We are delighted to welcome Dr Harriet Finnegan as a postdoctoral researcher to the ERC PatentsInHumans team!
Dr Harriet Finnegan joined the ERC PatentsInHumans team in November 2026 as a Postdoctoral Researcher. She holds a PhD in Management from the School of Business at Maynooth University. Prior to joining the project, Harriet worked as a Research Assistant on Professor Nicola Mountford’s Research Ireland New Foundations-funded project, ‘22 Stories A Qualitative Investigation of Care Coordination Experiences for 22q11 Deletion Syndrome’. She has also worked as an Assistant Lecturer in the School of Business at Maynooth University.
Harriet’s doctoral research, titled ‘Temporary Organising and the Implementation of Large-Scale Projects: A Multiple Case Study’, examined Ireland’s Electronic Health Record programme, and the Rural Electrification of Ireland. Her research was funded by an Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship.
Harriet’s research interests centre on institutional logics and their influence on organisational practices, management, and decision-making, particularly within healthcare contexts, and temporary forms of organising. As part of the PatentsInHumans project, Harriet will contribute to its empirical research strand, bringing experience in qualitative research methods, particularly semi-structured interviews within healthcare contexts
Harriet also holds a Master’s degree in Business Management, and a BA in English and Anthropology, both from Maynooth University.
The ERC PatentsInHumans project is led by Professor Aisling McMahon (School of Law and Criminology, & ALL (Assisted Living and Learning) Institute, Maynooth University). It examines the bioethical issues posed by patent grant and use over emerging health-technologies, and avenues to embed such considerations within European patent decision-making systems. This project is funded by the European Union (ERC, PatentsInHumans, Project No. 101042147). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
You can find out more about the project: www.patentsinhumans.eu