Board of Directors

Dr Emmeline Hill, Chairman

Emmeline Hill is a co-founder and Chairman of Equinome. She is one of Ireland's most prominent genomics scientists and leads the Equine Exercise Genomics research group at the College of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, where she is a lecturer in Equine Science. She joined UCD in 2002 with a B.A. Genetics (1995) and a Ph.D. in Molecular Population Genetics (2000) from Trinity College, Dublin.

In 2000, Dr Hill and Prof. Patrick Cunningham published one of the first molecular genetic research studies of Thoroughbreds that identified errors in The General Stud Book. Her publication record includes articles in the leading academic journals Nature, Science, PLoS ONE, BMC Genomics and Animal Genetics. In 2004 she received a Science Foundation Ireland President of Ireland Young Researcher Award, Ireland's most prestigious award for young scientists. In 2009 she published the first description of the genes that contribute to the Thoroughbred athletic physique. She is a member of the International Horse Genome Mapping Group and the International Horse Genome Sequencing Consortium.

Her family has bred and raced Thoroughbreds for generations and she maintains strong industry links both in Ireland and internationally. She also coordinates a module of the Darley Flying Start International Management Programme at UCD.

JS Bolger, Director

Jim Bolger is a co-founder and Director of Equinome. He is a world class trainer of Thoroughbreds and has ranked among the top five Irish trainers for the last 30 years. Since 1977 he has trained over two thousand winners, including multiple World and European Champion colts and fillies. In 1992 he was the first Irish trainer to win one million pounds in prize money in a season. In 2008 he trained New Approach to win the Epsom Derby and to become World Champion three-year-old. He holds the Irish record of 125 winners on the flat in a single season. As well as a champion trainer he is a breeder of champions including Teofilo and Soldier of Fortune. Jim Bolger utilises Equinome's genetic test in both his world class training and breeding operations.

Donal Ryan, Managing Director

Donal Ryan is the Managing Director of Equinome, with responsibility for commercial and financial activities. Prior to joining Equinome, he worked in the biotechnology industry, working with some of the world's leading biopharma companies in lead roles in the design, installation and start-up of facilities in Ireland and Spain. He holds a B.E. Chemical (2003) from University College Dublin, and an M.B.A. (2009) from the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business.

Prof. David MacHugh, Scientific Director

David MacHugh is the Scientific Director of Equinome. He is Associate Professor of Genomics at UCD and has over 20 years of experience in the application of genetic technologies in the livestock sector. In 1996 he was a co-founder of IdentiGEN Ltd, the world's first genetic testing company for the agri-food industry. He joined UCD in 1999 with a B.A. Genetics (1988) and a Ph.D. in Molecular Population Genomics (1996) from Trinity College, Dublin. Currently he leads a research programme in livestock population and functional genomics. His research work has been published in Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the Royal Society, Genetics, PLos ONE, BMC Genomics and Animal Genetics.