Dr. Dermot Kelleher

Dermot Kelleher, MD, FRCP, FRCPI, FMedSci

Dean, Faculty of Medicine, The University of British Columbia
Vice-President, Health, The University of British Columbia
Professor, Department of Medicine, The University of British Columbia
Fellow, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland
Fellow, Royal College of Physicians, London


Dermot Kelleher, MD, FRCP, FRCPI, FMedSci, is recognized internationally for innovation in academic health leadership and administration, clinical care, research, and education.

Dr. Kelleher joined UBC in 2015 as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, and in 2018 he was appointed as Vice-President, Health for UBC. Prior to his appointment at UBC, Dr. Kelleher served as Vice-President Health and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London, where he also held a concurrent appointment as Dean of the Lee Kong Chian Medical School in Singapore until 2014. Dr. Kelleher has also served as Head of the School of Medicine and Vice Provost for Medical Affairs at Trinity College, Dublin.

Dr. Kelleher graduated from medicine from Trinity College Dublin in 1978, going on to specialize in gastroenterology. Author of 300 publications and 14 patents, Dr. Kelleher’s research examines the immune response to many of the leading causes of gastrointestinal infectious disease worldwide. Over the years he has received many prestigious awards including a Fogarty Scholarship at the University of California San Diego, Wellcome Senior Fellow in Clinical Science, and most recently the Conway Medal from the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland.

With a strong commitment to innovation and collaboration, Dr. Kelleher has worked to found several companies supporting both translational developments in biomedical science and fostering collaboration in biomedical research in both Dublin and London. He also served as President of the Federation of European Academies of Medicine until moving to British Columbia.