherited eye diseases. Her work is disseminated worldwide through her contribution to guest lectures and workshops and internationally co authored peer reviewed publications. Tara has contributed to numerous text books and authored over 120 peer reviewed  publications in high impact peer reviewed journals reflecting internationally competitive research of high quality - 1981 total citations, generating an h-index of 23 and i10-index of 38.

The culmination of Tara’s contribution to health, well-being and safety and improving people’s lives whilst inspiring others to see the opportunities to make a difference through science was recognised with the prestigious WISE award presented by HRH Princess Anne and a prestigious Winston Churchill Fellowship.

Tara is a Fellow of Royal Society of Biology, UK, Royal Society of Arts, UK, Royal Society of Medicine, UK, Senior Associate of Royal Society of Medicine and Honorary Fellow of Royal College of Physicians (London) FRCP, FFLM. She is also expert reviewer for numerous peer reviewed journals and editor/academic editor for a number of the top peer reviewed journals. She is an expert reviewer for Athena Swan, the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme for HEA and numerous funding bodies including MRC and Wellcome Trust. Tara represents Northern Ireland  on the UKRI Strengths in Places panel  for the distribution of research and innovation funding to support significant regional growth.

Tara is a member of various stakeholder boards and committees including but not limited to Healthcare Advisory Board; Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO); Leadership Committee Northern Ireland Genomic Medicine Centre (part of MRC NIGMC 100,000 Genomes England), The Royal College of Ophthalmologists Standards Committee, Education & Training in GP Stakeholder Group and Policy Forum for Northern Ireland, to name a few.

Tara is a mentor for the New York Academy of Science 1000Girls, 1000Futures initiative from the Global Stem Alliance.

The research laboratory Tara leads excels in training research students. It is of note that PhD students supervised by Tara were awarded the University’s John Scott Convocation Award for best Post Graduate student, for three consecutive PhD graduates. Her PhD student was also awarded thesis of the year award and destination of employment of staff and students trained in Tara’s laboratory spans Harvard Medical School, Duke University and many other prestigious research laboratories worldwide. Tara  also provides free training and education to surgeons in Peru and has undertaken charitable trips to remote locations including the Amazon Jungle to facilitate eye surgery and research into eye diseases specific to those locations.

Tara’s commitment to education is equal to that of her passion for advancing medical research

Tara spearheaded the development of the first ever university training programme for Physician Associate profession for Northern Ireland. Integrating it successfully into both primary and secondary care and obtained millions of pounds worth of funding from the Department of Health, Northern Ireland to ensure sustainable ability. The first PAs have now taken up post in Northern Ireland across all the Health and Social Care Trusts.

Tara is also founder of the only Royal College of Ophthalmologists endorsed and co-badged Pg Diploma in Cataract and Refractive Surgery. This course has now ensured many hundreds of eye surgeons worldwide are educated to the highest of standards in preparation  for both laser and lens extraction eye surgery.

Tara also founded the first online training programme for Forensic Medical Officers involved at the front line of child sexual abuse.  The long standing success of this educational initiative  resulted in nomination and election of Tara to Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine Royal College of Physicians (RCP) – the highest accolade this organisation can bestow on an individual.

As a result of her unique combined expertise and knowledge in genetics, molecular biology and Ophthalmology, Tara was appointed to the position of Chief of Research and innovation for USA based international genetic Ophthalmology specialist company Avellino Labs.

Tara currently holds both her University chair in UK and her industrial position in USA

Most recently Tara was nominated and voted as a double awardee for the Ophthalmologist’s Power List 2019 categories of Emerging Leaders and Inventors.

Outside work Tara is mother to seven children and a mediocre polo player!