Dr. Ciara Lyons

Dr. Ciara Lyons is the clinical director of UPMC Hillman Cancer Centre at UPMC Whitfield Hospital, Waterford. She graduated from University College Dublin and undertook general medical training in the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast and the Mater Hospital, Dublin, following which she proceeded to higher specialist training in Radiation Oncology in Dublin and Belfast. Dr. Lyons then became a Fellow of the Faculty of Radiology of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland and subsequently completed a three-year PhD fellowship in GU oncology at Queen’s University Belfast under the supervision of Prof. Joe O’Sullivan and Prof. Suneil Jain. Her PhD thesis was titled ‘Risk stratification in the management of localised prostate cancer treated with radical radiotherapy’.

Following completion of her fellowship she practiced as a consultant both in Northern Ireland and Cork University Hospital prior to taking up her current post. In April 2023, Dr. Lyons joined UPMC Hillman Cancer Centre where she was appointed as Clinical Director.

As part of her previous roles, Dr. Lyons served as a member of the Radiation Oncology and Fellowship Committees of the Faculty of Radiologists. She was the CUH training coordinator for higher trainees in radiation oncology and successfully led accreditation of the training programme during this time. She was also an honorary senior clinical lecturer with UCC during this time with responsibility for undergraduate radiation oncology teaching and delivered lectures to medical, nursing, and radiation therapy students. Dr. Lyons continues to participate in the provision of SpR teaching via the Faculty of Radiologists.

Dr. Lyons has had a longstanding interest in clinical trials in radiotherapy, particularly in GU oncology. She previously led the CUH radiotherapy trials group and was the Cork lead for IRROG, the Irish Radiation Research Oncology Group.

Specialist Interests:

• Prostate cancer
• Head and neck cancer
• Stereotactic radiotherapy / advanced radiotherapy techniques
• Education and training
• Clinical trials

Professional Memberships:

• American Society for Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)
• European Society for Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ESTRO)
• Cancer Trials Ireland (CTI)
• Irish Radiation Research Oncology Group (IRROG)