Danashree's experience in the HPRA sees her career go from strength to strength

A good internship set her on the right path

Dhanashree joined the HPRA on an internship in 2015 as part of her ME Biomedical Engineering degree from UCD.

"The idea of working in the Irish competent authority and familiarising myself with the medical device legislation and the regulatory structure at a European level appealed to me since it was an unexplored field where I could work in a multidisciplinary team and translate classroom knowledge into practical application"

As the only intern in the department, Dhanashree initially thought it would be difficult to fit into an organisation of this size and calibre. However, she soon realised the right support network was in place to help her settle in.

“Although the learning curve was very steep, the right support from my colleagues and the team spirit throughout the organisation meant I enjoyed my internship at the HPRA and looked forward to working here in the future.”

Growing into her role as a scientific officer in the HPRA

On completing her degree in 2016, Dhanashree returned to the HPRA in the role of a Scientific Officer within our Medica Device function.

Familiar with the organisation and happy to be back, Dhanashree was eager to step up to her new role and face the challenges it presented.

“The encouragement, support and enthusiasm of my team were instrumental in making me set higher targets and work towards achieving them.One of the advantages of being a part of such a versatile team is that there is always something to learn or a new skill to acquire presenting the opportunity to challenge yourself. I see myself exploring these challenges in the years to come and developing new professional and organisational competencies."

Dhanashree's Scientific Officer role required some new skills such as:

• more technical expertise
• better understanding of the current medical device regulatory scenario 
• the ability to contribute at an EU level. 

The right training and a supportive learning environment helped Dhanashree learn the right skills to take on the role.

“While the workload and responsibilities had increased as I had anticipated, I was pleased to see the work environment that I had appreciated during my time as an intern was still very much the same, if not better!”

Promotion to senior management opens new doors

In 2019 Dhanashree was promoted to Technology Group Lead in the Assessment and Surveillance section of our Medical Devices department. Here she was involved in assessing technical and regulatory aspects of medical devices.

In 2022, Dhanashree held the senior management position of Assessment & Surveillance Manager (Acting) while covering a maternity leave. This role meant responsibility for ensuring that both medical device and in-vitro diagnostic technologies along with Notified Bodies in Ireland and Europe, were following national and European requirements and relevant standards.

After completing this acting position, Dhanashree took on a new role in Medical Devices as Project Officer for Digital Health Products.