This amounts to 31 emerging investigator awards made by the HRB since 2017, and an overall investment of €23 million. The overarching aim of the EIA is to create a cohort of talented new independent academic investigators by facilitating and supporting their transition from postdoctoral researchers to independent and self-directed health research investigators in the Republic of Ireland.

Speaking about the scheme, Dr Mairead O’Driscoll, Chief Executive at the Health Research Board, said:

“EIA 2022 continues the HRB’s investment in Ireland’s research leadership and capacity to respond to current and emerging health and social care research needs. It will also advance our commitment to building a strong and supportive environment for research in Ireland.

“We are excited by the scheme’s great potential to unlock the talent of a new cohort of independent academic investigators and improve people’s health in many important areas. For example, one EIA 2022 research project could revolutionise treatment of degenerative diseases like osteoarthritis, and another could do the same for schizophrenia.”

According to Dr Annalisa Montesanti, Programme Manager at the Health Research Board:

“EIA 2022 is an exciting scheme that is funding interesting, relevant and important research topics. The new emerging investigators come from wide-ranging disciplines and will conduct research with strong potential for actionable knowledge in areas including neurology, immunology, behavioural psychology and mental health.”

The main objectives of EIA 2022 are to:

  1. Support talented individuals at a critical career transition stage to establish themselves as independent health investigators in an academic or other research-based institution.
  2. Develop collaborative researchers who can facilitate actionable knowledge by translating knowledge generated through research into the health care system, policies or practice, or generating research findings informed by policy and practice.

The scheme benefits researchers who have a minimum of four years active post-doctoral research experience and who are progressing towards research independence. Each of the nine awards (summaries of which are detailed below*) will be undertaken for four years and will support the salary of the awardee to provide protected time for research. The awards will also supply funding for the research project and associated personnel to support the awardee to build their own independent research team.

The successful applicants were selected in a two-stage application process, underpinned by a rigorous review, including expert international peer review, an applicant response stage and interviews conducted by an independent and international panel.

ENDS

*The nine research projects awarded funding follow. These summaries include details of press contacts for any further information you may require:

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

Lead applicant: Dr Monica O’Mullane

Host institution: University College Cork

Lay summary:

Public health research has shown that our health and wellbeing are affected by the circumstances into which we are born, grow, live, work and age. HIA-IM is now needed more than ever to ‘health-proof’ public policies as we cope with challenges such as the global climate emergency. HIA-IM will help reduce the risk of policies that impact adversely on health and wellbeing, with particular reference to Ireland’s marginalised groups.

Press contact: Joe Leogue, UCC Office of Media and PR. E: joe.leogue@ucc.ie

2. Polyfunctional-T – stromal cell crosstalk in the joint of patients with inflammatory arthritis

Lead applicant: Dr Achilleas Floudas

Host institution: Trinity College Dublin

Lay summary:

There are over a million people in Ireland with inflammatory arthritis and other autoimmune diseases, and they all know the frustration of the trial-and-error approach in finding the right treatment. Often this entails enduring chronic pain over several years before a successful drug is stumbled upon. This study will bring us closer to administering the right therapy at the right time. Cracking the poly-T-cell code will lead to significant advances in the field of immunology and clinical practice.

Press contact: Ciara O’Shea, Media Relations Officer, Trinity Communications, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland. T: +353 1 896 4337 E: coshea9@tcd.ie

3. Cortical and Spinal Connectivity of Motor Units as a novel biomarker of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) pathology

Lead applicant: Dr Lara McManus

Host institution: Trinity College Dublin

Lay summary:

Ireland has the highest overall incidence of ALS in Europe. Combining information from electroencephalogram (EEG) and direct recordings from motor units will increase the likelihood of identifying early signs of motor unit degeneration. This will enable a faster diagnosis and earlier enrolment in clinical trials; identify different patient sub-groups; objectively monitor disease progression; and improve the identification and testing of new drugs and therapies for ALS.

Press contact: Ciara O’Shea, Media Relations Officer, Trinity Communications, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland. T: +353 1 896 4337 E: coshea9@tcd.ie

4. Interrogating the role of miRNA in predicting responses to novel modulator therapies in children with Cystic Fibrosis

Lead Applicant: Dr Irene Oglesby

Host Institution: RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

Lay summary:

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a hereditary condition effecting over 80,000 people worldwide, with the highest incidence occurring amongst the Irish population. There is no cure for CF, however a new era of medication that can correct Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator gene (CFTR) mutations, the basic defect that causes the disease, has had a life-changing impact on many. Unfortunately, however, some people fail to respond to modulator therapy, while some are not eligible to receive these drugs due to their ultra-rare mutations. In this study, we will pair with the clinical teams working on the RECOVER study, which is examining the day-to-day effects of the latest triple combination modulator Kaftrio®. We will create a patient specific lab model of CF lung disease to investigate variable Kaftrio® response using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). Our findings may have value in predicting which patients will respond to new drugs and enhancement of existing drug efficacy, as well as expanding access to these lifesaving medications.

Press contact: Jane Butler, Communications Manager, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. T: +353-(0)1-402-8610 E: janebutler@rcsi.ie 

5. Co-producing actionable knowledge to strengthen cultural humility in Irish mental health services

Lead Applicant: Dr Rebecca Murphy

Host Institution: Maynooth University

Lay summary:

Ethnic minority populations experience mental health difficulties at an unequal rate compared to the general population, as well as difficulties getting their mental healthcare needs met. People have tried to help this by training mental health professionals to be ‘culturally competent’. However, this is not enough alone and there is also a need for ‘cultural humility’. This asks us to think and act on how the ‘normal’ ways of thinking, being, and doing in the mental health services contribute to the unequal mental healthcare experiences of ethnic minority populations. It is a new idea and research is missing on what activities it includes, and how to action and test it. This study will begin this work by coproducing a model of cultural humility in mental healthcare that can be realistically used and tested.

Press contact: Rachel Kavanagh, Communications Officer, Maynooth University. E: Rachel.Kavanagh@mu.ie T: 353 01 708 3662

6. Development of a gene activated construct targeting proinflammatory signalling to promote zonal regeneration of osteoarthritic cartilage

Lead Applicant: Dr Tom Hodgkinson

Host Institution: RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

Lay summary:

Cartilage is a specialised, layered tissue that coats the end of bones, facilitating low friction movement of the joints and cushioning impacts. When cartilage is injured or degenerates due to disease such as osteoarthritis, these functions are impaired, causing inflammation, pain and reduced quality of life. No effective treatment is available to repair cartilage or halt the progression of osteoarthritis. Current therapies typically only manage symptoms, until joint replacement surgery is required. Regenerative medicine offers an alternative approach and aims to engineer materials that stimulate tissue repair. However, recreating cartilage, while treating inflammation in damaged joints, is complex. This project aims to overcome these issues by developing a specialised implant designed to simultaneously support weight-bearing and treat inflammation to promote cartilage repair. This paradigm shifting approach has the potential to revolutionise treatment of degenerative diseases like osteoarthritis.

Press contact: Jane Butler, Communications Manager, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. T: +353-(0)1-402-8610 E: janebutler@rcsi.ie 

7. Ongoing examination of the PD-1: PD-L1 pathway throughout the evolution of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Lead Applicant: Dr Mary Canavan

Host Institution: Trinity College Dublin

Lay Summary:

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease which causes joint destruction, disability, and increased mortality. While treatment has improved, only one in four patients achieve full remission. Furthermore, predicting who will develop severe disease or respond to treatment is difficult. This research will examine an immune pathway known as PD-1 and aims to understand how this may contribute to the development of RA. PD-1 is known as a “negative regulator” meaning, when it is activated or “switched on” it dampens down the immune response – in this way it can be viewed as a “brake” in slowing inflammation in the body. It is found at high levels in the joints of RA patients, even those in early stages of disease. This study aims to understand why and assess if PD-1 has an alternative function in these patients that may be contributing to their disease. This could identify new treatments and enable clinicians to stratify or group patients, thus facilitating early and more personalised treatment interventions. Ultimately, this will allow patients to be treated with the right medication, at the right time, before their disease becomes severe.

Press contact: Ciara O’Shea, Media Relations Officer, Trinity Communications, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland. T: +353 1 896 4337 E: coshea9@tcd.ie

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

Lead Applicant: Dr Karen Matvienko-Sikar

Host Institution: University College Cork

Lay summary:

Approximately one in five children experience obesity worldwide, making it a major public health challenge. What, how and when children are fed in the first year of life (“infant-feeding”) contributes to childhood obesity risk. This research aims to provide researchers, practitioners, and policymakers with a toolkit of measurement instruments (e.g., questionnaires, clinical assessments) to better evaluate infant-feeding interventions and prevent childhood obesity. This will enhance the evaluation of interventions to prevent childhood obesity, with potential for significant impact on, and meaningful improvements for, population health.

Press contact: Joe Leogue, UCC Office of Media and PR. E: joe.leogue@ucc.ie

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

Lead Applicant: Dr Linda Katona

Host Institution: University College Cork

Lay summary:

Ireland has among the highest rates of mental illness in Europe, and schizophrenia is the leading psychiatric diagnosis nationally. Schizophrenia patients have problems remembering their past, are unable for social interactions and cannot retain information long enough to use it. Gut microbes affect our mood and motivation and interfere with our mental abilities. Recent research shows that information from our gut gets transferred to our brain through the vagus nerve, and that disruptions in the communication between gut microbes, vagus and brain often accompany the core symptoms of schizophrenia. This project will examine this and attempt to answer questions such as how our gut microbiome (through the vagus nerve) interferes with our memory, how it influences our social interactions, and how it can affect our concentration. By exploiting these gut-brain-behaviour relationships for novel, better-targeted therapeutic interventions, this study could revolutionise how schizophrenia and similar brain disorders are treated, significantly improving the lives of millions of people globally.

Press contact: Joe Leogue, UCC Office of Media and PR. E: joe.leogue@ucc.ie