Dr Sinéad Murphy is Lecturer in Aquatic Ecology at ATU (formerly GMIT) since 2015. Previously, she was a Marie Curie Fellow at the Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London and a Research Fellow at University of St Andrews, Scotland. Her research has focused on the independent and interactive effects of stressors in the environment on wildlife populations and how to monitor and manage those adverse activities. Stressors such as pollutants, incidental capture of marine mammals in fishing gear, prey depletion and environmental change. Additionally, her work has explored at what level marine mammal species should be conserved and assessed (i.e. population or management/assessment unit) and produced conservation priorities as well as management strategies (for human activities) for those conservation units. She has held positions on a number of intergovernmental working groups, and her work has informed conservation management advice to government departments, inter-governmental organizations such as ICES, ASCOBANS, and OSPAR, and the European Commission.
2015 - to present: Lecturer in Aquatic Ecology, Atlantic Tehnological University (formerly Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology), Ireland
2011 - 2014: Marie Curie International Outgoing Research Fellow, Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, UK and Massey University, New Zealand. Project entitled 'Cetacean-Stressors: The independent and interactive effects of multiple stressors on reproduction and development in cetaceans', coordinated by Dr Paul Jepson.
2005 - 2011 (not continuous): Postdoctoral Research Fellow to Dr Simon Northridge and Prof. Phil Hammond, NERC Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews, UK
- Principal Investigator on 'Effects of contaminants on reproduction in small cetaceans: Phase II'. Funded by the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (ASCOBANS).
- Principal Investigator on “Effects of contaminants on reproduction in small cetaceans: Phase I”. Funded by ASCOBANS.
- 'Marine mammal Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA) for offshore oil & gas licensing and wind leasing'. Funded by the UK Department of the Energy and Climate Change.
- 'Cetacean stock assessment in relation to exploration and production industry sound'. Funded by the Joint Industry Programme contract 07-02.
- 'Monitoring impact and mitigation of marine mammal bycatch'. Funded by the UK Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contract MF0736.
- EC-funded 6th Framework project 'NEphrops and CEtacean Species Selection Information and TechnologY' (NECESSITY). EC contract 501605.
2001 - 2004: Research assistant to Prof. Emer Rogan, University College Cork, Ireland
- EC-funded 6th Framework project NECESSITY, EC contract 501605.
- EC-funded 5th Framework project “BIOaccumulation of persistent organic pollutants in small CETaceans in European waters: transport pathways and impact on reproduction (BIOCET)”. EC contract EVK3-2000-00027.
- “Irish marine mammal stranding project”. Partially funded by EC BIOCET contract and the Irish National Parks and Wildlife Service.
1999-2004: PhD 'The biology and ecology of the common dolphin Delphinus delphis in the North-east Atlantic', University College Cork, Ireland. Supervisor Prof. Emer Rogan.
1995- 1999: BSc in Zoology, University College Cork, Ireland