At St.Vincents Private Hospital we understand that weight loss isn’t a one-size-fits-all scenario. Our world-class multidisciplinary team are eager to help support you with your own personalised treatment program that is designed to help you achieve long-term results. Our patient inclusive approach means that you the patient are as much a part of the treatment plan as our healthcare professionals.
Professor Helen Heneghan, Bariatric Surgeon
Ms Helen Heneghan is a Consultant Bariatric Surgeon at St. Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin. She is a graduate of NUI Galway, and completed basic surgical training in Galway University Hospital. In 2012 she was awarded a PhD in the molecular expression of breast cancer and obesity from NUI Galway. She then completed the RCSI Higher Surgical Training scheme in General Surgery in 2016. During her training, she spent two years in the Bariatric Metabolic Institute in Cleveland Clinic, Ohio. She then completed her training with a Bariatric Fellowship in the UK (Chester, Liverpool).
Professor Carel Le Roux, Physician
Professor Carel le Roux completed his specialist training in metabolic medicine at St Bartholomew’s Hospitals and the Hammersmith Hospitals, his PhD at Imperial College London. He moved to University College Dublin in 2012 as a Director of the Metabolic Medicine Group. He previously received the President of Ireland Young Researcher Award, Clinician Scientist Award from the National Institute Health Research in the UK, and a Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Fellowship for his work on how the gut talks to the brain using bariatric surgery procedures to understand why the operations make people feel less hungry and more satisfied after a smaller meal. He also co-led some of the major trials on using medication to achieve long term weight loss and prevention of the complications of obesity.
Ms Therese Coleman, Dietician
Therese Coleman is a registered dietitian and nutritionist. She graduated in 1999 with a BSc. (Hons) Nutritional Science from University College Cork, Ireland (UCC), where she also undertook postgraduate studies, gaining an MSc. in Food Business and Development (2001). Her research funded by the Higher Education Authority Programme for Research investigated attitudes to diet and health. Therese completed the postgraduate diploma in Human Nutrition and Dietetics at London Metropolitan University in 2011.
Dr. Werd Al-Najim, Nutrition Consultant
Dr Werd Al-Najim is a Registered Nutritionist specialised in obesity. She holds a Bachelor Degree in Human Nutrition from Kingston University in London and a PhD in obesity treatments from Imperial College London. She moved to Dublin to run a number of major obesity clinical trials. She brings together the most recent scientifically proven nutrition recommendations to clinical practice and provides an integrated approach to suit each individual’s need rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach.
Dr Finian Fallon, Psychologist
Dr Finian Fallon is a Chartered Psychologist and Psychotherapist. He completed his doctoral training at DCU. Dr. Fallon is Dean of Psychology at a third level college in Dublin where he is develops and delivers training in the field of psychology. He also provides psychological supports for patients participating in the STRIVE Study at the UCD Diabetes Complications Research Centre Conway Institute. In addition, he provides psychological assessment and support services for bariatric patients at St Vincent’s Private Hospital. He has extensive experience of working with patients with a range of psychological presentations including obesity, eating disorders and trauma.
Dr Samantha Scholtz, Psychiatrist
Dr. Samantha Scholtz is a Consultant Psychiatrist who specialises in the management of obesity and related disorders as well as the preparation of patients for bariatric surgery. Currently based at Medfit, she graduated from Stellenbosch University and completed her higher specialist training at St. George’s University of London.
She has expertise in the management of eating disorders and obesity, and has worked within three different national referral centres in this field. She is an expert at providing psychiatric assessment and support to patients undergoing weight loss treatments, having assessed and guided over 2000 patients through this process. She has trained in various psychotherapeutic approaches and uses a cognitive behavioural or cognitive analytical approach when required.
Mr Andrew Grannell, Exercise physiologists
Andy is a qualified strength and conditioning coach with BSc and MSc in Exercise Physiology. He has experience in a range of sports with time spent in Brazil working with professional fighters and in California with La Galaxy and several athletes from the NFL, MLB and LPGA. He aims to begin a PhD in the coming months investigating autonomic physiology in athletes and sedentary individuals.
Mr John Murphy, Physiotherapist
John is an accredited Level 3 Sports Physiotherapist and a Specialist Member of the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists in the discipline of Sports Medicine. John graduated with an honours degree in Physiotherapy from UCD in 1996. He subsequently completed a research MSc in Physiotherapy in UCD, and a Graduate Diploma in Business Studies. From his research on sports injuries associated with Gaelic Sports he is a published lead author in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in 2010 and co-author in 2011. John is a member of the GAA Medical Scientific and Player Welfare Committee since its inception in 2006. He is also the current Director of the GAA National Injury Database, established in 2006 in conjunction with UCD School of Physiotherapy and was the head physiotherapist with the Dublin Senior Gaelic Football team from 2004-2008.
Dr Karl Neff, Consultant Endocrinologist
Dr Karl Neff is a consultant endocrinologist, and a specialist in bariatric medicine and weight management. As a bariatric physician, he is an advocate for people who are living with the disease of obesity, and has extensive experience in the use of non-surgical weight management therapy.
Following graduation from the National University of Ireland in Galway in 2006, Dr Neff completed Higher Specialist Training in Endocrinology and Diabetes, and wrote his PhD thesis on the effect of weight loss and bariatric surgery on the complications of diabetes in University College Dublin. In 2016 he moved to King’s College Hospital in London, where he led a multi-professional Medical Bariatric Clinic, providing pre-operative and post-operative care to people undergoing bariatric surgery. In 2019, Dr Neff returned to Dublin to take up a position in the Ireland East Hospital Group, working in St Vincent’s University Hospital and St Columcille’s Hospital in Loughlinstown.
As an active clinical researcher, Dr Neff has published widely on the effects of weight loss and bariatric surgery on metabolic disease. He has contributed to several textbooks on bariatric care, diabetes and weight management. In 2019, with colleagues across Europe, Dr Neff published the first international guidelines on prenatal and antenatal care in bariatric surgery recipients.
