Dr Rachel Flynn is Programme Director of the BSc General Nursing and Lecturer in the School of Nursing & Midwifery at University College Cork College of Medicine and Health. She is an internationally recognised implementation scientist with expertise in implementation science and knowledge translation (KT), developed through extensive research leadership and formal training in Canada, including as a trainee with Knowledge Translation Canada and a CIHR-funded Postdoctoral Fellow.

Dr Flynn completed her PhD in Nursing (Implementation Science) at the University of Alberta (2018), where she was awarded the Genevieve Gray PhD Medal for highest academic standing. During her PhD, she was a Knowledge Translation Canada trainee, enhancing her expertise in integrated KT, stakeholder engagement, and implementation methodology. She subsequently held a prestigious Postdoctoral Fellowship funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and the University of Alberta (2021), focusing on the sustainability of multi-component interventions within learning health systems.

Prior to joining UCC, Dr Flynn was Assistant Professor and held a Faculty of Nursing Professorship in the Sustainability of Child Health Innovations at the University of Alberta, conducting research in a faculty ranked #1 in Canada and 14th globally. She has secured more than CAD $8.1 million (Canada) and €7.5 million (Ireland) in competitive research funding as PI, Co-PI, or Co-I, including I-STiCK (CIHR, Co-PI), ELEVATE (SFI, Funded Investigator), In-Touch (Horizon Europe, Co-Investigator), and ECHO AuDIO (CIHR, Co-Principal Applicant).

Dr Flynn leads the Sustaining Innovations in Child Health (STITCH) programme, which generates actionable evidence to support the implementation, scale-up, and sustainability of evidence-based interventions primarily in child health, while also applying her implementation science expertise to broader learning health systems. She has produced over 80 research outputs, including 38 peer-reviewed journal articles, and delivered more than 50 invited presentations and workshops internationally. She holds a Google Scholar h-index of 24 with over 1,400 citations.

Her research program - Sustaining Innovations in Child Health (STITCH) aims to improve child health outcomes using implementation science to understand the best methods to implement and sustain effective evidence-based interventions (i.e., innovations, practices, programs, or policies) in real world contexts. Through patient and public involvement, she co-designs knowledge translation strategies to facilitate the long-term use and impact of effective interventions for learning health systems. Dr. Flynn offers expertise in implementation science, with a focus on sustainability, realist methods, qualitative research and integrated knowledge translation approaches. Research Interests Dr. Flynn's research is focused on 5 key areas:

1. Evaluation of the implementation and sustainability of EBIs (clinical pathways, digital technologies, new models of care) for complex childhood conditions and contexts (pain, autism, cerebral palsy, transitions in care, NICU)

2. Advancement of the science of implementation and sustainability for learning health systems

3. Engagement and inclusion of children and families as partners in child health research;

4. Knowledge mobilization for parents and families (putting evidence into practice)

5. Realist methods to understand how complex health innovations work or not, for whom and under what contexts.

Current Funded Research Grants

Completed Research Grants