News roundup
Published:
Grant updates - March 2018
Applying Research into Policy & Practice Postdoctoral Fellowship (ARPP) 2018
Deadline for applications is Thursday 15th March 2018 through the GEMS system.
Collaborative Doctoral Awards in Patient-focused Research (CDA) 2018
The HRB Board approved funding of four awards recommended by the Interview Panel. The CDA programme will support both training and research projects for 18 doctoral trainees in patient-focused research. These new cohorts of CDA trainees will start in October 2018.
Summer Student Scholarship (SS) 2018
We received 171 applications for the Summer Scholars Scheme. These are now being checked for eligibility. Eligible applications will be assessed by panel review and the final decision will be considered by the HRB board on the 16 April. Applicants and Host Institutions will be notified shortly after this about the outcome.
NCI Summer Curriculum in Cancer Prevention 2018
The HRB will support travel related costs for three applicants to attend the four-week Principles and Practice of Cancer Prevention and Control course and six applicants to attend the one-week Molecular Prevention courses which will be held National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, in Summer 2018.
Cancer Prevention Fellowship Programme (CPFP) 2018
The HRB Board has approved funding for one fellow to participate in the prestigious NCI Cancer Preventions Fellowship Programme at the National Cancer Institute in the US. This sole Irish Fellow is one of the 12 candidates selected by CPFP Committee from a total of 112 applications received. They will conduct a Masters in Public Health at UCD in year one, followed by a three-year mentored postdoctoral fellowship at NCI, and a one-year reintegration phase back in Ireland.
EU Framework Programme (FP9)
Planning for the next EU Framework Programme (FP9) is underway and the strategic recommendations report is now available to read on the EU Publications Website. The Commission is looking for your feedback on this approach before 3rd April 2018 - Report feedback
Ulysses Programme – fostering collaboration
The Health Research Board (HRB) is partnering with the Irish Research Council (IRC) for the first time to support the Ulysses travel grant. The HRB is providing funding of €5,000 to support two people to participate in research visits to France. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs will fund the reciprocal visits to Ireland.
The Ulysses programme is designed to support new research collaborations between Irish and French researchers. Through reciprocal visits and the exchange of innovative ideas and approaches, the programme enables the development of research projects.
The successful researchers funded by the HRB in the recent call are:
Jennifer McIntyre, Dublin Institute of Technology, with a project entitled 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 an alternative to the time consuming, costly and poorly reliable Clauss assay, commonly used in hospitals.
Olivero Gobbo, Trinity College Dublin, will investigate Manganese enhanced MRI as an early diagnostic 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.
The next call will launch in May with a closing date in September. An application form and full details of the call can be found on the IRC website research.ie/funding/ulysses/
The scheme attracts around 60 high quality applications each year and around 16 overall are funded. The HRB hopes to increase its funding contribution and fund five researchers in 2018.