Dr. Elaine Sisson is a Senior Lecturer in Visual Culture and Academic Lead for the Creative Futures Academy, at the Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) in Dublin. A cultural historian, Dr Sisson specialises in 19th and 20th-century Irish cultural and visual history, with a particular focus on modernism, material culture, the Irish literary revival, theatre studies, and costume and theatre design. Her current research explores the cultural and social history of the Irish Free State (1922-1937), including the influence of European modernism on Irish theatre, particularly through set and costume design at the Gate Theatre. 

Dr Sisson holds a PhD from Trinity College Dublin and has also studied at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. She has published extensively in academic literature and serves on the editorial board of the Canadian Journal of Irish Studies. She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and has worked as a historical consultant for television and radio documentaries on Irish history and culture.

In 2018, Dr. Sisson was part of an IADT team that received a DELTA award for excellence in teaching and learning. In 2024, she was awarded the Jinty Nelson Teaching Fellowship by the Royal Historical Society.