Professor Stephen Byrne is a graduate of University of Sunderland (UK) and Trinity College, Dublin. He joined UCC in 2004 and was appointed to the Chair of Clinical Pharmacy Practice in 2013. Stephen was appointed as the Head of Pharmacy at UCC in 2013 and appointed as Deputy President and Registrar of University College Cork in 2022, having held the role as Interim Registrar from November 2020.

Professor Byrne has published over 145 peer reviewed papers and supervised 25 PhD students. He has been co-investigator on three EU research projects and has developed a wide network of international collaborators. Among his many research achievements, he is part of a UCC team that developed the STOPP/START criteria which has been endorsed internationally and adapted into treatment pathways for older persons worldwide. His research team have also worked in the field of antimicrobial usage patterns, prescribing optimisation and drug utilisation patterns. He was part of a multidisciplinary team to publish the first set of national antimicrobial guidelines for use in primary care in 2011.

Professor Byrne’s areas of research focus are the appropriate prescribing of medicine in the elderly and optimisation of the role of the pharmacist. Some of his recent research activities include: 

Pharmacist reviews and Hyperpolypharmacy (2025)

Leading on from previous research in 2021 regarding pharmacist interventions and associated recommendations, this research project worked with pharmacists to evaluate the imapct of person-centred medicines reviews in general practice settings for patients with hyperpolypharmacy, resulting in significant improvements in medicines appropriateness, patient-reported side effects, adherence, and understanding about medicines. 

STOPP/START (2014) and STOPPFrail (2024)

Professor Byrne was part of the multidisciplinary research team that devised the STOPP (Screening Tool of Older Persons' Prescriptions) and START (Screening Tool to Action the Right Treatment) criteria. The criteria were subsequently validated by an expert review panel, comprised of 18 experts in geriatric pharmacology and therapeutics.

More recently, STOPP was adapted to target inappropriate/unnecessary medications in frail older adults (STOPPFrail). Professor Byrne's research demonstrated significant cost avoidance when STOPPFrail was applied to frail older nursing home residents, in addition to reduced patient harm.

Integration of Pharmacists into General Practice Teams (2023)

This study explored GPs perceptions towards integrating pharmacists into practices, which provided context on areas of concern for GPs, and appropriate roles within the GP/Pharmacist relationship.