Deirdre works in the Defence Forces and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in July 2020. Her treatment timeline included surgery (August 2020) and chemotherapy (Sept 20 – Jan 21), before she began taking PARP Inhibitors in March 2021. Deirdre completed her treatment in March 2023 and has since shared her treatment experience with researchers in UCD.

Deirdre joined the UCD PPI group in September 2022 after hearing about the group via a friend, and has since been involved in a number of projects. She has contributed to the painting by Vincent Devine The Vitruvian: Uncovering the Layers of Cancer for Science Week 2023 and has spoken about this at events held in Dundrum Town Centre and at the Esker Arts Centre, Tullamore. She has also presented about her PPI involvement at a workshop for ColoMARK, a European colon cancer network, highlighting a practical example of PPI in lab-based research. She has also co-authored a publication on PPI in lab-based research and was invited to speak about this at a Patient Engagement Journal Club in Canada