Prof Olivia McDermott
Professor Olivia McDermott, Professor in Operational Excellence & Regulatory Affairs, University of Galway
Olivia is a Professor in Operational Excellence & Regulatory Affairs at the University of Galway. She is the course director and cofounder of 4 Medical Technology Regulatory Affairs post-graduate programs. Olivia is a Professor of Operational Excellence and Regulatory Affairs at the University of Galway. She serves as the course director and co-founder of four postgraduate programs in Medical Technology Regulatory Affairs. Her research interests include Quality 4.0, Industry 4.0, Lean practices, Six Sigma, Sustainability, Operational Excellence, and Regulatory Affairs. Since 2021, she has published and co-authored over 180 peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers, and edited books. For 2025, she is recognised on the Stanford University/Elsevier list of the Top 2% most-cited authors in her field.
Before pursuing an academic career, Olivia held senior management positions in the Electronics and Medical Device manufacturing industries and worked as a self-employed consultant. She has secured over €1 million in MedTech research funding through various projects, including EU4MEDTECH, MedTechLabel, HEU-EFS, and DeCODE. Additionally, she serves as an associate editor for several academic journals and has received awards for her leadership in Operational Excellence and her published research.
At the University of Galway, her Operational Excellence research team comprises 12 PhD students and postdoctoral researchers engaged in empirical research with Irish industry partners. Her research interests are in Quality 4.0, Industry 4.0, Lean, Six Sigma, Sustainability, Operational Excellence & Regulatory Affairs. She has published and co-authored over 190 peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers, and edited books since 2021 and is featured in the Stanford University/Elsevier Top 2% cited authors in her field for 2025. Prior to joining academia, she worked in senior management roles in the Electronics and Medical Device manufacturing industries and as a self-employed consultant.
She has received over 1 million in Medtech research funding through the EU4MEDTECH, MedTechLabel, HEU-EFS, and DeCODE projects. She holds associate editor positions at several journals and has received awards for her leadership in OpEx and for her published work. Her OpEX research group at the University of Galway consists of 12 pHD students and post-doctoral researchers working on empirical research with Irish industry partners.