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Professor Celia Holland

Fellow Emeritus (Zoology)
      
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Professor Celia Holland

Fellow Emeritus (Zoology)

 cholland@tcd.ie

 


Celia Holland, BSc, PhD, MRIA is a Professor of Parasitology in the Discipline of Zoology, School of Natural Sciences. Her PhD at the Molteno Institute, University of Cambridge, explored how helminth parasites interact within an experimental system. She held a postdoctoral fellowship in Cornell University, exploring the impact of parasites on child growth and vitamin status. This included fieldwork in Panama, where she developed her main research passion - the epidemiology of globally significant but neglected helminths, such as Ascaris. Human ascariasis has been described as the ultimate Neglected Tropical Disease, both because of its impact on child health and the general lack of awareness of its true global importance. These international experiences enabled her to develop unique and complimentary skills in both field and laboratory approaches to the study of human ascarids. In recognition of her research, she was elected to Membership of the Royal Irish Academy and Fellowship of Trinity College. In the Academy, her roles have included Vice President, member of Council and member of the Committee on the Assessment of candidates for membership. Prof. Holland is an Invited Expert on the WHO Advisory Panel on Parasitic Diseases and a member of the WHO Guideline Development Group (GDG) - deworming. She has published widely on parasitology and related topics and has edited several books including sole editorship of Ascaris the neglected parasite and the senior editorship of Toxocara the enigmatic parasite. She is a committed and renowned teacher providing courses on Parasitology and Data Handling to students in both Science and Medicine. She was awarded a Provost's Teaching Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2019. She has undertaken various leadership roles including Head of School, Head of Discipline, Director of Research and Chair of the School of Natural Sciences Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team.
  Acanthocephala   Aggregation and predisposition   Animal models   Ascaris   Cerebral toxocariasis   Epidemiology   Fish parasites   Helminthology   Host behaviour   Impact and control   Parasitology   Pomphorhynchus laevis   Soil-transmitted nematodes   Toxocara
Details Date
Member of Royal Irish Academy Strategic Plan committee (2019-2023) 2018-2019
Member of WHO Guideline Development group(GDG) - deworming 2016
Member of Expert Advisory Group to Gates Foundation project assessing health and education effects of interventions to control soil-transmitted helminths and schistosomiasis 2015-present
Member of WHO Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Expert Elicitation 2014
Member of the Royal Irish Academy Advisory Committee on the Assessment of Candidates for Membership 2012-2015
Member of the Royal Irish Academy Membership Working Group 2013-present
Member of the Royal Irish Academy Diversity Committee 2016-2019
Member of the Royal Irish Academy Gold Medals Assessment panel 2012
Editor of the Cambridge Journal Parasitology 2011-2019
Member of the Scientific Board of European Scientific Counsel Companion Animal Parasites (ESCAAP) 2012-present
General Secretary of the European Federation of Parasitologists (EFP) 2008-2012, 2012-2016
External Assessor for an academic review of the Department of Zoology, Ecology and Plant Sciences, UCC 2006
Member of the WHO Expert Advisory Panel on Parasitic Diseases 2002-2006, 2006-2010, 2010-2014, 2014-
Member of Praegar Committee, Royal Irish Academy 2005-2010
Member of the Royal Irish Academy International Exchanges Assessment Panel 2004-2009
Co-rapporteur: Informal consultation on the use of Praziquantel during Pregnancy/Lactation and albendazole/Mebendazole in Children under 24 months, WHO Geneva 2002
Editorial Board of Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy Section B: Biology and Environment 2001-2009
Editorial Board, Journal of Helminthology 2007-2010, 2011-
Assessor for proposals submitted to the Life Sciences panel of the Enterprise Ireland Basic Research Awards 1999 - 2000
Irish Society for Parasitology - Committee member 2000-present
Irish Society for Parasitology - President of the Society 1997-2000
Founder member and Secretary of the Irish Society for Parasitology 1995-1997
ICOS (Irish Council for Overseas Students), Executive Member 1994-1999
Details Date From Date To
British Society for Parasitology
American Society for Parasitology
Linnean Society
Fellow, Royal Society Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Keegan, J.D., Airs, P.M., Brown, C., Dingley, A., Courtney, C., Morgan, E.R., Holland, C.V., Park entrances, commonly contaminated with infective Toxocara canis eggs, present a risk of zoonotic infection and an opportunity for focused intervention., PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 19, (3), 2025, pe0012917-, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Association between Toxocara and neurocognitive function in, editor(s)Hedges, D.W., Gale, S.D., Erickson, L.D. , Infectious Diseases in Neuropsychiatric and Neurocognitive Medicine, UK, Oxford University Press, 2024, pp244 - 264, [Holland, C.V.], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED
O'Keefe, F.E., Pendleton, R.C., Holland, C.V., Luijckx, P., Increased virulence due to multiple infection in Daphnia leads to limited growth in 1 of 2 co-infecting microsporidian parasites., Parasitology, 151, (1), 2024, p58 - 67, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Holland, C.V., Afra, Z.G., Valizadeh, S., Ebrahimi, M., Rostami, A., The global prevalence of Toxocara canis among red foxes (Vulpes vulpes): a systematic review and meta analysis., International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife, 25, 2024, p100984-, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Sherlock, C., Holland, C. and Keegan, J.D., Caring for Canines: A Survey of Dog Ownership and Parasite Control Practices in Ireland, Veterinary Sciences, 10, 2023, p90-, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Zintl, A., McManus, A., Galan, M., Diquattro, M., Giuffredi, L., Charbonnel, N., Gray, J., Holland, C., Stuart, P., Presence and identity of Babesia microti in Ireland, Ticks and Tick-borne diseases, 14, 2023, p102221-, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Zulfiqar, S., Gasser, R.B., Ghodsian, S., Almukhtar, M., Holland, C., Rostami, A., Strongyloides coinfection in COVID"19 patients treated with corticosteroids: A systematic review, Reviews in Medical Virology, e2469, 2023, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Eccard, J.A., Mazza, V., Holland, C., Stuart, P., The timid invasion: behavioural adjustments and range expansion in a non-native rodent, Proccedings of the Royal Society B, 290, 2023, p20230823-, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Holland, Celia V., A walk on the wild side: A review of the epidemiology of Toxocara canis and Toxocara cati in wild hosts, International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife, 22, 2023, p216 - 228, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Maciag, L, Morgan, E.R. and Holland, C., Toxocara: time to let cati 'out of the bag', Trends in Parasitology, 38, (4), 2022, p280 - 289, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
  

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Award Date
Imperial Group Studentship, University of Cambridge 1980
Elected Fellow of Trinity College 1995
Elected Member of The Royal Irish Academy 2004
Elected Fellow of Linnean Society 2009
Elected Member of the Royal Irish Academy Council 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Nominated as Vice President, Royal Irish Academy 2011, 2012, 2013
Visiting Professorship Taipei Medical University and Centre for Disease Control 2013
Awarded medal for contribution as Secretary of the European Federation of Parasitology at European Multicolloquim of Parasitology 2016
Lifetime achievement award Provost's teaching award 2018-2019