Professor Jennifer Hoblyn MD MB BAO Bch M.Med.Sci. MRCPsych MPH MA
Areas of Expertise:
Psychiatry of Later Life
Later onset and early onset Dementias
Huntington's Disease
Bipolar Disorder
Schizophrenia
Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Quality of Life in Psychiatric Disorders
Education and Experience:
Professor Jennifer Hoblyn graduated in 1990 from the College of Surgeons in Dublin, followed by a master’s in clinical Physiology at University College Dublin and then the Mater Hospital Psychiatry Training Scheme. She then moved to New York, where she completed additional training at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York City, completing a Fellowship in Geriatric Psychiatry. She joined the staff as an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Co-Director of the Clinical Core of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital. Involvement in the education of medical students and allied health professionals has always been a core focus of her activities.
She then obtained a master’s in public health, specialising in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, at the University of California at Berkeley. After joining the VA in Palo Alto, she became a member of the IRB Bioethics group at Stanford and then became the Director of Inpatient Psychiatry Services at VAPAHCS and a tenured faculty member at Stanford University School of Medicine. While there, she became the Palo Alto Site Investigator in the US-wide Federal Genomic Project (MVP) and completed several awarded clinical trials in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. She served as a reviewer for several top journals and received several awards, including a Huntington Study Group USA Scholarship award. She completed a Doctorate in Medical Research in 2010 from University College Dublin before moving back to Dublin, where she joined the Faculty of Trinity College Dublin School of Medicine in 2012.
She then became the Clinical Director of Bloomfield Hospital, developing services for those with severe and enduring psychiatric disorders and a Specialized Rehabilitation unit (SRU) in collaboration with the HSE for those with severe and enduring psychiatric illness. She developed specialised multidisciplinary services for those with early onset dementia, including those with Huntington’s Disease and a HD Café to support family members. She joined the European Huntington’s Disease Association (EHDA), serving on several working groups and being a member of the Bioethics Committee for 4 years.
In 2022, she became a Clinical Professor in the UCD Medical School and the Clinical Director of St John of God Hospital, where she has a 0.5 clinical appointment and continues her interest in Early Onset Dementias and Quality of Life as an outcome measure. She has a weekly HD Research Clinic and has developed further links with colleagues in UCD and University Galway. She received an MA in 2022 in recognition of her services to TCD. She has published many peer-reviewed articles, several books, and book chapters.
Research & Awards:
Since returning to Ireland Professor Hoblyn co-authored a JPND/HRB Consortium Grant, that included colleagues in Ireland, the U.K., Germany, Netherlands, Italy, and the Czech Republic, which was funded in 2019. This was followed by an HRB KTA award to develop further information for medical colleagues and allied health professionals regarding the care of those with Huntington’s Disease. Recently, she has collaborated with colleagues in the Department of Electrical Engineering in UCD, studying motor function and swallowing in those with Huntington’s Disease. She is currently developing further collaborations with additional colleagues in UCD.
