Desmond Fitzgerald (professor)

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Desmond Fitzgerald (born 30 October 1953) is an Irish medical doctor and academic leader. He served as the fifth president of the University of Limerick from early 2017 until his resignation in May 2020 due to personal health reasons linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Education and early career
Fitzgerald studied medicine at University College Dublin and the National University of Ireland, earning his medical degrees in 1977. He also earned a Diploma in Mathematical Statistics from Trinity College Dublin in 1982 and an MD in 1994. After medical training in Dublin, he moved to Vanderbilt University in the United States to study clinical pharmacology and cardiology, where he led a coronary care unit and a cardiovascular research program.

Return to Ireland and leadership roles
He returned to Ireland in 1991, joining University College Dublin and establishing a research laboratory. In 1994 he became professor and head of the Department of Clinical Pharmacology at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), building a translational research program that bridged basic science and clinical work. In 2004 he became vice president for research at UCD, developing a broad research strategy, increasing funding and collaboration with industry, and helping to raise the university’s global standing.

Presidency at UL and COVID response
Appointed UL president in May 2017, Fitzgerald led a new five-year strategy focused on expanding access, enhancing the student experience, and strengthening research in artificial intelligence, data analytics, and health. He helped establish a Digital District and guided UL toward becoming a University of Sanctuary. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, he formed a university Covid Committee, moved classes online, and oversaw the rapid creation of a 65-bed field hospital on campus. He resigned in May 2020 for health reasons.

Research, honors and personal life
Fitzgerald has published more than 400 papers on cardiovascular disease and inflammation. He founded several companies and held leadership roles in various medical and research organizations. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland, the European Society of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and other bodies. He is married to Margaret Fitzgerald and they have two daughters.