Funding Awarded

Towards Personalised Clinical Management of Suicide Risk through Data-Driven Clinical Decision Support using Transnational Electronic Registry Data "PERMANENS"

Two longstanding limitations hamper effective suicide risk management in clinical practice. First, unassisted clinical judgement is not sufficient to accurately assess suicide risk, leading to ineffective clinical decision-making and poor patient experience; and second, the need for adequate mental health treatment is often unmet among...

Prevention in prediabetic patients of infection’s morbidity following a high fibre and vegetal protein diet "PreVegDiet"

Obesity is a risk factor for both susceptibility to infections including postoperative infections and other nosocomial infections and the occurrence of a more severe disease course. The main cause of obesity is energetic imbalance due to increased caloric intake and little expenditure. This induces metabolic and hormonal changes that...

Early Detection and Intervention for Cerebral Palsy (EDI4CP).

Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) in research is a key focus of our active award, the HRB Irish Network for Children’s Clinical Trials (In4kids). We are now seeking KTA funding for a 0.6FTE PPI coordinator dedicated to our Cerebral Palsy (CP) Research programme in the network. This is a new national programme that will be rolled out...

Art4Knowledge – Art Therapy for Knowledge Exchange between UCC CTG patients with cancer, their families, and clinical trials teams.

Art4Knowledge expands on efforts of the HRB-funded UCC Cancer Trials Group (UCC CTG), which provides access via clinical trials to cutting edge treatments and supportive care for patients with cancer in the South of Ireland. UCC CTG connects UCC research teams with clinical trials units in Cork University Hospital, University Hospital...

Developing an online platform to promote oral health among the Cystic Fibrosis community.

This KTA will be used in order to disseminate findings from our research into the oral health of people with Cystic Fibrosis (PWCF). We seek to provide information and education to two groups of people: 1. PWCF and parents/guardians of PWCF, and 2. Oral Healthcare Professionals. 

We will engage with patient advocates from...

Translating the tailoring process to improve the implementation of diabetes care.

Our application supports the CUSTOMISE project funded by a HRB Research Leader Award. Our project which is looking at how to implement effective programmes in the health service in a way that is acceptable and practical for health professionals and service users. One such programme is the DAFNE self-management programme for adults with...

CURRENT-KTA | Recurrent Miscarriage: evaluating CURRENT services-Knowledge Translation Acceleration.

Through this RE:CURRENT-KTA application we aim to work with knowledge users to raise awareness, share knowledge, and facilitate practice change to maximise the impact of the RE:CURRENT (Recurrent miscarriage: evaluating CURRENT services) Project and provide more effective healthcare services for people with recurrent miscarriage. We...

Enhancing Testicular Awareness and Self-Examination Among Gay Men: Campaign Co-Design and Delivery Using the World Café Methodology.

Purpose 

To design and deliver a community-based campaign to promote testicular awareness and self-examination among gay men.

Importance 

In comparison to straight men, gay men are more likely to report a cancer diagnosis including testicular cancer, the most common...

Developing the IL-36 receptor antagonist as a therapy for colon cancer

The immune system is rapidly emerging as a key player in the development and progression of cancer. Whilst the body’s immune system is designed to detect and destroy cancer cells, tumours are known to produce proteins that suppress the immune response. A better understanding of the relationship between tumours and the immune system...

A probiotic strategy for antipsychotic-induced metabolic dysfunction

Schizophrenia is a mental illness associated with psychosis and is treated with antipsychotic medication. These medications are very effective; however, they cause side-effects that impact people’s physical health. Substantial body weight gain occurs in up to half of people during long-term antipsychotic treatment. Antipsychotics can...

Identifying gut microbiome-responsive brain biomarkers of cognitive impairments relevant to schizophrenia: A next-generation functional CNS circuit mapping approach

Ireland has among the highest rates of mental illness in Europe. Schizophrenia is the leading psychiatric diagnosis nationally. Schizophrenia patients have problems remembering their past, are unable for social interactions and cannot hold on to information long enough to use it. Scientists have found that gut microbes can affect our...

A Standardised Approach to Measuring Infant Feeding Outcomes to Prevent Childhood Obesity

Approximately one in five children currently experience obesity worldwide, making it a major public health challenge. What, how and when children are fed in the first year of life (“infant-feeding”) contributes to childhood obesity risk. However, strategies, including interventions to prevent childhood obesity by targeting...

SocialPaths: Sex-specific socioeconomic pathways to cardiovascular disease risk across the life course

Heart disease is the leading cause of death globally in both females and males. After decades of research, we know what causes heart disease but prevention remains challenging. Much of what we know about heart disease and how we go about preventing it today is based on research in males. Future prevention strategies require research...

Development of a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) Implementation Model: Enhancing Intersectoral Approaches in Tackling Health Inequalities

Public health research has shown that our health and wellbeing are affected by the circumstances into which we are born, grow, live, work and age. These circumstances are generally described as the social determinants of health. We know that incorporating a health focus drawing on the social determinants of health across all publicly...

Development, validation and dissemination of the PRECIS-3 tool to support the design of pragmatic randomised controlled trials: Towards making clinical trials part of routine clinical care

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have been proven to be the best means of acquiring clinical data for the provision of a wide variety of healthcare solutions. Conventional (explanatory) RCTs, however, are normally performed under ideal conditions in a scenario that is divorced from the clinical care of the participants. They are...

UCC Symposium on Cutting Edge Computed Tomography (CT)

Computed tomography, commonly known as a CT scan, is a diagnostic test that combines X-rays with computer technology to produce detailed images of the inside of the body. Unlike standard X-rays, CT scans can create 3D images demonstrating almost all organs and tissues. CT scans have become an essential element of modern medicine for...

HRB NCTO International Clinical Trials Day Conference 2023 - "Clinical Research in Ireland 2023"

The NCTO International Clinical Trials Day (ICTD) event on May 11th 2023 will be a one day conference, celebrating International Clinical Trials Day, launching the calendar of ICTD events which will take place in the CRF/Cs across the network over subsequent weeks and showcase clinical research activities across the HRB funded...

Best practice for Caring for Patients with Cystic Fibrosis in Primary Dental Care

Ireland has the highest global incidence of Cystic Fibrosis and future trends predict that the adult Cystic Fibrosis population in Europe will increase by 75% by 2025, therefore it is timely and necessary to equip dental professionals with the most current information and guidance surrounding the management of Cystic...

Early Identification of Suicide and Self-Harm Risk and Comorbid Mental and PHysical Disorders: An INterdisciplinary TrAining, Research and InterventioN Programme (MHAINTAIN)

MHAINTAIN will create a research-through-training network addressing the need for doctoral training and career paths, to improving early identification and intervention of suicide and self-harm risk. The aim of this interdisciplinary consortium is to improve capacity building in the assessment of risk of suicide and self-harm...

HRB Clinical Research Facility - UCC (HRB CRF-UCC)

No summary available

National Clinical Trials Office 2021 - 2024

No summary available

Safeguarding the Brain Of Our Smallest Children- an open-label phase-III randomsied trial of cerebral oximetry combined with a treatment guideline versus treatment as usual in premature infants

Approximately 25,000 preterm infants are born more than 12 weeks early every year in Europe. For these preterm infants, the consequences of such an early birth include a high risk of death and brain injury. About one in five will die and almost one quarter of all survivors will be at risk of longer-term developmental problems....

OPTimization of Medication by transdisciplinary Assessment of drug Treatment in Elderly hospitizalised patients (OPTIMATE): application of a definitive intervention by physicians or clinical pharmacists

Older people commonly experience multimorbid illness i.e. several chronic medical conditions occurring in the same patient simultaneously. Each of these conditions is usually treated with one or more medications, such that multimorbid illness usually results in several medications being simultaneously prescribed long-term; this is...

Enhancing Men’s Awareness of Testicular Disease (E-Mat): A Feasibility Study and Study Within A Trial (SWAT)

Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in European men younger than 50 years. In Ireland, 176 men are diagnosed with testicular cancer each year. Testicular cancer treatments, especially in late stages, can cause infertility, heart, and neurological diseases. Other testicular diseases can also cause lumps and bumps. These are...

WHO Solidarity Trial Ireland

WHO Solidarity Trial Ireland

Oral health in adults with Cystic Fibrosis

Approximately 1 in 19 Irish people are said to 'carry' one copy of the altered gene that causes Cystic Fibrosis (CF). Half of people born with cystic fibrosis in 2017 will live to at least 47. This is a remarkable medical advance, however this means that we now have a shortage of evidence for the healthcare management of adults...

Iron deficiency assessment for protection of the newborn brain

Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in the world. About 1 in 4 people do not have enough iron to stay healthy. Pregnant women, infants and young children are at high risk of iron deficiency, as they need more iron than other population groups to support growth and development. Maternal health, including body...

Practice Enhancement for Exclusive Breastfeeding (PEEB)

Breastmilk makes the world healthier, smarter, and more equal as reported by The Lancet Series on
breastfeeding in 2016. There is substantial scientific international evidence that demonstrates the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding for infants, in the short, medium and long term. Such benefits include fewer infections ,increased...

Health Services Research Centre for UnderStanding TailOred iMplementation Involving Stakeholders, Evidence and skills Development (CUSTOMISED) for policy and practice

I will find ways to answer one of the most pressing and difficult questions facing health systems around the world- how do we implement effective changes in everyday healthcare in a way that is acceptable and practical for health professionals and service users?

We know from research that there are many things that health...

Targeting the compromised brain endothelial barrier function during cerebral malaria with AT2 receptor agonists.

Strengthening of inter-cellular junctions of endothelial cells would facilitate important translational applications for a variety of diseases where endothelial integrity is compromised. As a first model, we have chosen cerebral malaria (CM), which remains the deadliest manifestation of malaria. It is caused by Plasmodium falciparum...

Evidence for Policies to Prevent Chronic Conditions (EPICC)

Chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes are the most common causes of death in Ireland and Europe. These diseases are becoming more common and they are extremely costly for governments. The costs will continue to increase unless governments can find better way to prevent and treat these diseases.

Moreover, these chronic...

Development and validation of a risk stratification tool for assessment of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality using data from the National Maternal and Newborn Clinical Management System

Many women and their unborn babies experience problems during pregnancy. Occasionally mothers or babies die. These outcomes vary across hospitals. Currently, there is no accepted method of comparing outcomes between hospitals. Therefore, we do not know if all hospitals are performing to standard, or whether there are worse or better...

Mapping Parkinson's Disease needs and services in Ireland to inform service planning

There is evidence that Parkinson's disease (PD) is on the rise. The number of people living with Parkinson's in the world is set to double between 2015 and 2040. Despite this, there has not been enough investment made in healthcare services to improve care for people with Parkinson's in Ireland. Also, under-staffing can be a problem in...

The Test of Complex Syntax: final development phase, standardization and diagnostic accuracy with respect to children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and those at risk of language disorder.

This project aims to develop an online interactive tool which will allow us to identify children who find it more difficult to understand language than their peers and to individually tailor support to help them to overcome these difficulties. Difficulties understanding spoken language are often hidden and children's problems may go...

Implementation of a Frailty Care Bundle for older adults in acute care

During hospital admission, older patients often reduce their walking activity and nutrition intake due to illness. However, research suggests that inflexible hospital routines, lack of patient awareness and limited nursing attention are also factors. Long periods of inactivity combined with suboptimal nutrition cause leg muscle...

Study of the impact of dedicated recurrent miscarriage clinics in the Republic of Ireland

Spontaneous miscarriage is the most common complication of pregnancy. While improvements in the quality of care provided during pregnancy have led to substantial reductions in many adverse pregnancy outcomes, there has been little effect on miscarriage which still occurs in between 20% to 30% of pregnancies, in the first trimester....

Bile Acids as a host trigger of Chronic infecting Pathogens in Respiratory Disease

This study will investigate the unexplained link between bile aspiration and the chronic infection/inflammation characteristic of severe respiratory disease in patients. Despite advances in the clinical management of respiratory disease, patients continue to develop lung damage even from an early age. We know that harmful bacteria...

PRoviding Improved care for Self-harM: a mixed-methods study of intervention, economic and implementation outcomes from a national clinical programme

Suicide is a societal concern in Ireland and is associated with both personal and economic costs. People who self-harm are at particular risk of suicide, and so developing services and interventions for this population can help prevent deaths. Under Ireland's national strategy to reduce suicide, a programme to help people who present...

Engineering RNA-based therapeutics for treatment of sepsis and sepsis induced multiple organ dysfunction syndrome

Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. Worldwide it affects over 30 million people of all ages and results in 5.3 million deaths annually. In Ireland sepsis contributes to 25% of in-hospital deaths and one in five patients diagnosed with sepsis will die from this disease. To...

SCaRLeT: Sex differences in Cardiovascular Risk across Life course Transitions

Heart disease is still the leading cause of death around the world. Preventing heart disease, by focusing on risk factors like smoking is essential for improving population health. Females and males do not experience heart disease equally. In adults, research suggests risk factors that can be changed like smoking do not have the same...

Intensive Care Airway and Lung Microbiome Network ICALM Network

Hospital acquired pneumonia (HAP) is the most frequent infection acquired in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). ICU-related respiratory infections arise as a consequence of the processes of ICU care. Mechanical ventilation (MV) is potentially lifesaving, but also carries microorganisms into the lower airways, changing the native flora, and...

Self-Harm and Suicide AwaREness ? SHARE

SHARE is based on outcomes of the HRB funded research programme: Improving Prediction and Risk Assessment of Suicide and Self-Harm (IMPRESS). The IMPRESS study aims to improve the knowledge base on predictive risk factors associated with repeated self-harm and suicide among high-risk groups of self-harm patients in Ireland. During the...

Delivering a Reduction in the Development of Maternal Prenatal Stress: DIRECTMAPS

Pregnancy can be a stressful time during which many expectant mothers experience understandable worries and concerns. High levels of prenatal maternal stress are linked to several unfavourable conditions which can affect the health of the child at birth. Normal development of the central nervous system is also at risk during the early...

CHErIsH- KEDS

This CHErIsH-KEDS application has two aims: to increase capacity in translation of research into practice in Ireland and to develop a knowledge exchange strategy for the future roll out of CHErIsH across different settings in primary care. This application builds on the existing study, the CHErIsH study. The CHErIsH study is funded...

Reducing Maternal Stress in Ireland

Stress experienced by women during pregnancy and up to two years after the baby is born can have negative consequences for the mother and the child. Strategies and guidelines to reduce stress experienced during pregnancy and early parenthood is lacking in Ireland. In this project the research team will develop an intervention...

Investigating the iceberg model of self-harm and suicide in children, adolescents and young adults: a multi-methods study of predictors of onset, escalation and premature mortality

Rates of self-harm among children, adolescents and young adults in Ireland have increased sharply in the past decade and rates of youth suicide remain high. Self-harm and suicide have been described as an "iceberg", with the rare event of suicide as the tip of the iceberg. Beneath this are higher rates of self-harm resulting in...

Enhancing ?The Model for Dementia Palliative Care Project? by targeting potential model users with innovative Knowledge, Transfer and Exchange activities.

This KEDS application will further enhance Knowledge, Transfer and Exchange (KTE) activities arising from 'The Model for Dementia Palliative Care Project', by supporting new connections with key groups, through novel activities and outputs. The active project will develop a new service delivery model for palliative care for people...

What the Researcher and the Dentist want to share, supporting knowledge dissemination

Research is ongoing to monitor the oral health of the Irish population, the uptake of dental services, and targeting of services to specific groups most in need. Results of such research inform policy makers in the Department of Health with respect to issues such as community water fluoridation and recommendations on the use of...

Scaling up the Family Carer Decision Support Intervention: A transnational effectiveness-implementation evaluation

The Family Carer Decision Support (FCDS) intervention has been designed to inform family carers about end of life care options available to a person living with advanced dementia. The effect of the FCDS was demonstrated through a study that employed a cluster randomized control trial involving 24 care homes located in the United...

Combining Electrochemotherapy with a Toll Like receptor agonist for the treatment of lung cancer

Successful cancer treatment aims to totally eliminate the entire tumour and the risk of recurrence. Treatment currently relies on removal of the primary tumour by surgery or radiotherapy followed by control of the remaining dispersed cancer cells in the whole body usually by chemotherapy. At the Cork Cancer Research Centre (CCRC) we...

Evaluation of the role of MxA and ISGylation in chemosensitivity in oesophageal cancer

Many oesophageal cancers develop resistance to the drugs currently used to treat this disease. This allows the cancer cells to survive and the cancer can come back again at variable times after the initial treatment. Research already performed by this group has identified genetic differences between cancer cells that respond well to...

Evaluating a novel macrolide based early intervention in the clinical management of chronic infections and inflammation in Cystic Fibrosis

Chronic persistent respiratory disease is a leading cause of death worldwide. Despite years of global research, the clinical management of respiratory disease, including the life-limiting genetic disease cystic fibrosis (CF), remains a significant challenge. Treatment options are extremely limited, due in part to the increased pathogen...

Intervention of antimicrobial resistance transfer into the food chain (INART)

Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR)

Soil and water have been identified as reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the food chain as the most likely mode of AMR transfer into human and animal pathogens. Manure is reused as soil fertiliser in which food plants grow and is a source of AMR....

Preventing transmission of MRSA from livestock to humans through competitive exclusion (EXCLUDE MRSA)

Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR)

Pig farms act as reservoir of Livestock-Associated Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA). Through occupational exposure to farm dust and contact with pigs, farm workers are at risk for acquiring LA-MRSA. Although health care institutions can cope...

Preventing transmission of MRSA from livestock to humans through competitive exclusion (EXCLUDE MRSA)

Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR)

Pig farms act as reservoir of Livestock-Associated Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA). Through occupational exposure to farm dust and contact with pigs, farm workers are at risk for acquiring LA-MRSA. Although health care institutions can cope...

Intervention of antimicrobial resistance transfer into the food chain (INART)

Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR)

Soil and water have been identified as reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the food chain as the most likely mode of AMR transfer into human and animal pathogens. Manure is reused as soil fertiliser in which food plants grow and is a source of AMR....

The implementation of National Clinical Effectiveness Committee clinical guidelines relating to health care associated infections in Irish healthcare organisations: multiple perspectives

Background: Healthcare associated infections (HCAI) create a major burden on individuals, their families, and the health services. They lead to longer stays in hospital, higher risk of death, and increased frequency of other health problems such as heart failure, and pneumonia. All of this also contributes to greatly increased...

Evidence to Support Prevention Implementation and Translation - Knowledge Translation (ESPRIT-KT)

This application adds to a larger HRB Research Leader Award about improving care for people with diabetes in Ireland. The goal of the KEDS project is to connect people who do research with people who make decisions about our national health policy so they can learn from each other and work together to improve the health of the...

Developing a website for public awareness about computer use in aphasia rehabilitation

Aphasia is a language disorder which occurs in 1 in 3 people after stroke. It can impact on a person's ability to produce and understand spoken and written language. People with aphasia have had limited opportunities to have their voices heard within Irish stroke research.



This research project has already engaged...

Overweight & obesity in Ireland: Translating policy into action

The launch in 2016 of "A healthy weight for Ireland", the Government's National Obesity Policy and Action Plan, 2016-2025 represents an important milestone in Ireland's response to ongoing epidemic of overweight and obesity in children and adults. Researchers in the HRB Centre for Health & Diet (CHDR) generated key evidence which...

Listening to the newborn brain

This outreach programme will provide dedicated public information and education resources on the neonatal brain stethoscope device, which aims to facilitate interrogation of the neonatal brain and improve the quality and accuracy of the diagnosis brain injuries, reduce the stress of parents with babies in the NICU and establish the...

Supporting individuals and organisations involved in implementation of community water fluoridation

The Fluoride And Caring for Children's Teeth (FACCT) study was initiated to determine the effect of the change in water fluoridation policy (2007) on dental caries (tooth decay) and enamel fluorosis (marks on tooth enamel which are associated with fluoride) in Irish children, while also considering the change in policy on the use of...

Biomarker discovery and validation in autism spectrum disorder: A study of neonatal cord blood in international birth cohorts

What is Autism? Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex disorder of brain development. ASD is characterized by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviours. ASD begins in infancy and persists into adolescence and adulthood. ASD imposes significant emotional and economic burdens on...

Investigating mitochondrial dysfunction and meta-inflammation as a shared pathogenic network in pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes mellitus

Pre-eclampsia (PE) and gestational diabetes (GDM) are two common complications of pregnancy. PE is characterised by high blood pressure and increased protein in the urine. GDM develops because the mother's body is not able to produce the extra insulin needed for pregnancy. Together, these pregnancy complications affect 15% of first...

Exercising control over runaway kynurenine pathway metabolism: Towards improved treatment outcomes in major depression

We all know someone who suffers from depression, the difficulties they experience before being diagnosed and the hardship endured before an effective medication that improves their symptoms is finally found. Often, despite multiple trials of different medications, the symptoms of depression persist. In addition to the personal and...

The impact of stress on maternal gastrointestinal permeability during pregnancy: Implications for maternal immunology and infant neurodevelopment

Pregnancy can be a stressful time during which many expectant mothers experience understandable worries and concerns. Unusually high levels of prenatal maternal stress are associated with a number of behavioural and cognitive problems for the child in later life. Normal development of the central nervous system is also at risk during...

HRB Clinical Research Facility University College Cork 2018-2021

No summary available

Sex matters! Identification of novel therapeutic targets to mitigate the increased prevalence of depression in women versus men.

Stress, particularly early life, is a major risk factor for several psychiatric disorders including depression. The prevalence of depression is twice as high in women compared with men. Thus in addition to stress, biological sex is an important contributor of depression susceptibility. The neurobiology underlying increased...

Monoclonal xIL-6R antibodies as a treatment for memory dysfunction in the mdx mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder that affects ~ 1 in every 3,600 live male births. This disease is characterised by progressive muscle weakness, disability, immobility and premature death, often due to respiratory failure. Symptom manifestation is due to a genetic mutation in the dystrophin gene, which protects...

The microbiome as a risk factor and biomarker of oesophageal cancer

Oesophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer worldwide (19th most common in Europe) with nearly 456,000 new cases diagnosed in 2012. It is well established that microbes can cause cancer. For example, H. pylori infection can lead to stomach cancer. For other cancers, such as colon cancer, there is a change in the population of...

A mixed methods research study to develop an acceptable, evidence and practice based model for palliative care for people with dementia in the community

People are living longer, which means that more of us will get age-related illnesses such as dementia. Palliative Care aims to improve the quality of life of patients and their families who are facing an incurable, life-limiting illness, such as dementia. Palliative care involves actively looking for symptoms of any kind- physical,...

Research Programme - Taskforce on staffing and skill-mix for nursing

The Department of Health recently published a document entitled a Framework for Safe Nurse Staffing and Skill Mix in Ireland. In this report a number of recommendations were made to ensure that the staffing of hospitals was safe and effective; that is to ensure the right number of nurses are in the right place at the right time and...

Enhancing doctors' engagement with regulation of professional competence

In the field of medicine, information about how best to care for patients is constantly changing. Since 2011, medical doctors in Ireland are required by law to demonstrate that they are taking part in educational activities to keep them up to date. The aim of this requirement is to reassure the public that their doctors are competent...

Feasibility of an intervention to improve attendance for diabetic retinopathy screening

Retinopathy is a serious and common condition affecting the sight of people with diabetes and it can cause blindness. It is preventable through screening and can be treated if found in time. However, the success of screening is dependent on people attending when invited. Studies show that a number of people with diabetes do not attend...

Interventions for supporting pregnant women's decisions about first caesarean delivery

This cochrane review will collate the best available evidence about interventions for supporting pregnant women's decision-making for first caesarean delivery thereby influencing current clinical practice, local and national guidelines. More evidence is needed to support the promotion of informed choice, involving the woman as a...

Bacteria in human tumours

It is becoming apparent that the relationship between humans and bacteria can influence various diseases. Deeper understanding of the bacteria that live in our body is enabling identification of i) potential causes of and ii) potential treatments for disease. The Tangney lab at the Cork Cancer Research Centre has recently discovered...

Evaluation of the 'pilot implementation of the framework for safe nurse staffing and skill-mix'

Earlier this year, the Department of Health published a document entitled Framework for Safe Nurse Staffing and Skill Mix in General and Specialist Medical and Surgical Care Settings in Adult Hospitals in Ireland. In this report the Department made a number of recommendations to ensure that the staffing of hospital wards was safe and...

Use of software and computer technology in aphasia rehabilitation; investigating issues of efficacy, usability and cost effectiveness

Technology can provide an answer for over-stretched health care provision but will service users, particular older adults, actively engage with it? This research will investigate the benefits of a computer programme on language comprehension abilities (i.e. ability to understand spoken sentences) and explore the user experience of...

Development and validation of metric-based training to proficiency for dental implant placement

Common dental diseases such as dental decay (caries) and gum (periodontal) disease can lead to the loss of teeth, which has detrimental effects on patients chewing ability, speech and smile. While retaining teeth for patients is a primary goal for the dental profession, the replacement of teeth when they are lost is an important role...

Living with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and Dysphagia -the personal experiences of individuals with MND and their caregivers

Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is one of the most progressive diseases of the nervous system, for which there is no cure. It often leads to weakness in the arms, hands and legs, posing difficulties with daily life activities. Throat muscles can also be affected leading to speech and swallowing problems (dysphagia). Dysphagia can be life...

Sound-based observation of neonatal brain growth and status

WT Scheme: Seed Award in Science

Neurological problems are more likely to happen in the early neonatal period than at any other time of life. 85% of neonatal deaths worldwide occurred in developing countries with neonatal encephalopathy due to the birth asphyxia being one of the major causes of high child mortality. The lack...

Patient preferences for health

In Ireland we ask society or the general public to state their preferences for descriptions of health. We then use these valuations or preferences to calculate the impact of technologies on quality of life and this informs how decision makers decide what to fund. This is known as the QALY framework and is used in most jurisdictions to...

Psychosocial, psychiatric and work-related risk factors associated with suicide in Ireland: Enhancing dissemination and impact of research

The SSIS-ACE study examines how psychosocial, psychiatric and work-related factors relate to suicide. The study involves liaising with family members bereaved by suicide, family members of those who survived a high-risk self-harm act, general practitioners (GPs), emergency department staff, mental health staff and coroners. During the...

Taking the stress out of dementia caregiving

The existing award examines how the caring experience can impact the health of dementia spouse carers. Using this emerging research evidence we will develop two animated films and a dedicated online resource providing easy-to-understand practical advice to carers to improve their quality of life and reduce stress.
FreeDem Films are...

Synthesising and disseminating key lessons from the AIIHPC Palliative Care Research Network

This application for KEDS funding proposes to further enhance knowledge transfer and exchange activities across the SRN/PCRN by conducting a higher level analysis of the dissemination products arising from each individual work project during the final year of the active grant. It is expected that dissemination products will include...

Capnography monitoring for conscious sedation in oral surgery

Capnography has the potential to enhance patients safety in the dental setting. Procedural sedation techniques are specific to each area of medicine where sedation is practiced. Conscious sedation in an out of hospital setting by a non anaesthetist requires robust monitoring. The most important negative side effect of sedation is...

Doctor Emigration Knowledge Exchange Project (DEP-KEDS)

The Doctor Emigration Project (DEP) aims to analyse doctor emigration from Ireland and to inform national health workforce policy about the factors influencing their emigration. The ultimate aim of the project is to assist national workforce planners to develop evidence-informed policies to promote the retention of doctors in, and the...

Irish medical career tracking study (The MedTrack Study)

Hardly a week goes by without a national media report on the medical staffing crisis in the Irish health services, which is perhaps the biggest current threat to the delivery of quality health services to the population of Ireland. With 6- and 12-monthly staff turnovers, employers are forced to recruit staff from abroad to fill posts...

Blood brain barrier dysfunction in Schizophrenia; A molecular genetics based approach to prognosis

Schizophrenia has been estimated to affect up to 1 in 100 people in Ireland. Given its prevalence, the underlying causes of the condition are still far from clear. Intriguingly, there exists a chromosomal abnormality termed 22q11 deletion syndrome (22q11DS), where schizophrenia can manifest 20 times more frequently than in the general...

Early life stress and the etiopathogenesis of auditory hallucinations in young people

This research project aims to look at the relationship between experiencing stressful life events during childhood and experiencing psychotic-like symptoms (like hearing voices that other people can't hear, for example) in adolescence. Researchers have already shown that there is a relationship between these two experiences but, up...

Creating awareness of research in caregiving (CARING)

An increasing number of people in Ireland are providing care for a relative with dementia. This important unpaid work comes with an underappreciated cost to the health of the caregiver. Evidence suggests that dementia caregiving is associated with heightened psychological stress, as well as problems such as depression.
Our...

The effects of maternal and foetal stress during pregnancy on adult mental health

The causes of both common mental illnesses like anxiety and depression and more severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are still unclear. We know that these illnesses are most likely a complex mix of environmental factors working in conjunction with underlying genetic vulnerability. The genetic input to these...

Development of a national severe asthma registry and comprehensive care program

There has been a drive to deliver new asthma treatments through new biological agents. However, age old issues including poor adherence and poor inhaler use still apply and mean that it is difficult to tell if a patient has difficult to manage asthma or therapy refractory asthma. The proposal is to build a registry for patients with...

Creation of a young adult colouring book illustrating biological research on mental illness

We plan to create an innovative educational activity to promote our research on biological investigations in mental illness. Our idea is to publish a young adult colouring book that will introduce young people to the complex world of the human brain, how scientists perform neuroscience research and how the findings relate to...

Development and upgrading of the HMDB Schizophrenia Metabocard

The Human Metabolome Database (HMDB) is a freely available database that contains detailed information about small molecules found in the human body. It is the first and foremost reference site for metabolite data worldwide. It provides scientists, clinicians, educators and the public with the most current and comprehensive coverage of...

An inflammatory biomarker study of psychosis: a longitudinal study in an at risk population

Schizophrenia is among the most expensive disorders in terms of quality of life and societal cost. While treatments are inadequate, early intervention has been shown to be clinically effective. Consequently, there is an urgent need to improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of this disorder so that we can identify and treat...

Brain superheros return

Making new drugs is long, costly and complex, and is often a mystery to many people. Our laboratory is involved in the development of new drugs for brain related illnesses, including illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Multiple Sclerosis. Alongside our research, we conduct a number of outreach projects in the hope of...

Priority setting in uncertainties in trial methodology

Challenges in how clinical trials are designed and conducted are commonly experienced by researchers at different stages of the research process. For example, difficulty in recruiting people to a trial often results in a delay in completing the trial, or difficulty in using the trial results to make informed decisions about clinical...

Thinking outside the box: towards a novel approach to care delivery for young adults with type 1 diabetes

Many young people living with type 1 diabetes struggle with the burden of day-to-day self-management. As a result they often have poor outcomes including the development of life-changing complications. We have formed a partnership between existing diabetes service providers (in Galway University Hospitals), academics in National...

Evaluating the role of TLR3 L412F in disease progression in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a lung disease of unknown cause which leads to excessive scarring of the lungs, resulting in loss of lung function, respiratory failure and ultimately, death. IPF is believed to be caused by abnormal repair of the lung after a chronic injury by an unknown agent to the lining of the lung (the...

Immunotherapy for the treatment of AMD: a preclinical evaluation

Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of central retinal vision loss worldwide. Estimated prevalence of AMD in Ireland is 7% with an annual cost

High quality pre-pregnancy care is essential for women with diabetes

Women with diabetes have an increased risk of pregnancy complications. Many of these complications are due to high glucose levels in the first ten weeks of pregnancy. This means that pregnancy planning and tight glucose control is essential. Pre-pregnancy care is additional clinical care offered to women planning pregnancy. As part of...

EMERGE: A randomised placebo controlled trial of the Effectiveness of MEtformin in addition to usual care in the Reduction of GEstational diabetes mellitus effects

Diabetes (high blood sugars) that develops during pregnancy is called Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM). GDM is increasing, affecting one-in-eight pregnant women in Ireland. Women with GDM have an increased risk of complications at the time of delivery, including Caesarean section. Women with GDM have a 7-fold increased risk of...

Development of prognostic screening tools to predict patient response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy treatment for oesophageal adenocarcinoma

Cancer of the oesophagus, or food pipe, is an aggressive type of cancer with poor outlook and is affecting a growing number of people. The main types of treatments are surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which may be given alone or in combination. Although chemoradiotherapy treatments work well for some, the majority of patients...

Blood adenosine levels as a novel diagnostic of seizures in humans

Epilepsy is the most common life-long brain disease and its diagnosis remains challenging needing the application of multiple criteria including patient history, seizure type and electroencephalography (EEG) recordings. The most reliable method is long periods under video surveillance during continuous EEG monitoring which is costly...

Disease gene independent generic suppression-based therapies for retinal disorders

Multiple mutations in over 200 genes can cause retinal degeneration, a group of diseases that result in the death of light detecting photoreceptor cells in the retina. Mutations in more than 30 genes can also cause optic neuropathies, a group of disorders that affect retinal ganglion cells, causing the optic nerve to be less capable of...

PAPRICA: Protein biomarker assays for psoriatic arthritis - Clinical evaluation and validation of multiplexed panels for diagnosis and prognosis

During the treatment and management of disease important clinical decisions are made, including deciding whether a patient has a particular illness and whether they may benefit from a specific treatment. These decisions are often made with the assistance of information from different measurements including patient details, scans,...

Targeting dysregulated bioenergetics in the inflamed RA joint

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a form of inflammatory arthritis that affects approximately 45,000 people in Ireland and bears a high personal, social and economic cost. It is estimated that the cost of treating patients with RA in Ireland is approximately

Building a self-management programme for living well with and beyond head and neck cancer

We propose to develop a new programme that empowers survivors of head and neck cancer (HNC) to better manage problems associated with their illness and live well with and beyond HNC. This is important because HNC survivors have many documented unmet care needs and can face significant challenges associated with their condition and its...

Targeting NK cells to improve HCV vaccine immunogenicity

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects over 170 million people in the world. Most individuals go on to develop a chronic lifetime infection that is associated with progressive liver disease. While new drugs have recently been developed, they are very expensive and are not a treatment option for developing countries. In addition, there are...

Behavioural changes in ALS : What families and healthcare professionals need to know

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS ) (or Motor Neuron Disease (MND)) is a rapidly progressive neurodegeneration associated with loss of muscle power. Until recently, thinking and behaviour were considered unaffected, but we have shown that up to 50% of people with ALS/MND experience changes in their ability to plan complex tasks, and...

Evidence based oral healthcare for older adults

The World Health Organisation has highlighted the paucity of research into the oral health needs of older adults. The Health Research Board has recognised this and have funded a number of studies in recent years addressing this topic. Unfortunately there is a delay between the completion of studies and the publication of results in...

Cracking cancer with science; an educational outreach campaign for primary schoolchildren

Breast cancer remains a significant disease in Ireland. Our laboratory is investigating novel therapies to target a sub-group of aggressive breast tumours. This work feeds into two larger efforts. The first is to help personalize cancer therapies for patients. The second is to provide new insight into how specific tumours develop, in...

Breast cancer risk: The influence of blood selenium status and interactions between selenium supply biomarkers and genetic variations in the selenoprotein gene pathway

Hormonal, reproductive, and dietary factors play an important role in the aetiology of breast cancer (BC). Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient thought to aid cancer prevention via its incorporation into selenoproteins which help counter oxidative damage to DNA, proteins, and lipids. Such DNA damage also appears to play a...

Cold air plasma to enhance hospital hygiene leading to reduced surface bacterial counts and patient acquisition of vancomycin-resistant enterococci and Clostridium difficile infection

Healthcare-associated infections (HCAI) affect 5-10% of patients admitted to an acute hospital but it is about three times higher in intensive care units (ICUs). Prevention involves many strategies but environmental hygiene is important as many bacterial causes persist on horizontal surfaces, e.g. methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus...

SOLAS.net: Development and pilot implementation of an e-learning physiotherapist training programme for self-management of chronic musculoskeletal pain in primary care

As part of the original award, an evidence-supported group treatment approach for clients with persistent musculoskeletal pain termed SOLAS: Self-management of Osteoarthritis and Low back pain through Activity and Skills was developed. Also, a two day face-to-face physiotherapist training programme was developed and delivered to HSE...

Applying health: Using healthcare technology to enhance the delivery of rehabilitation programmes in cancer survivors

Recovery following oesophageal cancer (cancer of the food pipe) can be challenging. Cancer rehabilitation, which may involve exercise, advice from a dietitian, education or other therapeutic interventions, can help patients make an optimal recovery. The research team is currently investigating the effect of a 12 week rehabilitation...

Irish Dystonia Research Group: Innovation through collaboration

Our research group of Irish consultant neurologists (with an interest in movement disorders) and laboratory based scientists (engineers in the Department of Neural Engineering in Trinity College Dublin) have been involved in finding the cause(s) of a movement disorder which affects about 600-800 individuals in Ireland. This...

Defining host and microbe-derived immune targets for development of improved host-directed therapies and vaccines for TB

Almost one third of the world's population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) with almost 2 million deaths to tuberculosis (TB) annually. Over 400 patients are treated for active TB annually in Ireland, with an increasing number of drug-resistant cases emerging. Currently treatment involves a multi-drug course for 6...

Enhancing awareness of the socio-economic impact of inherited blindness

In Ireland, many devastating diseases have an inherited cause and are passed onto further generations. Blindness due to inherited degeneration of the retina at the back of the eye is an excellent case-study with which to explain the basis of inherited disease, the socio-economic impact and the research required to generate new...

Enhancing awareness of blindness resulting from diabetes. Understanding treatments & preventative interventions

In Ireland, Diabetic Retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness. The number of people becoming blind due to diabetes is set to rapidly increase as the "diabetes epidemic" unfolds. In general, there is a lack of awareness as to the social, economic and health impact of diabetic blindness.
Here, we generate short 3D-animations that...

Baby steps towards STRIDER: support, website, information, dissemination, exchange

This outreach programme will provide a dedicated public information and education resources on intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and the STRIDER clinical trial, which aims to improve outcomes of pregnancies affected by IUGR with sildenafil citrate (Viagra). It will provide support to women and their partners experiencing IUGR by...

Dysfunctional mItochondria proVokes Inflammation iN prEeclampsia; a novel medical interventional target to improve maternal and foetal diagnosis in preeclampsia. Short title: DIVINE

Pre-eclampsia, a serious condition of late pregnancy, characterised by high blood pressure and proteinuria in the second-half of pregnancy, affects 5% of first time mothers and is associated with significant maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. A quarter of babies born to women with pre-eclampsia do not grow properly, and a...

Promoting positive mental health messages for the older population: The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) films

The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) offers unique data on the challenges associated with ageing and how these can affect mood as we age: grief, retirement, poorer physical health. We have demonstrated that mood may be affected by loss of support networks such as adult children moving abroad. Over 10% of the older Irish...

The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) hypertension seminars for health professionals in primary and community care practice

In April 2015 the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) published research, funded through the active award, which indicates that approximately two thirds of older Irish adults have high blood pressure and close to half of them are unaware of their condition. High blood pressure is an important risk factor for heart disease and...

A web-based resource and community of practice (CoP) to transform practices around 'talking about epilepsy'

This knowledge exchange and dissemination (KED) initiative proposes to develop a variety of educational and informative resources using different technological media (audio, video and e-authoring tools) which will be delivered online in a designated website to support the translation of research evidence on childhood epilepsy...

Parent-adolescent communication and negotiation of self-management responsibilities for adolescents' with Type 1 Diabetes

Poor Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) self-care results in poor metabolic control and is particularly challenging during adolescent years. Good metabolic control of T1D is important to prevent long-term negative outcomes. With parents holding a central role in creating a safe learning environment and motivating adolescents to monitor food intake,...

Profiling receptive and expressive prosodic skills in children with spina bifida and hydrocephalus

This project will advance current knowledge about communication difficulties in children with spina bifida and hydrocephalus (SBH). This condition affects the normal development of the spinal cord and brain and is particularly relevant to the Irish context because of the high incidence in the country - currently at least 500 children...

Urine soluble CD163 as a biomarker of crescentic glomerulonephritis

Crescentic glomerulonephritis (CGN) is a severe form of kidney failure that leaves about one third of sufferers dependent on dialysis or needing a kidney transplant. It is currently difficult to assess the condition without performing a kidney biopsy, which is uncomfortable, expensive and occasionally dangerous to the patient. We have...

Ethnic Minority Health in Ireland - Building the evidence base to address health inequities

International evidence shows that minority ethnic groups have poorer health and more difficulties accessing healthcare than majority ethnic groups. Analysis of existing health datasets and the use of ethnic identifiers in health care systems are promoted internationally as valuable ways to address these differences. It is not possible...

Healthy pregnancy in Ireland

The HRB Ireland Perinatal CTN is an all-island of Ireland clinical trial network for mothers and babies representing a new and exciting collaboration between two established research groups; the Irish centre for Foetal and Neonatal Translational Research (INFANT) and Perinatal Ireland. The 'Healthy Pregnancy in Ireland' initiative is a...

Innovative dissemination of IDS-TILDA Wave 2 - Advancing years, different challenges

The IDS-TILDA study is designed to better understand experiences and challenges for adults with an intellectual disability (ID) as they age. 753 persons aged 40+ started in the study. There have been two waves of data collection, with waves three years apart and 94% of people who answered at Wave one participated again at Wave two. We...

Development of The STOP-HF network for community based prevention of Heart Failure

STOPHFnet will create a virtual community of practice which will utilize the results of research from our HRB funded Natural History of Diabetic Cardiomyopathy grant to allow rapid dissemination to general practitioners in the community. This is particularly timely as diabetes will for the first time be nationally managed by GPs under...

Understand my pain: Educational tools for chronic pain

Based on the findings of the research during our HRB ICE award, we will develop two educational tools.
Activity A will involve the creation of a free video that explains how chronic pain impacts on children and their families. This activity is vital based on our new understanding of the numbers of primary school children who live...

Development and launch of Irish guidelines on the management of Helicobacter pylori Infection

Helicobacter pylori infection is a public health issue. It remains one of the most common infections in adults in Ireland and is the primary cause of stomach ulcers and stomach cancers. Our recent findings have indicated that the eradication rate for standard first-line triple therapy for H. pylorihas fallen to unacceptable levels....

Spectroscopic imaging for prognostic applications in breast and oesophageal cancer treatment (SPECPREDICT)

Each cancer patient has a unique response to cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. An individual patients response to cancer treatment is to a significant degree determined by their own biology (genetic profile) and other environmental factors such as diet and lifestyle. With the evolution of technologies such as...

Towards a survivorship care plan for breast cancer for post-menopausal women in rural settings

There are increasing numbers of breast cancer survivors in Ireland and worldwide due to improvements in screening and advances in adjuvant treatment. There is a growing recognition of cancer survivorship as a distinct phase in the cancer trajectory. The development of a comprehensive approach to survivorship care that meets the needs...

NIMBUS group: Neonatal Inflammation and Multiorgan dysfunction and Brain injUry reSearch group

Neonatal brain injury has a many causes and may result in cerebral palsy. Cooling therapy is the only established treatment but 50% of babies treated will die or have disability and so new therapies to reduce brain injury are urgently needed. New-borns who are severely affected also have problems with their heart, liver, lung and...

ICORG communications manager

2016 will mark the 20th anniversary of ICORG's formation. There are a range of public engagement activities on the agenda but in order to co-ordinate them ICORG will need an in-house communications function.
Activities will include;
1. Short documentary-style videos on patient experience, innovative research activities and new...

Development of an online training and accreditation resource for a novel outcome assessment tool in high risk infants: the Babyscreen app

The HRB funded BiHiVE2 study has focused on predicting long term learning disability in children following birth related brain injury. Unfortunately there are, currently, no reliable methods of assessing learning ability in children at a young age. Current developmental assessments focus on developmental milestones. They are not true...

Thrombosis risk in pregnancy: what you need to know

Venous thromboembolism (VTE; deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism) remains a leading cause of death in pregnant and recently delivered women. Surviving mothers may have long-term disability. If VTE risk factors are identified, then preventative measures may be put in place . These interventions can be potentially life-saving....

Translating critical care research into clinical practice

We are currently funded by the HRB to conduct clinical trials to determine which treatments may help patients who are critically ill. We have recently completed important research and the results will be published in a highly regarded medical journal in October. However it can take a long time between publication and improvements in...

INCA: interaction analytics for automatic assessment of communication quality in primary care

Communication between physician and patient is crucial to the overall quality of primary care. An important element of this interaction is the physician-patient interview. While there are various opinions on what constitutes effective communication in a medical interview, sometimes supported by formal (qualitative and quantitative)...

Towards increased awareness and understanding of the risk of thrombosis in gynaecological cancers

All cancers are associated with an increased risk of clots to the legs and lungs however gynaecological cancers have a particularly high risk. Clots can occur after surgery or during chemotherapy and can be life threatening if they are not treated in time. A recent survey of patients who suffered a clot during their cancer journey...

Viral hepatitis C associated neurocognitive dysfunction in Ireland in the DAA era

Approximately 30,000-50,000 people in Ireland have hepatitis C. Although the virus mainly affects the liver, in up to 30% of infected people the virus also affects the brain causing poor concentration, difficulties in concentrating, poor memory. Patients often describe this as a "brain fog". These symptoms may lead to forgetting...

What is Alpha-1?

Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (Alpha-1) is a genetic disorder that affects the lungs. Typically people with Alpha-1 present with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or severe asthma. Ireland has one of the highest rates of AATD in the world. 1 in 25 Irish people are carriers for the condition and are at risk of lung disease,...

A moment for hand hygiene in the Intensive Care Unit: How Can Compliance be Improved?

Healthcare Associated Infections (HCAIs) such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) represent the most frequent complications experienced by hospital patients. Effective hand hygiene practices are considered to be the most important strategy for preventing HCAIs. However, compliance with good hand hygiene practices has...

Cancer immunology research saves lives: Find Out

The treatment of cancer is being revolutionised by cancer immunology. However cancer immunology is poorly understood by healthcare workers, patients and the general public. Here, in collaboration with the Irish Cancer Society (ICS), we aim to use the expertise and discoveries generated by HRB and ICS funded research projects to...

DEDIPAC Ireland: National one day symposium on determinants of diet and physical activity

DEDIPAC (Determinants of Diet and Physical Activity; Knowledge Hub to integrate and develop infrastructure for research across Europe) is a collaborative European project, where Irish researchers play a major role in defining and understanding dietary and activity factors that influence health.
The aim of this application is to...

Happy mothers...happy babies

Pregnancy is the highest risk period in a woman's life for developing clinical depression. Depression and anxiety during pregnancy are common experiences. Women are usually anxious about the pregnancy and the delivery, about how they will cope with motherhood and the impact of the changes that having a baby will make on their lives. We...

Research in depression: endocrinology, epigenetics and neuroiMaging: the REDEEM study

Depression is the most common psychiatric disorder in the world, accounting for approximately 90% of deaths by suicide. Rates of depression are rising alarmingly in the OECD countries. Although depression is considered to be a single clinical disorder, it has many underlying causes ranging from childhood abuse through to purely genetic...

CERVIVA: Making connections and creating impact

The goal of CERVIVA's education and outreach programme is to create awareness, inform and effectively engage the public, health care professionals and healthcare providers on public health issues related to HPV associated diseases and on the specific research programmes underway within CERVIVA, which are addressing some of these...

Medically licensed mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of systemic sepsis

Systemic sepsis is a severe condition arising from a bacterial or fungal infection of the blood or lymph. It commonly leads to overwhelming inflammation and multiple organ failure and can kill up to 50% of sufferers. Toxins produced by bacteria are the major trigger for these responses in the patient. There are currently no specific...

Diet, health and sustainability - narrowing the gap between what we know and what we do

Knowledge translation in the area of diet and health is challenging due to the range of vested interests in the food sector and the contested discourse on food, diet and health among policy makers, practitioners, media and the general public. There is considerable agreement on key food policy measures open to government with potential...

Prevention of postoperative persistent bowel symptoms in patients with Hirschsprung's Disease

Hirschsprung's disease (HD) is a relatively common cause of intestinal obstruction in the new-born, occurring in 1 in 4,000 live births. It is characterised by abnormal development of the nerve supply to varying lengths of the large bowel prior to birth. The gold standard treatment for HD is an operation to remove the diseased bowel...

A translational systems biological study to identify molecular predictors for responsiveness to TRAIL-receptor agonists in colorectal cancer

Many patients that suffer from cancer of the colon require chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is supposed to induce the death of cancer cells by a molecularly controlled death process called apoptosis. Apoptosis in response to chemotherapy requires the activation of cell death genes, but colon cancer cells often can prevent these genes from...

Evaluating metabotropic glutamate 5 receptor-selective drugs as a novel therapeutic strategy for Alzheimer's disease

Clinical dementia, the majority of cases being caused by Alzheimer's disease, seriously impairs the lives of over 50 million people worldwide currently (costing ~1% of the aggregated global gross domestic product). There are approximately 48,000 people with dementia and 50,000 dementia carers in Ireland. At present the lifetime...

A user-friendly database of genetic dependencies in cancer

A major challenge in cancer therapeutics is to kill tumour cells without harming other cells in the body. One means to achieve this is to exploit the genetic changes that distinguish cancer cells from normal cells and that may leave them vulnerable to targeted treatments.
A promising approach to developing such targeted treatments...

Traumatic spinal cord injury in Ireland: service planning for changing epidemiology

This project will examine several aspects of traumatic spinal cord injury in the Irish population. The project will look backwards (retrospective) and forwards (prospective). For the years 2010 - 2014 inclusive, the medical records of all patients with traumatic spinal cord injury discharged from the National Rehabilitation Hospital...

Together against HIV: raising awareness and knowledge through documented real-life experiences and research discovery

There were approximately 2 million new HIV infections and 1.5 million HIV-related deaths worldwide in 2013, demonstrating the need for educational campaigns that raise awareness and prevent its spread. Current treatments suppress HIV, but do not totally clear it; however, a significant proportion of society believe these drugs cure...

Progressing universal health care: informing citizens by pooling and disseminating research and generating debate

There is little informed public discussion and debate around Universal Healthcare (UHC) in Ireland. There is also much confusion in political discourse between UHC and universal health insurance notwithstanding a recent policy shift towards UHC. This KEDS project aims to build on the Pathways to UHC research by educating the public...

Preclinical characterization of fingolimod as a potential therapeutic agent for stroke

Stroke is usually caused by the occlusion of a brain artery with a clot. It is the third most common cause of death and the most common cause of acquired physical disability in Ireland. The only available drug is only used in ~5% of patients (because most patients are either too far, or arrive too late to a specialized treatment...

Oral flucloxacillin alone versus flucloxacillin and phenoxymethylpenicillin for the emergency department outpatient treatment of cellulitis: a non-inferiority randomised controlled trial

Acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSIs) are commonly encountered in Emergency Departments (EDs). In Ireland, the most common ABSSSI is cellulitis, which is a spreading bacterial infection of the skin and tissues beneath the skin. Approximately 12 in every 1,000 ED patient attendances in Ireland is due to...

Preclinical evaluation of a novel therapeutic strategy for Ulcerative Colitis

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a chronic relapsing intestinal inflammatory condition comprising of separate disease manifestations known as ulcerative colitis (UC) and crohns disease (CD). Despite significant advances in our understanding of the basic mechanisms which promote these diseases, current treatment strategies usually...

Development of a health promotion programme for breast cancer awareness for women with mild cognitive impairment

Recent studies of the population suggest trends that the number of people with an intellectual disability (ID) is increasing with a corresponding increase in the elderly demographic. Consequently this minority of society have been found to be naive to personal health care management and are at risk of failing to detect problems early....

Towards treatment stratification for successful smoking cessation: Harnessing predictive neurocognitive models

Smoking is the single biggest preventable cause of death in Ireland. There are many reasons why someone might remain addicted to nicotine and many factors affecting each individual's response to withdrawal. For example, socioeconomic status, gender or life stress can all play a role. Ultimately, nicotine has its effects by altering...

Telephone interventions, delivered by healthcare professionals, for informal caregivers of adults with diagnosed medical illnesses

Many people with diagnosed medical conditions are dependent upon family members and informal/lay caregivers to provide support and care. The care provided varies according to the individual's care needs, however, in many instances, people unexpectedly find themselves in a caring role for which they are ill prepared (Corry, 2015)....

Cancer Prevention Fellowship 2015

Research Programme for mid-career researchers working in Republic of Ireland (RoI) to become NCI Cancer Prevention Fellows at the prestigious National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the USA.

This programme provides training at post-doctorate level from the health professions, biomedical, and behavioural sciences to become...

Interventions for preventing falls in Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is one of the most prevalent diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) and directly affects an estimated 2.5 million people worldwide (MS International Federation 2013) including approximately 8,000 people in Ireland (MS Ireland 2014). It is the most common disabling neurological disorder among young people...

Methods to influence the completeness of response to self administered questionnaires

Questionnaires are one of the most widely used means of collecting data. Self-administered questionnaires are used widely in research as they offer an efficient and cost effective means of collecting data in large target groups. Problems with rates of questionnaire return can pose serious problems for researchers. The issue of overall...

Left atrial appendage closure for the prevention of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation

The review will assess the effectiveness of left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) for the prevention of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib) compared to oral anticoagulation. The review question was chosen because AFib is a common and serious condition. It is the most common arrhythmia seen in clinical practice and is...

Interventions targeted outside of workplace settings for reducing sedentary behaviour in adults under 60 years

Research into sedentary behaviour (SB) in adults is growing rapidly, both in volume and sophistication. SB is defined as waking activity characterised by an energy expenditure ? 1.5 metabolic equivalents and a sitting or reclining posture. A recent overview of systematic reviews concluded that there is strong evidence for a positive...

Professional interventions to improve the detection of depression among adolescents in primary care

Depression is common in adolescence - studies show that 3% - 8% of adolescents suffer from depression at any one time, and that there is a lifetime prevalence of approximately 20% by the end of adolescence, which is similar to that of adulthood. Adolescent depression is associated with considerable impairment in social, academic and...

Validation of FcgRlla as a potential drug target in sepsis

WT Scheme: Seed Award in Science.

Sepsis is characterised by a severe coagulopathy which is responsible for the high mortality in this disease. This coagulopathy is due to extensive platelet activation and consumption which leads to bleeding due to the subsequent thrombocytopenia and thrombosis due to the platelet...

Electrophysiological investigations on the molecular mechanisms underlying gut-to-brain signalling evoked by colonic microbiota

WT Scheme: Seed Award in Science.

The concept of the 'microbiota-gut-brain' signalling axis has been proposed recently, with headline-grabbing studies demonstrating how altering the intestinal microbiome with commensal probiotics has beneficial effects both on gut function but more intriguingly, on central nervous system (CNS)...

Individual and Area Level Determinants of Self-Harm and Suicide in Ireland: Enhancing Prediction, Risk Assessment and Management of Self-Harm by Health Services

In Ireland, the National Registry of Deliberate Self-Harm (Registry) has identified significant variation across hospitals in the assessment and management of patients presenting to hospital for self-harm with a significant number of patients leaving without a care plan. Prof Arensman intends to improve the care provided in Irish...

Statistical epidemiology in population health and health services research: Quality and patient safety in medicines

The Irish population is getting older and this is leading to an increase in the use of medications. The number of elderly people on 5 or more regular medicines increased greatly from 1997 to 2012. It is known that an increase in the number of prescription medications leads to potential problems of drug interactions, problems taking...

The StrokeCog study: modelling and modifying the consequences of stroke-related cognitive impairment through intervention

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability in Ireland. Many people are aware of the physical disabilities caused by stroke, but are far less aware of the cognitive and mood problems that people experience following an attack. Cognitive problems include difficulties with memory, concentration and abstract thinking. Mood...

Designing, evaluating and implementing a pilot complex intervention in childhood obesity

Childhood obesity is a serious problem in Ireland as well as internationally. Early infant feeding practices (aged 0-2 years), including when and how parents introduce solid foods to infants, can impact overweight and obesity in childhood and later life. 
In this project, a team of researchers from UCC, National University of...

Collective leadership and safety cultures (CO-LEAD)

There is a growing body of evidence of how poor leadership has contributed to system failures that have resulted in a range of errors from misdiagnoses to failure to recognise and respond to patient deterioration. A key challenge for healthcare organisations is to develop and support cultures that ensure the delivery of continuously...

The Intellectual disability supplement to the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) Waves 3 and 4

Similar to the general population, marked changes in the life expectancy of persons with intellectual disability (ID) have occurred among all age cohorts but in particular, among those aged 55 years and over. Almost half of people with a moderate, severe, or profound intellectual disability are aged 35 years or over. However, their...

Provision of statistics and data management services to Irish Clinical Oncology Research Group Limited by National University of Ireland, Galway

In order to fulfil the regulatory and quality control requirements for high-quality statistics and data management for cancer clinical trials activities ICROG and the HRB have contracted National University of Ireland, Galway to provide this service. Initial data management activities including protocol input, development of a Case...

From episodic care to disease prevention and management: Developing analytical skills and interdisciplinary learning from the case of HPV related cancers

This study will develop analysis techniques and interdisciplinary learning from cases of Human Papilloma Virus [HPV]-related cancers, specifically cervical pre-cancer/cancer and head and neck cancer. During this proposal the team of research fellows will be able to further develop and help to build the future research leaders in this...

National Centre for Social Research on Dementia (NCSRD)

The research programme at the National Centre for Social Research on Dementia (NCSRD) is concerned with strengthening social research on dementia in Ireland. It will focus on identifying the most appropriate mix of biopsychosocial services for people with dementia, from diagnosis to end of life, taken from the patients point of view or...

Connected HEalth Supporting home Stay with dementia (CHESS)

Dementia is an umbrella term for a condition in older people where memory loss, deterioration in mental function and ability to make decisions or carry out activities of daily life independently and safely occurs. When dementia progresses, care in a nursing home may be necessary, but most people with dementia and their caregivers want...

A comprehensive resilience-building psychosocial intervention (CREST) to improve the quality of life of people with dementia and their carers

In Ireland almost 48,000 people have dementia; of these, more than 26,000 live in the community being cared for by family and friends. Current health care strategies are insufficient to cope with this. The Irish dementia strategy identifies better understanding of dementia in society, reducing the stigma associated with dementia as...

Towards resilience in family caregiving for people with dementia

Dementia affects almost 47,000 adults in Ireland. Dementia affects a person's mental and social abilities, including the ability to think clearly, remember, form lasting relationships and has a subsequent decline in physical health. Most people with dementia are cared for at home by a family member. Caring for someone with dementia can...

The Irish Network for Research in Dementia and Neurodegeneration (INRDND) and the Structured Population and Health-Services

The Irish Network for Research in Dementia and Neurodegeneration (INRDND) and the Structured Population and Health Services Research Education (SPHeRE) propose a partnership approach to enhancing research cooperation and coordination across the island of Ireland in the area of dementia and neurodegeneration (ND) research. With enhanced...

Dementia friendly Irish hospitals: Opportunities, barriers, costs and solutions

Hospitals can be very complex and confusing environments for people with dementia, and may add to their distress, disorientation and suffering. To date, academic and pragmatic discourse on dementia-friendly design of Irish hospitals has been lacking in expertise from the perspective of design and architecture, and in particular the...

Validation of the Profile for Communication Abilities in Dementia (P-CAD)

Communication difficulties are associated with dementia. These communication difficulties cause frustration, anger and anxiety not only for the person with dementia, but also for caregivers, friends and family. Communication difficulties increase as dementia progresses. The person with dementia can lose confidence, withdraw from social...

The genomic architecture of human nucleolar organizer regions and its role in nucleolar biology

WT Scheme: Investigator Award in Science.

The nucleolus is the largest functional domain in the nucleus of all human cells. Its primary role is the biogenesis of ribosomes, the complex machines that translate the language of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) in to proteins. Nucleoli form around arrays of genes that encode the...

HRB Clinical Research Coordination Ireland

Clinical Research Facilities and Centres (CRF/Cs) have been developed in each of the five applicant universities, providing the infrastructure and specialist staff to facilitate collaborative research but they lack an overarching support structure with which to coordinate multicentre clinical trial activities. One key exception is...

Making the patient a member of the healthcare team in chronic disease management: An ethnographic and participant action research analysis of living with epilepsy in Ireland (E-PIC: Epilepsy Partnership in Care)

Patient-centeredness is a core value of current and emerging health service reforms.  Patient-centred care (PCC) recognises people within the full context of their lives, not just their health condition. Its principles include: informing and involving patients, encouraging self-management and informed decision making, eliciting...

What are the clinical effectiveness and cost effectiveness of different models of community specialist palliative care (CSPC) provision in Ireland?

Changing demographic trends including an ageing population, increased life expectancy for individuals with life limiting conditions, and the impact of illness on an individual's physical, psychological and social wellbeing means that the demand for high quality palliative care services is increasing. Palliative care is defined by WHO...

Irish Platform for Patients Organisations Science and Industry

The Irish Platform for Patients' Organisations, Science and Industry (IPPOSI) is a unique organisation in Ireland and abroad. The platform brings together patient groups, scientists, clinicians, industry and other key decision makers to discuss and build consensus on issues relevant to all involved in delivering treatments to people...

Exploring clinical learning environments for postgraduate medical education and training

After graduation from medical school, doctors continue to train under the supervision, for several years, until they are ready to practice independently. These trainee doctors learn while they work, providing care to patients. Their working environments, therefore, need to support learning. It is difficult for those charged with the...

Can implementation of an emergency department monitoring and escalation protocol of adult patients in a large teaching hospital reduce the number of critical incidents and improve timely intervention in patients requiring a high level of care and improve

The HIQA Report on the investigation into the quality, safety and governance of the care provided by Tallaght Hospital for patients requiring acute admission has recommended that an Emergency Department-specific system of physiological monitoring and triggered responses comparable to the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) should be...

A prospective assessment of the biological burden of stress in caregivers: Impact on cognitive performance, mood and the benefits of mindfulness

The age structure of the population in Ireland is changing rapidly and the HSE predicts that the 65+ year old age group will contribute 20% of the population by the year 2036. Already, nearly 5% of the population are engaged as caregivers for ill elderly relatives and this is particularly stressful for those whose spouses or parents...

The STRIDER Trial: A randomised controlled trial of sildenafil therapy In dismal prognosis early-onset intrauterine growth restriction

Severe early-onset in utero growth restriction (IUGR) affects babies in womb and is caused by reduced blood flow through the placenta. There is no treatment or cure for IUGR and the current clinical management involves intensive fetal surveillance with elective delivery performed when there is evidence of fetal distress and before the...

Evaluating the impact of the systematic implementation of advance care directives and palliative care education on quality of care at end of life in long term care settings

It is essential that nursing home staff are equipped to provide high-quality end-of-life care, while it is also essential that the wishes of the older person about their care are taken into account. Many nursing home residents develop dementia, which can interfere with their ability to make healthcare decisions and to communicate...

HRB Centre for Health and Diet Research

The vision for the Centre for the next five years:
The overall vision for the CHDR over the next five years is to contribute to the promotion of the health and wellbeing of the population through the development of a sustainable and internationally competitive National Research Centre for Public Health Nutrition which will:
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Interventions for breast cancer awareness amongst women of all ages

Review objective: To assess the effects of interventions to develop breast cancer awareness amongst women. Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in females globally (Jemal et al., 2011). Early diagnosis of breast cancer is linked to more favourable outcomes and longer survival...

The efficacy and effectiveness of capnogaphy monitoring during intravenous conscious sedation with midazolam for oral surgery

Dentists use sedation to help patients accept difficult procedures and to relieve anxiety. During sedation, the well-being of the patient is monitored by the dental team. When carried out according to recognised guidelines, intravenous dental sedation is considered to be very safe. For some patients, dental sedation is a useful...

A randomised controlled trial to measure the effects of an augmented prescribed exercise program on mobility, quality of life and healthcare utilisation for frail hospilised older medical in-patients

Older people can become less physically independent following a hospital stay. Up to one third become newly dependant on walking aids and others remain more dependent in the long-term, affecting physical and psychological health and increasing the burden on carers and healthcare. Although many factors can influence this deterioration,...

Improving care for people with diabetes: A population approach to prevention and control

Diabetes is a common, disabling and deadly condition. In Ireland it is estimated that nearly 1 in 10 adults have diabetes, many of whom are undiagnosed. Currently diabetes costs the state approx. €580 million per annum and this will rise significantly in coming decades. Major changes are underway with a move to providing more care of...