Shane O'Donnell

Dr Shane O'Donnell is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at York University whose research explores patient-led innovation, digital health and the development of more equitable approaches to healthcare technology.

His work has a particular focus on how patients and communities can play an active role in developing and governing the technologies they rely on. His research on the #WeAreNotWaiting movement examines how people living with diabetes have used open-source collaboration to co-create automated insulin delivery technologies, challenging traditional models of healthcare innovation.

Shane previously coordinated the international OPEN (Outcomes of Patients’ Evidence with Novel, Do-it-Yourself Artificial Pancreas Technology) Project, a patient-led research initiative investigating the real-world clinical and quality-of-life outcomes of open-source automated insulin delivery systems. The project brought together researchers and people living with diabetes from organisations around the world.

His current research considers how patient-led innovation, citizen science and healthcare ‘commons’ could offer alternative models for developing medical technologies that are more responsive to patient needs. Through his work, Shane advocates for healthcare innovation that places lived experience, collaboration and equitable access at its centre.