Dr Irene Castellano is an Ordinary Board Member of the Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA). Previously, she was chair of the MCAA Ireland Chapter and member of the Research Funding and Research Policy working groups, where she led the Science Diplomacy Task Force. Irene organised session to MCAA annual conferences, including one on Science Diplomacy for Sustainable Development.

Professionally, Irene is a biomedical researcher with experience working in different countries and settings including academia, industry, and the public sector. Irene has been working in research funding and policy in Ireland since 2020, including topics such as open access, narrative CVs and the sex and gender dimension in research. Currently, she is a Project Officer in EU programmes and policy at the Health Research Board (HRB) in Dublin.