Ciaran O’Neill was educated at Queens University Belfast where he obtained a primary degree in economics in 1986 and a PhD in agricultural economics 1990.

He has held positions at Queens University Belfast, University if Nottingham, Ulster University and the University of Galway. He has held various visiting positions including positions at the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica and the University of Michigan. He was a Harkness Fellow in Healthcare Policy and Practice in 2001/2002, Chair of the Northern Ireland Health Economics Group, Chair of the Health Economics Association of Ireland and Chair of Action Cancer’s Board of Trustees. He has served on several national scientific committees in Ireland, the UK, Hong Kong, and New Zealand and provided policy advice to the Health Committee in Northern Ireland and the Department of Health in Ireland. Along with Professor John Cawley (Cornell) and John Mullahy (Univ.Wisconsin) he organizes the biannual Ireland Health Economics Masterclass. His research focuses on the application of economics to health and healthcare. It has centered on efforts to ensure the efficient delivery of healthcare services and to identify and seek to understand disparities in health outcomes. He has published approximately 200 peer reviewed journal articles including many on disparities in cancer screening, service use and the relationships between co-morbidity and cancer treatment and outcomes.