Marren family donation transforms cancer diagnostics at St. Vincent’s University Hospital in memory of the late Kathleen (Kay) Marren

08/10/2025

Mr Val Marren, a Mayo man, and family joined Prof Ray McDermott, Dr Adrian Marino and their teams to present a portrait of the late Kathleen (Kay) Marren, honouring her memory and commemorating the family’s support for life-changing care at the hospital.

In presenting the portrait to the teams her husband, Mr. Val Marren, said “…Kay, who was a microbiologist, was always happy when she was in the lab, so she and I decided to donate to St Vincent’s University molecular pathology laboratory.  The team there do excellent work and we wanted to support a part of the hospital that isn’t always seen, but the difference they make for patients and their families is extraordinary.”

Dr Adrian Marino, Associate Professor of Pathology, said” Thanks to this incredibly generous donation, St. Vincent’s University Hospital is now home to a world-class precision diagnostics service.” This investment has directly supported the expansion of the Laboratory, which is now named Kathleen Marren and family laboratory.  This enables us to acquire cutting-edge equipment, including an Illumina next-generation sequencer and a Hamilton robotic liquid handling instrument.

Professor Ray McDermott said, “These advanced tools are critical for the precision oncology programme at SVUH and the St. Vincent’s/UCD Cancer Centre. The new technology allows our laboratory to analyse more than 500 genes simultaneously from a single biopsy sample, a massive leap from the previous capacity of just 5-10 genes. This powerful capability means that we can provide complex diagnostic results for up to 40 cancer patients every week.”

Thanks to the Marren family’s extraordinary support the oncology team are enabled to make highly informed decisions, ensuring that every patient receives the most effective, personalised treatment possible, according to the highest international standards

Helen McVeigh, St Vincent’s Foundation, said “we are touched and honoured to have received this generous support from the Marren family in memory of the late Kay (Kathleen) Marren.   We know how much Kay meant to them all and hope there is great comfort in knowing their gift in her memory is already transforming patient care and will continue to do so for many years”.

Photo shows L-R

Prof Kieran Sheahan, Consultant Histopathologist (SVUH),Prof Ray McDermott, Consultant Medical Oncologist  (SVUH),Val Marren, husband of the late Kay Marren,Prof Adrian Marino Enriquez, Associate Professor of Pathology (SVUH),Karen Marren, daughter of Val, John Marren, son of Val