Dr Siobhán Kavanagh is a molecular biologist with a BSc (Hons) in Marine science and Ph.D in microbiology from NUI, Galway. She is an assistant lecturer with the Faculty of Science and Health, Athlone Institute of Technology, in the areas of gene technology and environmental microbiology.

She has worked as a Postdoctoral researcher on the EPA funded DeTER and CapE projects project, based in the Discipline of Bacteriology, Clinical Sciences Institute, NUI, Galway involving development, validation and implementation of a method for capture and real-time PCR detection of Vero-toxigenic E. coli (VTEC) and silver nanoparticles from large volumes of water. She is also involved in developing multiplex real-time PCR assays for the detection of clinically important human pathogens as a Postdoctoral Researcher with the Molecular Diagnostic Research Group in NUI, Galway.
She has acted as a consultant in molecular biology and real-time PCR for the MI, Oranmore, Co. Galway and was a Postdoctoral Researcher on PHYTOTEST, a successful collaborative project between the National University of Ireland Galway and MI involved in development of nucleic acid based tests (real-time PCR and Fluorescent In-Situ Hybridization (FISH) assays) for the detection of toxic phytoplankton species in Irish waters.

Her primary research interests in the areas of marine and environmental microbiology, molecular biology assay development and metagenomics.