Dr. Ruth McCullagh the Programme Director and a Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy at the School of Clinical Therapies, University College Cork. Her research interests are in falls, frailty, and Parkinson's disease. She graduated from Cardiff School of Physiotherapy (1992), was awarded an MSc Neurorehabilitation (Brunel University, 1998) and her PhD (University College Cork, 2018). Ruth began lecturing in University College Cork when the Physiotherapy programme opened in 2018.

She was awarded a Health Professional Fellowship (HRB) to fund her PhD training in 2013. Her PhD project examined walking activity in frail inpatients and the effectiveness of augmented exercise on health outcomes and healthcare utilisation. She was a co-applicant on the Frailty Care Bundle, an implementation study on mobilisation, nutrition and cognitive engagement in the acute hospitalised patients. (PI Prof Corina Naughton, UCC. HRB APA award 2019). She is the Principal Investigator of the FaME Ireland study, an evaluation of early adoption of the Falls Management Exercise Programme (HRB APA 028 2022). She is the Work Package Lead on Dance and Exercise in Parkinson's Disease in the PD-Life project, the first all-Ireland research hub to improve health and well-being in people with Parkinson's disease (NSRP, administered by the (HEA).

She has supervised three PhD students to competion, exploring falls prevention in residential care, the effects of exercise in metastatic breast cancer (IRC PG Scholarship & HRB SPHeRE Scholarship), and behaviour change interventions with exercise in people with Parkinson's (IRC PG Scholarship). 

My areas of interest are in falls and frailty, Parkinson's disease. I am interested in determining the optimal exercise prescription, and strategies to support exercise engagement and adherece. 

I am the Chair of the UCC PD Research Cluster. We work closely with the Parkinson's Association of ireland, who have part-funded a PhD research Project (IRC-funded) exploring self- management and behavioural strategies in people with Parkinson's. We are members of the PD Life project, lead by Prof Timmons, UCC. PD Life is a national hub of expertise in Parkinson's disease, and I am the Work Package Lead on Dance and Exercise, with team members from UL and QUB working across three postgraduate projects. 

My PhD was a HRB-funded RCT measuring the effectiveness of an augmented exercise programme for frail inpatients in the acute setting. I have supervised HSE-funded MSc(Res) projects evaluating a community-based early supported discharge programme. I am the Principal Investigator of the FaME Ireland study, evaluating the early adoption of the Falls Management Exercise programme (FaME) in Ireland. I continue to work with clinical colleagues to explore how we can scale up this highly effective and transformatiional programme for people at risk of falling. 

I have supervised three PhD projects; exploring exercise self management and behavioural change in Parkinson's disease (IRC funded), falls prevention in residential care, and early and ongoing personalised rehabilitative physiotherapy programme for people with metastatic breast cancer (IRC funded). Current PhD projects include strategies to reduce the risk of functional decline in acute care, and exercise and behavioural change interventions in Parkinson's disease. 

I am the Chair of the School of Clinical Therapy Teaching and Curriculum committee. I have been the MSc Physiotherapy Director since 2025. I was part of the initial team in establishing the MSc Physiotherapy programme constructing five modules: namely, Cardiovascular Health and Health Promotion, Rehabilitation 1 (Principles of Rehabilitation and Movement), Rehabilitation 2 (Rehabilitation to promote independent movement and function in a busy active environment) Principles of Research and Research Methods and Dissertation. I remain the module coordinator for the research modules, (Principles of Research and Research Methods and Dissertation). I examine the students for all five modules. I stress patient-centred approach to their management, to used the International Classification of Function to structure their assessment and treatment approach, and to recognize the importance of family and peer involvement. I encourage students to use the best evidence to inform their clinical practice, using epidemiological studies to gain an understanding of the prevalence and prognosis, and interventional studies / systematic reviews to inform their management. When teaching research modules, my overarching aim is to teach students how to critically appraise the literature to inform their decisions. The students learn how to determine research quality; the evidence which should inform their clinical practice, and how to interpret research findings; to understand their implications for clinical practice and for future research.