Personal profile
Biography
Professor Nicola Cornally is a Registered General Nurse with clinical nursing experience in general medicine and care of the older adult. Nicola has also worked in a senior clinical position in practice development. She holds a PhD (Medicine & Health), MSc in Nursing, BSc in Nursing Studies, Diploma in Nursing Science and Professional Certificates in both Nursing Management and Teaching in Higher Education. Nicola has been PI/Co-PI on multiple nationally funded projects in the area of dementia palliative care, healthcare design for dignified end-of-life care and contemporary end of life issues including advance care planning; funded by the Heath Research Board (HRB), Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF) and GSK. She is currently the Coordinator of a Horizon Europe project known as In-Touch which focuses on the testing, through a cRCT in 7 EU countries, of a non-pharmacological palliative care intervention to improve comfort and quality of life of people with advanced dementia living in care homes. She is a member of the Strategic Scientific Committee for the AIIHPC Palliative Care Research Network and currently supervises 7 PhD/MSc Res students and postdoctoral researchers, primarily with a focus on palliative and end-of -life care. She is the current Co-Founder and member of the Board of Directors for the Irish Chapter Omega Epsilon, of Sigma Theta Tau.
Research Interests
- Dementia Palliative Care
- Health Behaviours
- Advance Care Planning
- Professional Development in Nursing
Teaching Activities
Undergraduate:
- NU4108 Patient Safety and Quality Improvement in Nursing and Healthcare
- Health, Ageing and the Lifecyle NU3092
Postgraduate:
- NU6070 Clinical Leadership and Management for Practice Enhancement in Nursing and Midwifery
- MH6014 Advanced Research Methods for Healthcare professionals
- MH6016 Advance Care Planning
- NU6005 Evidence Based Practice for Healthcare professionals
- NU6302 Practice Enhancement for Quality Healthcare
- NU6303 Advancing Practice for Patient Safety
- NU6306 Clinical Leadership for Healthcare Quality Improvement
Current PhD Students
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Student Name |
PhD Project Title |
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Clodagh Byron
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Supporting patients to seek help for and to manage the challenges associated with IBD, with a focus on psychological challenges |
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Mark O’Donovan |
Epidemiology and impact of cognitive frailty in middle aged and older adults in Europe |
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Wu Yue
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The Study on Classification Features and Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms in Chinese elderly |
|
Isabel Ronan |
Using Machine Learning to Promote Early Identification of Palliative Care Needs Among Individuals With Dementia Living in Nursing Homes |
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Patrice Crowley
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Towards best approaches for early identification of palliative care needs of people with dementia in nursing home settings. |
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Louise Murphy |
Designing an education intervention to enhance newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis patients’ knowledge of cardiovascular comorbidities and modifiable risk factors. |
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Cyril Olugbade |
Strategic nursing leadership – leaning in, influencing and shaping our future healthcare policies and services.
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UCC Futures (primary)
- Future Ageing and Brain Science
Other research affiliations
- Centre for Gerontology and Rehabilitation
- FSRC - Future of Health
- UCC Futures - Collective Social Futures
PhD Supervision
- Available for PhD supervision
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being -
SDG 4 Quality Education -
SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Co-designing a structured referral template to enhance dementia diagnosis: a modified e-Delphi study
Cronin, M., Jennings, A. A., Caufield, U., Coonan, I., Cornally, N., Daly, B., Dockeray, L., Hartigan, I., Lawlor, B., McCarthy, G., Ni Chorcorain, A. M., O’Dowd, S., Nolan-Palmer, J., Perry, M., Quinlan, D., Timmons, S. & Foley, T., 1 Feb 2026, In: Age and Ageing. 55, 2, afag008.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
The role of general practitioners in dementia diagnosis: a scoping review of clinical practice guidelines
Cronin, M., Jennings, A., Cornally, N., Hartigan, I., O'Dowd, S., Perry, M., Timmons, S., Walsh, K. & Foley, T., 1 Feb 2026, In: Family Practice. 43, 1, cmaf103.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Open Access -
Tools to Measure Noncognitive Symptoms in Nursing Home Residents With Advanced Dementia: A Scoping Review
Faherty, M. M., O'Mahony, L. A., Kenny, L. D., Cornally, N., Brady, N. M., Dalton O'Connor, C., Fox, S., Hartigan, I., van der Steen, J. T. & Timmons, S., 16 Feb 2026, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. p. 106133Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
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A LangChain-based pipeline for one-shot synthetic text generation using generative pre-trained transformers in palliative care research
Ronan, I., Crowley, P., Rombouts, E., Cornally, N., Saab, M. M., Murphy, D. & Tabirca, S., Nov 2025, In: Journal of Biomedical Informatics. 171, 104936.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
A Qualitative Study on the Economic Impact of Experiencing Family Bereavement in Ireland
Murphy, A., Walsh, E., Cornally, N., FitzGerald, S., Hartigan, I., Nuzum, D., McDonnell, J. & Dalton, C., 2025, In: Omega: Journal of Death and Dying. p. 302228251364180Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access
Prizes
Press/Media
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Reports from University College Cork Add New Data to Research in Dementia (Guideline recommendations on the role of the general practitioner in the diagnosis of dementia: a protocol for a scoping review of clinical practice guidelines [version ...)
Timmons, S., Hartigan, I., Cronin, M., Foley, T., Jennings, A., Cornally, N. & O Sullivan, T.
27/02/25
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media
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Researchers from University College Cork Detail New Studies and Findings in the Area of Pediatrics (Community Paediatric Clinics and Their Role In Supporting Developmental Outcomes and Services for Children Living In Disadvantaged Communities)
Curtin, M., Gibson, L. & Cornally, N.
31/12/24
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media
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University College Cork Reports Findings in Computers (Identification of unmet palliative care needs of nursing home residents: A scoping review protocol)
Murphy, D., Tabirca, M.-S., Saab, M. & Cornally, N.
28/08/24
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media
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University College Cork Reports Findings in Education (Cardiovascular disease risk assessment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A scoping review)
Saab, M., Mchugh, S., Cotter, P. & Cornally, N.
24/05/24
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media
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Sovereign's University Belfast Launches Multi-Million Exploration Task To Upgrade Personal satisfaction For Dementia Patients
23/05/24
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media