Leadership Committee
The ADR UK Leadership Committee brings together the accountable leads from ADR UK’s partners to develop and agree the strategic direction of ADR UK, and to develop the policies necessary for successful delivery.
Aideen Maguire
Co-Director, ADR Northern Ireland
Dr Aideen Maguire is a Psychiatric Epidemiologist by training and currently a Lecturer in Social Epidemiology within the School of Medicine at Queen’s University Belfast. She is Co-Director of ADR Northern Ireland and runs the team of research specialists within ADRC Northern Ireland from Queen's University Belfast and Ulster University who are focused on delivering high-quality and impactful evidence that supports policy and practice in Northern Ireland. The ADRC research portfolio includes work examining income, poverty, deprivation, education, air pollution, the built environment, children in care, homelessness, the justice system, and mental ill health. Aideen is Co-Investigator on a number of research grants leading themes utilising administrative data to better understand population health and wellbeing such as the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study (NILS), Groundswell, MuM-PreDiCT and Behavioural Research UK. Aideen is an active member of numerous committees, acting as an independent academic advisor on the Northern Ireland APG for Mental Health and the APG for Suicide Prevention, and is also a member of the ADR UK Leadership Committee. Aideen began her current role in October 2023 after the untimely death of her beloved colleague and predecessor, Prof Dermot O’Reilly, who led ADRC NI since its inception in 2014.
Philip Wales
Co-Director ADR Northern Ireland; Registrar General and Chief Executive, NISRA
Philip is Co-Director of ADR Northern Ireland and a member of the ADR UK Leadership Committee, in his role as Chief Statistician of Northern Ireland. He is also the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency’s (NISRA) Chief Executive and Registrar General for Northern Ireland. Philip has extensive experience as a government statistician and economist; most recently as Deputy Director with responsibility for public sector statistics at ONS. Throughout his career, Philip has championed the use of detailed survey and administrative data to better understand the challenges facing our economy and society. He is passionate about the central role that independently produced statistics and analysis play supporting policy, informing decision makers, and in democratic accountability.
Staff and collaborators
ADR NI brings together expertise from Queen’s University Belfast, Ulster University and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) to deliver policy-relevant research using administrative data. The team spans academia and government, combining skills in data linkage, analysis and secure access to generate robust evidence for public good. Together, ADR NI staff work to ensure data is used safely and effectively to inform policy and improve outcomes across Northern Ireland.
