Funding Awarded

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...

INCA SUn: A prospective randomised multicentre study to optimise the management of symptomatically uncontrolled asthma.

Inhalers are used in the treatment of patients with severe asthma. About 10% of people with asthma fail to achieve control of their asthma symptoms with inhalers. These patients with severe asthma, are often treated with extra medications or have severe attacks. One reason why these patients may not achieve control of their asthma is...

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...

Alendronate for Prevention of AntiRetroviral Therapy-associated bone loss (APART study)

Over six thousand people have been diagnosed with HIV infection in Ireland. People living with HIV are now living longer because of effective therapy. However, therapy is life-long and is associated with significant side effects. In addition, immune damage induced by HIV persists even with effective therapy. As a result, people with...

STandaRd Issue TrANsfusion versuS Fresher red blood cell Use in intenSive carE (TRANSFUSE) - a randomised controlled trial.

Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion is required to treat a number of life threatening conditions within the general hospital setting and Intensive Care Units (ICU). Red blood cell units represent a very limited but essential resource. Given the value and relative scarcity of RBC, it is important to ensure its use in the optimal way. A...