Inaugural Lecture of Professor Román Romero-Ortuño

Professor Román Romero-Ortuño is Professor of Ageing Medicine & Frailty (Personal Chair) in the Discipline of Medical Gerontology at Trinity College Dublin and Consultant Physician at the Mercer's Institute for Successful Ageing, St. James's Hospital. An internationally recognised clinician–academic, he has advanced the understanding, assessment, and management of frailty in ageing adults, combining clinical excellence with research leadership and educational innovation.

He graduated in Medicine from the University of Barcelona in 2002 and completed a Master of Science in European Social Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2003. Alongside his medical studies, he trained in piano and music theory at the Conservatory of Barcelona. His postgraduate medical training took place in Manchester and London, followed by higher specialist training in Geriatric and General (Internal) Medicine in Dublin.

From 2014 to 2018, he was Consultant Geriatrician at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Honorary Visiting Fellow at the Clinical Gerontology Unit, University of Cambridge.

His research focuses on frailty in ageing adults, particularly its measurement, biological and social determinants, and clinical impact. His work has been recognised with the Rising Star Award of the British Geriatrics Society (2015), the Count of Cartagena Award from the Royal National Academy of Medicine of Spain (2017), and the President of Ireland Future Research Leaders Award (2018). Supported by the latter, he led the FRAILMatics clinical–epidemiological research programme (2019–2025), drawing on insights from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) and well-characterised clinical cohorts.

Professor Romero-Ortuño holds prominent national and international leadership roles. He is a Faculty Member of the Global Brain Health Institute, contributing expertise in frailty, dementia, delirium, and comprehensive geriatric assessment. Within Trinity College Dublin, he has served as Associate Director of Postgraduate Teaching and Learning (M.D. Studies) and Head of the Discipline of Medical Gerontology (2022–2025). Promoted to Professor in 2020, he was elected Fellow of Trinity College Dublin in 2023 and advanced to Personal Chair in 2024.

Externally, he co-chairs the All-Ireland Frailty Network and was appointed in 2025 to the Board of the PEACEPLUS Early Frailty Intervention Project. At European level, he is Board Member of the Geriatric Medicine Section of the European Union of Medical Specialists, chaired the 2025 Review Committee for the European Training Requirements in Geriatric Medicine, and contributes to the standards-setting group of the European Geriatric Medicine Specialty Examination. He also serves on the Executive Board of the European Geriatric Medicine Society as Director for Education & Training (2024–2027) and on the Executive Committee of the Irish Gerontological Society as Education and International Affairs Representative (2025).

A committed educator, he leads the GERI-CHARM project, a CHARM-EU initiative strengthening undergraduate geriatric medicine education through collaboration between Trinity College Dublin and the University of Barcelona. In the postgraduate sphere, he directs Trinity’s interdisciplinary online frailty programmes, including the Micro-credential in Assessment and Management of Frailty in Ageing Adults and the Postgraduate Certificate in Advanced Ageing and Frailty Studies.

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