Dr. Andrew McGovern

Postdoctoral Fellow
CAMH
 

Current Research

Andrew is a passionate researcher in sex differences and women’s health. He is particularly interested in the phenomenon where menopausal hormone therapy can either increase or decrease the risk of women developing dementia. His focus is understanding how the timing of hormone therapy administration with relation to menopause onset changes the outcome, if route of administration is important, and to better understand preclinical models of menopause.

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Background

Andrew joined the neurosciences in University College Cork earning a B.Sc. in Neuroscience (2013-2018). Then awarded a scholarship for a master’s by research (2018-2020) studying sexually dimorphic effects of early life stress on hippocampal neurogenesis and microglial activation under the supervision of Prof. Yvonne Nolan and Dr Olivia O’Leary. In 2019, Andrew was awarded a scholarship to begin doctoral studies identifying interactions between biological sex, gonads, and Tibolone hormone therapy utilizing bioinformatic and statistical techniques. His doctoral research revealed neuropharmacological plasticity in Tibolone hormone therapy efficacy dependent on gonads and sex in Alzheimer’s disease associated pathways.

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In 2019, Andrew joined the University of Limerick as a full-time teaching assistant supporting the B.Sc. Bioscience program. During this time Andrew supported seventeen modules across neuroscience, immunology, genetics and anatomy, and graduated from a graduate diploma in teaching, learning and scholarship. Since, Andrew worked as a part time teaching fellow in University College Dublin where he developed the first skin and hair science course for the personal grooming industry in Ireland. The course earned plaudits and renewed funding for its modern online synchronous and asynchronous teaching methods. Andrew also worked as a clinical anatomy tutor in the school of medicine, University of Limerick in 2023.

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Public Engagement and Science Communication

Andrew is an award-winning science communicator. Andrew was awarded the audience choice prize in the regional heats and national finals of Irelands biggest science communication competition, FameLab Ireland, telling the history of poor research in women's health using rhymes and a puppet. Following this success Andrew launched a podcast, Living Room Logic, which hit #1 on the science podcast charts in Ireland. Living Room Logic released over 40 episodes including the following solely led by Andrew: Neuroscience of Addiction, Addiction and Human History, Where is the Cure to Cancer, Psychology of Conspiracy, How to see the Future of Omicron and the Neuroscience of Depression.

During the COVID-19 pandemic Andrew was invited by the head of communications and member of the national public health emergency team, department of health, government of Ireland, to communicate COVID-19 information to young adults. The initiative @scicommcollective as highlighted by the European Centre of Disease Control as best practice in COVID-19 and vaccine communications. During this period, Andrew produced a spoken word piece which was highlighted by the Irish Examiner and used as a national advertisement on Instagram to communicate positive mental health messaging. Andrew then began independently producing COVID-19 science communications on TikTok in response to anxiety and uncertainty in the discourse of Irish social media. In the following three months Andrew built an audience from 500 followers to over 30'000 with his daily series through the Omicron wave whilst accumulating over 10 million views. Since then, Andrew has given a TEDx talk and invited lectures in science communication in the University College Cork, University College Dublin, University of Limerick, and the EU Environmental Protection Agency secretariat in Dublin. Presently, Andrew is working with womenmind on their science communication and public engagement initiatives.