Organised by the Newborn Brain Society, the 15th International Newborn Brain Conference (INBBC) returned to Ireland for the third time — and to Cork for the second — from 28 February to 2 March 2024, hosted at Fota Island Resort in Cork.
All three Irish editions of the INBBC bear the imprint of host committee chair and Fáilte Ireland Ambassador, Professor Geraldine Boylan, whose leadership has been pivotal in elevating Ireland as a centre of excellence in neonatal brain research and technology.
Convening for Purpose
With a focus on neonatal neurology, neuroprotection, and neurodevelopmental outcomes, Boylan’s multidisciplinary team reflects an ecosystem that has leveraged the conference not only to share research but to build the foundations of the Newborn Brain Society itself, catalyse international collaboration, and expand global neonatal innovations.
INBBC 2024 continued this trajectory by offering pre congress workshops, keynote lectures, and plenary sessions spanning neurodevelopment, brain monitoring, and emerging frontiers such as the use of Artificial Intelligence in EEG analysis. This created a forum where neonatologists, neurologists, nurses, allied healthcare professionals, engineers, therapists, researchers, and educators could share knowledge across professional and cultural boundaries.
By providing a platform for these exchanges, the conference continues to establish Ireland — and particularly Cork — as a hub of “technology driven neonatal brain health,” capable of shaping clinical care pathways in both the Global North and South.
[New caption needed; original quote now used elsewhere in the article]
Advancing Impact through Intellectual Capital
Professor Boylan leads the broader neonatal research landscape that positions Cork and Ireland as global intellectual capital in newborn brain health. At the heart of this ecosystem is the INFANT Research Centre at University College Cork (UCC), a world leading hub for maternal and child health research. INFANT’s work, spanning pregnancy, birth, infancy, and early childhood, aligns fully with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and underpins the international demand for evidence based innovation to improve health outcomes for mothers and babies.
The presence of INFANT, combined with the expertise of the Department of Paediatrics & Child Health at UCC, enables INBBC to serve as a powerful accelerator for research translation. Delegates gain access to world class science, while Irish early career clinicians and researchers gain rare access to international leaders without leaving the country.
Fáilte Ireland and the Cork Convention Bureau further supported the event through subsidised registration and programming, ensuring global accessibility and fostering the collaborative outcomes essential to advancing neonatal brain health for families, society, and future generations.
Creating Positive and Demonstrable Change
The conference’s long term value is most visible in the real world innovations that originated from earlier editions. A key example is NeuroBell, an award winning INFANT spin out whose origins trace back to its early exposure at the INBBC Conference in 2015. In 2024, NeuroBell returned to the conference as a headline sponsor and a flagship representative of Ireland’s neonatal technology revolution — prompting the reflection:
O’Sullivan: “NeuroBell would never have existed without the Newborn Brain Conference.”
Another tangible outcome includes Boylan’s collaborative work with the Cerebral Palsy Foundation and Research Ireland, jointly pursuing improved early detection windows — the “sweet spot” — for timely intervention in infants at risk.
INBBC’s value lies in knowledge mobilisation: uniting world leading expertise to share evidence, challenge assumptions, and shape the next generation of neonatal care. In hosting this global gathering three times, Ireland has strengthened its innovation ecosystem, stimulated international partnerships, supported Irish spin outs such as NeuroBell and CergenX, and advanced global understanding of neonatal brain health.
About Fáilte Ireland
As the National Tourism Development Authority, Fáilte Ireland supports the long-term sustainable growth in the economic, social, cultural and environmental contribution of tourism to Ireland. ‘Meet in Ireland’ is the official business events brand for the island of Ireland. It facilitates a partnership between Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland and Tourism Northern Ireland to promote the island of Ireland overseas as a world class business events destination. Ireland’s new business events strategy, ‘Business Events 2030’, is a product of collaboration between the Department of Enterprise, and Employment, Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland and industry leaders from the tourism sector.
Further Reading:
Fáilte Ireland Case Study Series:
Case Study #1: TRANSFORMING RURAL HEALTH: A Tale of 3 Meetings
Case Study #2: IGC 2024 Dublin: Celebrating a World of Difference, Creating a Lasting Legacy
