Funding Awarded

Collaborative Doctoral Programme in Chronic Disease Prevention (CDP-CDP)

According to the WHO, chronic disease prevention is one of the major health challenges of the 21st century. Prevention programmes are urgently needed to reduce burden on patients and health services.

In Ireland, there is a national deficit in skills, leadership and capacity in the development, implementation and evaluation of...

Diabetic Foot Disease: from PRevention to treatment to IMproved patient Outcomes (DFD PRIMO)

Diabetic foot disease (DFD), is associated with devastating outcomes including foot ulceration, sepsis, amputation and premature death. The risk of premature death in people with DFD is reportedly nine fold the risk of amputation. Early interventions to prevent the first ulcer are a key priority of national and international clinical...

iPASTAR-Improving Pathways for Acute STroke And Rehabilitation

Stroke is a disease of enormous global significance. It is a major cause of death and the commonest form of acquired physical disability in adults. Fragmentation of care results in inadequate coordination of the fundamental components of acute stroke care and fails to provide an effective integrated system for acute and rehabilitative...

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...

TeenPath: Social Environment, Health and Well-Being Among Adolescents in Ireland

A person's physical growth, psychological development and personal behaviours in adolescence are the foundation upon which the life course is built. Health behaviours established in adolescence will likely continue into adulthood with long-term implications for health and life-expectancy. For example, 80% of teenagers measured as obese...

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...

Using lessons learned from statutory notifications to improve quality and safety in social care settings

In Ireland, providers of designated centres for older people and people with disabilities are required to inform the Chief Inspector of Social Services in the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) about certain events that occur. For example: serious injuries to residents and allegations of abuse. These are known as statutory...

Disparities in Heath Outcomes of Chronic Kidney Disease between Men and Women in the Irish Health System

It is increasingly recognised that there are differences between men and women in regard to chronic kidney disease (CKD). It appears to be more common in women and they have a shorter survival compared to women in the general population. It is unclear 1) whether these differences are due to biological factors like hormones or due to...

Study of queuosine salvage and function in eukaryotes; a forgotten micronutrient

Queuine is a largely forgotten bacterial-derived micronutrient that is obtained exclusively from the gut; a preeminent small-molecule of the gut-brain axis. Our contention is that queuine is important in metabolism and development—mammals are born sterile and queuine free—and induces long-lasting effects into adulthood, particularly in...

Food-based biomarkers, diet quality and cardiometabolic health

Accurate assessment of human diet is the cornerstone of nutritional epidemiology. Biomarkers that are sensitive and specific to food intake can provide objective information that improves the characterization of diet. Advances in metabolomic profiling techniques now permit the discovery of novel food biomarkers, although, thus far,...

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...

Health system foundations for effective Regional Integrated Care Organisations (RICOs) - co-producing evidence to inform the design of regional organisations to support integrated care in Ireland

Health systems all over the world are struggling to provide equitable access to integrated, patient centred services that better meets the needs of individuals and populations. In Ireland, the way our health system is funded and structured creates particular barriers for people trying to access effective, responsive, quality...

Implementation of Making Every Contact Count (MECC): developing a collaborative strategy to optimise and scale-up MECC.

Importance of the study:
Many chronic illnesses can be prevented if people adopt healthier behaviours. The Making Every Contact Count (MECC) programme, developed by the Irish Health Service Executive (HSE), aims to train all healthcare professionals to support patients to make healthier lifestyle choices during...

Examining the interplay of the immune system with brain cells in Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease occurs when nerve cells that produce the chemical dopamine are lost from the brain. This causes a person to have many symptoms including a tremor of their hands and slowness of movement. There have been a lot of studies trying to determine why these dopamine nerve cells die.

There is growing evidence that the...

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...

Embedding collective leadership to foster collaborative inter-professional working in the care of older people (Eclectic)

Recent government policy in Ireland has emphasised the importance of supporting older people to live well in their homes and communities. This would mean fewer older people will have to go to hospitals to receive health care. In order to do this it is necessary for healthcare professionals to work as a team to manage the care of...

Collaboration Agreement to Establish a Research Collaborative for Quality and Patient Safety Phase III

The Research Collaborative in Quality and Patient Safety (RCQPS) is a collaborative initiative between the Health Research Board, the Health Service Executive, National Quality Improvement Team and the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. It was established in 2013 to advance nationally relevant research in the area of quality and...

Improving transition from child to adult health services for young people with cerebral palsy living in Ireland.

In Ireland, people with cerebral palsy (CP) receive healthcare from children's services up to the age of 18, after which they transfer to adult services. Poor management of the transition from child to adult health services can lead to poor health and increased hospital admissions. While there are practices that health professionals...

Evidence-based guidance in general practice: exploring general practitioner preferences, content prioritisation and dissemination

General practitioners (GPs) need resources to support their use of the most up to date information in their clinical practice. This is to make sure that patients are receiving the best care possible from their GP.Th e Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) produces research update guides for GPs to support their management of...

A new cell free DNA liquid biopsy assay to predict bevacizumab outcome in metastatic colorectal cancer patients

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in Europe with an estimated 420,000 new cases diagnosed and 230,000 related deaths anticipated in 2018. CRC is the 2nd most common and 2nd most fatal cancer in Ireland. Currently standard chemotherapy (FOLFOX) and bevacizumab [(BVZ); avastin] a drug which inhibits tumour blood...

Tracking Trajectories of Psychopathology from Infancy to Young Adulthood: an Irish national longitudinal cohort study

Approximately 30-50% of people will experience a mental disorder over the course of their life and the majority of mental disorders begin in adolescence. Despite a shift toward 'early intervention' strategies in many medical specialities, psychiatry lags behind in this regard. There is a pressing need to identify the early life...

An investigation of the prevalence and molecular epidemiology of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium in Irish hospitals using whole-genome sequencing

Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) is an antibiotic-resistant bacterium that causes serious infections among patients in hospitals. Ireland has the highest level of VREfm causing life-threatening bloodstream infections (BSIs) in Europe but little is known about how it has emerged and spread here or the genetic...

The identification of plasma protein markers of antipsychotic drug treatment response in first episode psychosis; a proteomic analysis of baseline plasma samples from the OPTiMiSE and PSYSCAN studies.

Schizophrenia is amongst the most expensive disorders in terms of quality of life and societal cost. While early intervention is known to be associated with improved outcome there is little information on predictors of patient outcome following antipsychotic drug (APD) treatment. We seek to identify, for the first time, discriminative...

3D collagen-based scaffolds as gene delivery platforms for the treatment of human breast cancer

Gene therapy has recently become a potential method for the targeted treatment of cancer but successful delivery remains a real problem that hinders its use in the clinic. The aim of this study is to create and define three-dimensional (3D) lab-based models of breast cancer to mimic primary and secondary tumours, and to assess the...

To identify molecular signatures that can predict disease onset in 'at-risk ACPA+' individuals and disease progression in RA patients

Inflammation is a critical process in fighting infection. However, if uncontrolled, it can contribute to the development of autoimmune disease, including inflammatory forms of arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which causes joint destruction and disability. Targeted therapies have advanced the treatment of RA, however a...

Evaluation of the clinical, psychological and economic effects of the Cystic Fibrosis Newborn Screening Programme: the Irish Comparative Outcomes Study of CF (ICOS) Part 2

This is a national programme of research which addresses key outcomes in the recently established Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Newborn Screening programme (NBS). Ireland has the highest prevalence of CF worldwide. NBS for CF was introduced in 2011. The Irish Comparative Outcome Study (ICOS) Part I was conducted in 2013-2017 and studied...

Development of a Model of Care for Osteoarthritis in Primary Care in Ireland- A mixed methods study

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis in Ireland. It is a condition of the joints that can cause pain and reduced mobility. It is more common in people over the age of 50 and often affects the knee and hip joints. This project aims to improve the care of people with osteoarthritis who attend their general practitioner...

Switching on the light: Reprogramming T cell metabolism for novel HIV Cure interventions

With 37 millions people currently living with HIV and 2.6 million people newly infected worldwide, the AIDS pandemic is a global health crisis. In Ireland, the HSE and the HSPC have made HIV/AIDS "a notifiable disease and a major public health importance". 30 years of intense HIV/AIDS research have provided efficient antiretroviral...

Molecular evolution of metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer

Approximately 20% of all breast cancers (BCs) are HER2-positive and this type of BC is particularly aggressive. Drugs that target HER2, such as trastuzumab (Herceptin), have improved our ability to treat HER2-positive BC. However, many women with HER2-positive BC are not cured following treatment, and more than 25% of women go on to...

Immunometabolic manipulation of pulmonary immunity - towards TB host directed therapy

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major global health emergency, with over one and a half million people dying per year, despite being a curable disease. Drug-resistant TB is a new aspect of the epidemic meaning this disease has now become more difficult to treat with antibiotics. Consequently there is urgent need to generate better treatments,...

Prediction of radiation toxicity in prostate cancer patients using Raman spectroscopy

There are no tests currently available to predict an individual patient's response to radiotherapy. Some patients experience severe long term side effects months and even years after their treatment has finished and these effects can be permanent. For example, some prostate cancer patients develop life-changing bowel and urinary...

FIREFLY: Followup of Inflammatory Responses and multiorgan outcomes FoLlowing neonatal brain injurY

Babies who have brain injury also frequently have involvement of their kideys, lung and heart. Although clinical care in the neonatal period is well defined there are few guidelines and evidence for developmental, heart and kidney followup in childhood. We aim to develop and implement guidelines for health care workers and families on...

Analysis of the oral metagenome for markers of malignant transformation of oral leukoplakia

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts for 90% of oral cancers. According to the National Cancer Registry, the rate of OSCC in Ireland is increasing annually by 3.3% and early diagnosis and treatment is crucial if patients are to survive beyond 5 years. OSCCs can arise de novo or from preneoplasis such as Oral Leukoplakia (OLK)....

Sláintemedicines - a roadmap to essential medicines entitlement for universal health coverage

According to the World Health Organisation, universal health coverage is an important goal for health systems. Ireland does not currently have universal coverage as some individual have to pay for services such as visiting their GP. Sláintecare is a plan to implement universal coverage in Ireland over a 10 year period. However, this...

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...

Using guanine to re-sensitise MRSA to methicillin: Is purine nucleotide homeostasis the Achilles' heel of MRSA antibiotic resistance?

The threat of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections to hospital patients and the wider society continues to escalate. The discovery of antibiotics in the 1940's and 1950's represented one of the most important scientific breakthroughs in history. However since then the spread of antibiotic-resistant pathogens has gradually erooded...

Wound infections: biofilms and the search for novel antimicrobial agents

Wound infections are one of the most common bacterial infections that are seen both in the community and in the healthcare setting. Wounds may occur acutely or if they fail to heal within a timely reparative process of three months are considered to be chronic wounds. The most common bacteria that cause wound infections is...

NK cell RESTORE - Can GLP-1 therapy restore tumour immunity in severely obese patients?

Obesity has recently over taken smoking as the number one cause of preventable deaths worldwide. This is because obesity causes many serious diseases such as heart disease and cancer. Recent reports suggest that up to 50% of all cancers are now due to obesity. Obesity is linked to cancer through many avenues from inflammation, hormonal...

Optimizing 40 Hz sensory stimulation protocols for Alzheimer's disease treatment

Clinical dementia, the majority of cases being caused by Alzheimer's disease, seriously impairs the lives of over 50 million people worldwide currently. There are approximately 55,000 people with dementia and as many dementia carers in Ireland. At present the lifetime risk of developing dementia is about 10% but this is increasing...

Transitions of Care in Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease

Patients who suffer from advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at risk of progressing to kidney failure which is associated with a shortened life span and significant disability. The transition from advanced CKD to kidney failure requiring renal replacement therapy (RRT) [dialysis, kidney transplantation or conservative therapy] is...

Defining the consequences of innate immune training on protective versus pathogenic T cell responses in patients with tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis (TB) ranks alongside HIV as the world's most deadly infectious disease, killing 1.5 million people every year. It is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), which primarily infects people's lungs. Treating this disease is becoming more difficult due to antibiotic-resistant Mtb, therefore, scientists are...

Evidence synthesis and translation of findings for national clinical guideline development: addressing the needs and preferences of guideline development groups

National clinical guidelines aim to help healthcare providers and patients' make decisions about appropriate healthcare. These guidelines use the best available evidence, gathered from national and international research, to develop recommendations on a wide range of topics. These include preventing and managing specific conditions to...

The impact of mutations in PI3K/AKT pathway gene loci on response to PI3K inhibitors

Despite advances in the treatment of breast cancer, the National Cancer Registry of Ireland reported in 2014 that it accounted for 30% of all diagnosed female cancers and 16% of all female cancer deaths. The application of modern technologies to the study of breast cancer has demonstrated that a group of cancer pathways acquire changes...

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...

Comparison of staphylococcal species from the oro-nasal cavity, periodontal pockets and foot ulcers of patients with type II diabetes: a potential microbial reservoir for diabetic foot ulcer infection

The Research Collaborative in Quality and Patient Safety (RCQPS) is a collaborative initiative between the Health Research Board, the Health Service Executive, National Quality Improvement Team and the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. It was established in 2013 to advance nationally relevant research in the area of quality and...

Investigating breast cancer risk factors to understand breast cancer epidemiological outcomes

This proposal aims to expand cancer prevention research in Ireland through the assessment of breast cancer risk factors and their influence on clinically relevant characteristics of aggressive breast cancers.

Prior research has identified factors associated with increased risk of breast cancer development. One such known factor...

Harnessing the power of the Gut-Lung Axis: How Dietary Short-Chain Fatty Acids Balance Inflammatory Outcomes in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an incurable lung condition triggered by smoking, or other air pollutants, that leads to long-term lung damage and serious trouble breathing. While COPD is an illness of the lungs, maintaining a healthy gut and a balanced diet can prevent COPD and reduce COPD attacks or flare-ups. But how...

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...

Developing a new approach to stroke rehabilitation for the upper limb based on TMS neurofeedback

Today in Ireland, most people who experience a stroke survive, but more than half are left with long-term disabilities due to paralysis of one arm.

In the proposed research, we aim to push the boundaries of standard stroke rehabilitation, by introducing a technique that promises to boost the brain's recovery mechanisms,...

IMPlementation of osteoArthritis Clinical guidelines Together

Osteoarthritis is a disease of the joints, affecting 1 in 8 Irish people as they get older. Due to the growth of our ageing population amongst other reasons, this figure is expected to double within one generation. Most people with the disease in their hips or knees are likely to experience some level of pain as well as difficulty...

Membrane Seeping for induction of labour: The Milo Study

Post-term pregnancy refers to a pregnancy that continues past 42 weeks’ gestation. It occurs in approximately 10% of pregnancies and is the most common reason for induction of labour. Post-term pregnancy is associated with higher risk of trauma to mother and baby.

Membrane sweeping is a simple procedure potentially promoting the...

Development and evaluation of an adaptive mobile health physical activity intervention post-stroke: a Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomised Trial

Despite recent advances in acute stroke intervention, strategies to prevent recurrent stroke are lacking. This is of urgent importance for people with stroke who are at risk of having another stroke. Physical activity (PA) is the second-largest predictor of stroke and the cornerstone of secondary prevention therapies. Interventions...

Rehabilitation Strategies following Oesophagogastric and Hepatopancreaticobiliary Cancer

In our bodies, the oesophagus, stomach, pancreas and liver help us digest food. Together, they form the “upper digestive system”. The treatment used to cure cancer in the upper digestive system is surgery to remove that part of the body. Some patients also receive chemotherapy (drug treatment) before and/or after...

A Cognitive Occupation-Based programme for people with Multiple Sclerosis- a cluster randomised pilot trial to improve cognition and daily functioning for people with multiple sclerosis

The aim of this research is to test the feasibility of running a large-scale trial of an occupational therapy intervention called a Cognitive Occupation-Based programme for people with Multiple Sclerosis. The study will focus on how acceptable the intervention is and how well the trial runs. Sixteen occupational therapists will run the...

COIchine for prevention of Vascular Inflammation in Non-CardioEmbolic stoke- a randomised clinical trial of low-dose colchicine for secondary prevention of Stroke. European and Canadian extension

Inflammation of the lining of arteries is an important factor contributing to clots,leading to heart attacks and strokes.Current studies are testing medicines traditionally used for inflammation of joints (arthritis) to prevent strokes and heart attacks. One such clinical trial has shown that an anti-inflammatory drug used for...

A Physiotherapist led intervention to Promote Physical Activity in Rheumatoid Arthritis- a pilot study

As a long-term chronic condition, Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can have a significant long-term impact. Typically presenting as a disease that causes joint pain and swelling, excessive tiredness and difficulty doing everyday activities RA occurs usually in people over 40 and is three times more likely in women than men. There has been...

Feasibility and preliminary efficacy study of an online pain management programme for children undergoing major orthopedic surgery: iCanCope Post-Op Surgery

After major surgery,  one in four children experience chronic post-surgical pain (i.e., pain that lasts longer than 3 months). Children and adolescents report that chronic pain makes them feel insecure, affects school attendance and affacts their relationships with friends and family. It is important that children and adolescents...

Ketamine as an adjunctive therapy for major depression- a randomised controlled trial

According to the World Health Organisation, depression is now the leading cause of disability worldwide.  Depression can be a chronic disorder, with 5-9 episodes per lifetime, and 30% of sufferers don’t respond to adequate trials of antidepressant drugs and/or talking therapies.  This creates a great societal as well as...

Digital Fetal Scalp Stimulation (dFSS) versus Fetal Blood Sampling (FBS) to assess fetal wellbeing in labour- a multi-centre randomised controlled trial.

Despite recent advances in acute stroke intervention, strategies to prevent recurrent stroke are lacking. This is of urgent importance for people with stroke who are at risk of having another stroke. Physical activity (PA) is the second-largest predictor of stroke and the cornerstone of secondary prevention therapies. Interventions...

A prospective, multicentre, randomised, double-blind placebo-controlled, phase III trial of EPOetin alfa vs, placebo in critically ill TRAUMA patients

Trauma-a major public health problem

Trauma is a global health problem with estimates of more than five million deaths per year (WHO). Trauma includes road traffic accidents, falls, assaults and crush injuries. Patients who suffer major trauma are often critically ill and require breathing support. Despite...

Computational evaluation of morphologic tumour tissue features as diagnostic and prognostic predictors of lung cancer

Co-funded with Irish Cancer Society

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...

National intellectual Disability Supplement to The Irish Longitudinal Study of Ageing-Wave 4

IDS-TILDA is a longitudinal study researching ageing in Ireland among people with an intellectual disability (ID) aged 40 and over. This study is the first of its kind in Europe, and the only study able to directly compare the ageing of people with intellectual disability with the general ageing population through its linkage to The...

Vaccination: Knowledge is power

Over 3 million global deaths are avoided annually due to the existence of vaccines. In Ireland the state funded immunization program protects against 14 infectious diseases including HPV. However, we face a number of challenges with immunization. Alarmingly, in recent years uptake of vaccines has been waning. Perhaps due to complacency...

Health and social inequalities in the Mid-West

As there are many disadvantaged areas in the Mid-West, health and social inequalities are important issues locally. This is because deprivation is linked with poor health and poor access to healthcare. Under the Healthy Ireland Framework, taking actions to address health inequalities is a key priority. In the Mid-West, many...

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...

Postnatal Mental Health PARTNERship

It is estimated that 10-25% of mothers will experience a mental health problem following the birth of their baby. With approximately 63,900 births in Ireland each year (6), conservative figures would suggest that over 6390 mothers will experience a mental health problem in the postnatal period. For many mothers, their partner plays a...

Towards Recovery After Childbirth, through Knowledge: (ON TRACK)

The Maternal health And Maternal Morbidity in Ireland (MAMMI) study identified problems women had postpartum. We have provided information for women on physical problems, such as incontinence, and will now address other important issues. For example, 15% of women have anxiety during pregnancy, and 44% have pain during sex at 3 months...

Developing an on-line course for first-time mothers: ?Pathway to Birth?

Concern has been expressed globally at rising caesarean section (CS) rates with no evidence of any decrease in associated health problems for mothers and babies, indicating that many CSs are unnecessary, and can be harmful. We are at present running a pilot trial called "REDUCE"to see if a new intervention, based on research evidence,...

The Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club is the story of diabetes in pregnancy in Ireland. In a weekly, serialized, online graphic novel, we will follow the lives of women attending a Breakfast Club for women who have received a diagnosis of diabetes during their pregnancy. We will explore their experiences, from having a Glucose Tolerance Test, to meeting...

Medtrack KEDS

"Health professionals are the lifeblood of the health system"(President M Robinson), yet our junior doctors (NCHD-trainees) continue to report that responses for improving their working conditions have had "little tangible change or impact on their day-to-day working lives and training experience?. The RCSI research team has...

Development of a Teaching Programme for the Junior Cycle Mental health and Mental Ill-Health Module

Great progress has been made nationally on destigmatising mental health but it has not yet become a topic that people are universally comfortable with. A major change in the Junior Cycle in 2018 is the introduction of Wellbeing which directly addresses youth mental health through Strand 4 in the new Social Personal and Health Education...

Development of Book About Mental Health Problems For Children and Adolescents

There has been steady improvements in the quality of information available to people about mental health issues but a challenge remains to communicate this fully to children and adolescents. Much of the existing information is text heavy and can be off-putting for this age group. Presenting this information so that it is accessible...

Citizen Science: The People's Trial

Randomised trials are instrumental in providing reliable and robust evidence on the benefits, harms and costs of health care, so that people can make informed choices. However, the general public?s understanding of randomised trials can be limited and ensuring public support for and participation in trials remains challenging. 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...

Piloting the Community Engaged Scholars Program in Ireland

Public and patient involvement in health research is not embedded in Irish Universities. As part of the PPI Ignite Awards scheme the HRB have funded 5 Irish Universities to demonstrate the value of PPI and champion this approach in Ireland. PPI involves public/patients working in partnership with researchers in setting research...

The GENIE fellowship: Gauging the Effectiveness of Novel computer-support technologies for Implementing Evidence in healthcare

Healthcare professionals must keep pace with a rapidly growing knowledge base. By 2020, the quantity of medical evidence is expected to double every 73 days. Typically, healthcare professionals leverage 'systematic review' articles to tackle this issue. A systematic review is a consolidated summary of evidence that healthcare...

Exploring the immunome of oesophageal adenocarcinoma using bioinformatics to assess and predict responses to neoadjuvant therapy (Immune-AEGIS)

The immune system is made up of cells that are designed to protect the body from infection and disease, like cancer. However, in patients with cancer, the immune system often does not do this well. Recently, a new treatment for cancer has been tested - called immunotherapy, which uses the patient?s own immune system to fight the...

Promoting Education and Research Knowledge (PERK)

THE PROBLEM Cancer of the oesophagus (food pipe) is an aggressive type of cancer, and has a low survival rate. It is usually diagnosed at a late stage, often due to a lack of knowledge of underlying symptoms which can be mild, including heartburn, bloating and problems swallowing. Oesophageal cancer is not as well known as some other...

Rheumatoid Arthritis Patient Awareness INitiative (RA-PAIN)

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a common autoimmune condition that causes disability for patient's day-to-day tasks. New medications that target bad molecules or cells improve outcomes, however responses may be limited or side effects may occur. Who will develop RA, get severe disease or respond to current treatments is not known. Studies...

Using photovoice to enhance knowledge exchange and dissemination

The EOLAS programmes are information and learning programmes for people with experience of psychosis and their family members. The programmes have been co-produced and are co-delivered by peer and clinician facilitators in partnership with mental health clinicians. Such service user and family member involvement in the design and...

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...

How to Use TILDA Data - Webinar, Seminar and Workshop Series

The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) was established in 2006 with baseline data collection commencing in 2009. TILDA collects data in a series of data collection waves. The data is collected through a computer-assisted personal interview and a self-completion questionnaire once every two years with a comprehensive health...

Co-Designing, Pre-Testing and Refining an Intervention Programme to Support Parent-Adolescent Communication about Shared Self-Management Responsibilities in Type I Diabetes

This knowledge exchange activity aims to work together with young people with Type 1 Diabetes (TID), parents of young people with TID, professionals (from a range of disciplines e.g. diabetes nurse specialists, psychologists, consultant paediatric endocrinologists) and community advocates (e.g. Diabetes Ireland) to codesign, pre-test...

Collecting and using data about ethnicity in healthcare -a drama

Ireland has a long history of emigration. More recently, we have inward migration. Census 2016 found that 17% of the population were born outside Ireland. This means that there are different minority ethnic groups in our country, in addition the Irish Travellers. The Health Service Executive wants to gather information on the ethnic...

The APART Study Public Participation Initiative for Knowledge Exchange

The APART Study is exploring an important, low-cost intervention that may limit bone loss associated with initiation of antiretroviral therapy to treat HIV. Results from this trial may have significant implications for how HIV is managed both in Ireland and internationally. We will use this KEDS award to develop a research partnership...

Real Talk with Real Mums

?Real Talk with Real Mums? is a 10-episode podcast series looking at the issues of everyday pregnancy with medical professionals and the real women who have gone through the pregnancy journey. Each episode of c.30 minutes will tackle a different topic, from exercise in pregnancy (with a Physiotherapist), to mental health issues in...

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...

Economics of palliative care: from international evidence to Irish policy

Palliative care is specialised care for people with serious and complex illness. Its goal is to improve quality of life for patients and families, and studies show that it generally achieves this goal. Palliative care access is strong in Ireland by international standards but there are still significant gaps in services and...

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...

TeamTalk: Interactive Resource Hub for Healthcare Teams

Healthcare teams who are interested in improving how they work together to deliver better patient care often struggle to find the time to learn and implement new practices. Teams rarely have the opportunity to attend training courses or other learning events together. This makes it difficult to transfer their newly acquired knowledge...

Working with the Research Community: Training and a Toolkit for Patients & Members of the Public

The PPI Ignite Programme at Trinity College Dublin is focused on building capacity for public and patient involvement in health research, with a particular emphasis on improving the quality of approaches. One of 10 Ignite Partners, the Medical Research Charities Group (MRCG), hosts a Public Patient Involvement (PPI) Shared Learning...

Disseminating, Engaging, and Sharing Knowledge (DESK):patient informed resource for understanding our research

Based on the findings of the research conducted during our HRB Research Leader's Award, the aim of the proposed KEDS project is to effectively disseminate the finding of our research to chronic pain patients and the general public. Sharing research findings with the general public is very important but can be difficult to get right; we...

A Patient Education Programme in Health Research & Innovation

Well informed patients and carers have a key role to play in the design and implementation of person-centered healthcare and research. Whilst patients are eager to have better and safer health products and innovations, they are often unaware of the complex nature of how new health innovations are researched, developed and made...

The patient is part of the answer - don't leave us out in the cold!

This application aims to produce a documentary that explains public and patient involvement in health research to the general public and encourages more people to become involved with researchers. Known as PPI, public and patient involvement means that people who are likely to be affected by research results are directly involved in...

Promoting National Awareness of Thrombosis in Pregnancy.

Women who are pregnant have a higher chance of developing blood clots (thrombosis) that can cause serious ill-health and can be fatal. Therefore, it is incredibly important that women who are pregnant, women of childbearing age and their families are aware of their risk factors for thrombosis in pregnancy. In the HRB-funded "HIGHLOW"...

Access to primary and emergency care for children with intellectual disabilities: utilisation, decision making, parental preferences and disparities

The aim of this research is to learn about the inequalities faced by children with intellectual disabilities (ID) in Ireland in relation to healthcare and to find out the reasons why these inequalities occur. In many other countries around the world, children with ID do not receive the same standard of healthcare as children without...

Maximising collaboration to expedite positive change in the assessment process that determines physiotherapy students' readiness for independent practice

Assessment of student physiotherapists in the clinical environment is a critical part of their education which determines their readiness for independent clinical practice once qualified. Therefore it has significant implications for patient safety and quality of service delivery. Yet, research and experience highlight many challenges...

LoVIC-Kids: Improving public awareness of abnormal bleeding symptoms

Congenital bleeding disorders (CBD) may result in increased bleeding at times of injury, surgery, childbirth or with periods (menstrual bleeding). Although an estimated 1-2% of the population are affected by CBD, most people are unaware that their bleeding symptoms are abnormal. In addition, there is limited awareness amongst many...

"Let's Talk About" Series

Researchers in dementia at NUI Galway are producing important research insights into many aspects of dementia care in Ireland, specifically: resource allocation decision-making; support structures for family carers; and how people with dementia are treated within the care system. The focus is now turning to sharing the results...

Using visual media to communicate complex information

Services in Ireland for people with dementia are poorly developed. The main partnership award aims to (i) describe current dementia services across all sectors and (ii) ask people with dementia, carers, health workers and managers about the ideal level and type of service provision for people with dementia who have different needs and...

Factors influencing decision-making for caesarean section

The rising rate of caesarean section (CS) has become a growing concern worldwide, with limited justification of the rising trend. Understanding the factors that influence the rise in CS is important because obstetricians and midwives are directly involved in the decision to perform a CS and are the key drivers to achieving the remedial...

The Frail Brain and the Frail Body: Impact of FRAILty and COGnitive impairment on trajectories, patterns and costs in care in old age

Informing Chronic Kidney Disease health policy in Ireland: Linkage of large datasets to study the interaction between ageing and kidney

The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) is a remarkable study undertaken in Ireland, which invited over 8,500 people aged 50 and over to participate at wave 1 between 2009 and 2011. Individuals who agreed to take part were subsequently invited to present for a comprehensive health assessment. This study is invaluable to the...

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...

HPV associated disease: shaping the future prevention and management pathway

Infection with HPV is the most important cause of cervical cancer. As such, HPV testing is now being introduced as part of cervical cancer screening. HPV is also involved in the development of other anogenital cancers, which include: vulvar, vaginal, anal and penile cancers. HPV vaccination will help reduce the burden of HPV-associated...

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...

European eHealth care model for rare neurodegenerative diseases

Rare neurodegenerative disorders (RND) like Huntington?s Disease (HD) require multidisciplinary care teams which are in short supply. Given the devastating consequences of RNDs for the individual patient and their families there is an urgent need to develop innovative ways to ensure access to best practices and established care...

Multi-Domain Lifestyle Targets for Improving ProgNOsis in Huntington?s Disease

Huntington?s Disease (HD) is a progressive, life-limiting neurodegenerative disease. It has devastating consequences for the individual and their families. No current treatment to modify the course of the disease exists. Improved evidence-based symptom assessment is crucial to optimising disease management. This project aims to...

Control of neuronal proteostasis by stress-induced transfer RNA fragments (?tiRNA?) as a common stress pathway across neurodegenerative disorders.

This application is for supplemental funding through PA-18-591 for the recently funded grant (1R01AG058476-01), entitled ?Dysfunction of the autophagy-lysosomal pathway as a common mechanism of neurodegeneration,? and the JPND project to support collaborative studies between Dr. Finkbeiner?s lab (Gladstone) and the JPND RNA NEURO...

Autophagy induction as a novel therapeutic strategy for MSD

The lysosomal degradation pathway of autophagy has a crucial role in different pathophysiological conditions, such as infection, neurodegenerative disorders, cancer and ageing. In particular, autophagy plays an important role in the pathophysiology of a family of inborn errors of metabolism due to defect in the activity of lysosomal...

The microbiome as an environmental trigger for autoimmune epilepsy (MICA)

Autoimmune epilepsy is a rare form of drug-resistant epilepsy characterised by frequent seizures in later life. Patients may respond to immune therapy, but causation of disease is poorly understood, and more targeted treatments are required. This gap in knowledge is the major priority for epilepsy specialists, and the area of greatest...

Elucidation of the role of SARM1 in retinal homeostasis and oxidative stress induced retinal degeneration

Photoreceptor cells found in the back of our eyes convert light into signals that allow us to see. Death of these cells and the cells that nourish them, called RPE cells, is termed retinal degeneration and is characteristic of blinding diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa. Millions of people...

Towards novel anti-infective with enhanced wound-healing for diabetic foot infections : Co2 releasing star shaped micro biocidal polymers

It is estimated that 422 million people worldwide are living with diabetes and among them, a common and serious problem is the development of diabetic foot infection. One in five patients with diabetes are hospitalised with a diabetic foot wound (DFW) at least once in their lives. Infected DFWs are treated by removal of infected tissue...

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...

Preoperative Exercise to Improve Fitness in Patients Undergoing Complex Surgery for Cancer of the Lung or Oesophagus

Treatment for people with cancer of the lung or the oesophagus (food-pipe) often involves surgery. This surgery is complex and there is a high risk that patients will develop severe complications afterwards, mainly lung or heart problems, leading to a longer hospital stay and higher hospital costs, and impacting greatly on recovery and...

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...

Incorporation of sensor technology to provide clinical meaningfulness for existing standardised measurement scales in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) also known as Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a progressive and ultimately fatal neurodegenerative disease for which there is no cure. People with ALS experience loss of mobility and arm function, breathlessness and chest infections, loss of speech and swallow and in 30-50%, cognitive and behavioural...

Novel Neurophysical Biomarkers of Heterogeneous Network Degeneration in Motor Neuron Disease for Quantifying the Progression and Outcome in Clinical Trials

Motor Neurone Disease (MND)/Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a terminal neurological condition in which the neurones (neural cells) that control movement degenerate. Despite encouraging results from studies in animals, translation of new treatments to humans has been disappointing. The aim of this study is to provide scientific...

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...

Gold-drug: Targeting a novel dual inhibitor drug with gold nanoparticles for improving radiation response in oesophageal cancer

Oesophageal cancer (cancer of the food pipe) has low survival rates and a very poor response to treatment. Sadly, this cancer type is on the rise in Ireland and is linked with increasing obesity rates. Unlike many other cancer types, we are still only using treatments that have existed for decades - chemotherapy drugs with radiation...

The role of sialylated-alpha-1 antitrypsin in resolution of acute and chronic inflammation

Alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency (AATD) is a hereditary disorder that results in the rapid progression of lung disease, especially in smokers. Specific treatment for this disorder is available in the form of weekly intravenous injections of AAT. This is referred to as augmentation therapy and studies have shown that augmentation...

Compound library screening in a zebrafish model of MSD to identify novel therapeutic compounds

Multiple Sulfatase Deficiency (MSD) is currently an untreatable disease and while we know some of the processes inside cells that cause or influence the disease, there is still much to be understood. While progress has been made from studying simple cell culture systems, this does not tell us about how different disease changes may...

Evidence Synthesis Ireland

Health care decisions should be based on the combination of the full amount of information that is available rather than relying on the convenient selection of one or more individual pieces of information, or studies. Evidence synthesis methods seek to establish the overall balance of information on a given topic, and are based on...

Good vigilance practice in pregnancy: A multistakeholder approach to optimising the effectiveness of risk minimisation measures to prevent harms from teratogenic medicines

When new medicines are approved for use in the general population the drug company responsible for the medicine has to make sure that certain measures are in place to avoid unnecessary harm. These are known as risk minimisation measures (RMMs). This is particularly important when the medicine may cause harmful effects to an unborn...

Co-producing health and well-being in partnership with patients, families and communities: the role of the epilepsy patient portal

Claire a 35 year old teacher with a 10 year history of epilepsy attends the Galway University Hospital (GUH) where an electronic patient record (EPR) is used by the epilepsy service. Recently on a weekend trip to Waterford, Claire had a seizure resulting in a fall in the street and a minor injury. She was taken to the emergency...

Enhancing existing formal home support to improve and maintain functional status in older adults: A feasibility study on the implementation of the Care to Move (CTM) programme

Ireland has an increasing ageing population and this has created the need for better and more integrated health and social care services. The benefits of physical activity for all ages are widely known. Physical activity programmes have been shown to improve older adults’ health and well-being and reduce falls, enabling the older adult...

Loneliness and health: the moderating role of befriending services.

Befriending services deliver companionship to older adults through regular volunteer visits. ALONE is a charitable organisation providing befriending services to older adults in Ireland. It is the mission statement of ALONE to use befriending to reduce the negative impact loneliness has on health, but evidence for this use of...

Premature Ageing in long-Term Homeless adults (PATH)

The number of homeless adults in Ireland is rising. Homeless people have more chronic illnesses and a shorter
life-expectancy than people who have somewhere secure to live. We have carried out a pilot study showing that
homeless people have dementia, frailty and other diseases associated with ageing at a much younger age...

Unlocking the potential of healthcare complaints to improve hospital care (UP-CIC)

Most assessments of quality of care in Irish healthcare services are focused on healthcare workers’ opinions, statistics (e.g., how many patients got infections), or investigating large errors. However, these assessments fail to consider patients’ unique insights into quality of care and support improvement in services. For example,...

I-PARC (Ireland’s Physical Activity Research Collaboration): Bridging the research to action gap to support the implementation of the National Physical Activity Plan

The purpose of this research is to develop a bespoke research collaboration ‘I-PARC’ (Irish – Physical Activity Research Collaboration) to support Get Ireland Active! the National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP)1. I-PARC will bring together researchers, policy makers and practitioners from physical activity (PA) to establish how best to...

How can a multi-disciplinary prescribing strategy support appropriate prescribing of oral nutritional supplements (ONS) by Irish general practitioners (GPs)?

Malnutrition is a major burden to the Irish health service as malnourished patients have poorer health and are more expensive to treat than patients who are well-nourished. The annual cost of healthcare associated with malnutrition is approximately €1.4 billion in Ireland (10% of our total healthcare budget). Oral nutritional...

Doctoral program in youth mental health leadership (The YouLead Program)

This doctoral training program focuses on youth mental health research. Mental health difficulties (including depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia) account for approximately half of all causes of disability in individuals under the age of 35. Despite the fact that access to treatment is strongly associated with reduced risk...

"Right Care": a programme of research to enhance safe and appropriate care for older patients in Ireland

We propose a structured PhD training programme for multi-disciplinary health researchers on the topic of “Right Care” for older people. This research programme will examine how right care can be given at the right time and in the right setting, so that older people get the greatest benefit and the lowest harm from health interventions....

Neonatal Brain Injury Consortium Ireland

Neonatal brain injury has serious consequences including problems with development and cerebral palsy. Cooling or Hypothermia therapy is the only treatment available but half of all babies still have brain injury. All babies have detailed tests of their brain function using brain imaging and brainwave monitoring. They also have...

Managing complex multimorbidity in primary care: a multidisciplnary doctoral training programme

This application outlines a Structured Doctoral Training Programme for four PhD students with clinical and research backgrounds. The focus is on primary care delivery for patients who are referred to as having complex multimorbidity, which means that they have multiple long term conditions and are often on ten or more regular...

Cancer Prevention Fellowship 2018

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 leaders in the...

Manganese enhanced MRI as an early technique for lung cancer

The objective of the project is to prove that the manganese enhanced MRI (MEMRI) technique could help to detect early-stage cancers and metastases in lungs which could be treated rapidly with a good prognosis. This patient friendly and inexpensive diagnostic technique will be tested in preclinical models and presented to clinicians to...

Label free monitoring of fibrinogen levels in human blood plasma using asymmetric imides

The project aims to develop new methodologies for analysis of blood plasma samples using vibration spectroscopy (infrared and Raman spectroscopy) as alternative to the time consuming, costly and poorly reliable Clauss assay, commonly used in hospitals. Two different aspects will be addressed, (i) requirement for optimisation of...

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...