Dr Helena Lenihan is Assistant Dean, Research and a Senior Lecturer in Economics. She is an applied economist who researches on public policy issues. More specifically, her research concerns itself with the following interrelated streams: Industrial/enterprise development and policy; innovation policy; enterprise and innovation policy evaluation (examining the impact/effectiveness of policy interventions from both ex-ante and ex-post perspectives and a concern with evaluation ‘methods’); and the role of enterprise and entrepreneurship/new venture creation in economic development and firm growth.

In 2008, Helena Lenihan was a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Business Research (CBR) at Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, UK (Jan-June 2008). She spent June 2008 as a visiting academic at the Centre for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (CSME), University of Warwick, UK. In 2009, Helena Lenihan received a National Excellence in Teaching Award from the National Academy for the Integration of Research and Teaching and Learning (NAIRTL). She is also twice winner of the University of Limerick 'Excellence in Teaching Award'.