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HRB invests €10 million in research to address emerging health challenges
The Investigator-Led Projects (ILP) 2022 scheme will support high-quality research in important areas including schizophrenia, antimicrobial resistance, and elderly care in hospitals.
This investment will be divided across 33 new projects* which span three core areas: patient-oriented research, population health research, and health service research.
Commenting on the scheme, Dr Mairead O’Driscoll, Chief Executive at the Health Research Board, said:
“ILP is another HRB funding scheme that clearly demonstrates Ireland’s position as a world leader in cutting-edge research. The 33 projects awarded funding all have huge potential to improve people’s lives. Brain tumours, rheumatoid arthritis, psychosis, tuberculosis, antimicrobial resistance, sepsis, home haemodialysis, and the risks of cannabis use in adolescence are just some of the challenges this funding scheme is tackling in the most innovative of ways.”
According to Dr Anne Cody, Head of Investigator-Led Grants, Research Careers and Enablers at the Health Research Board:
“ILP demonstrates the HRB’s commitment to funding ground-breaking research that impacts on tomorrow’s health and social care. We are delighted to be supporting such a variety of talented investigators, with expertise ranging from immunology to community health. The awardees and their projects have come through a very competitive process and represent the best of health research In Ireland.”
The 33 successful investigator-led projects were selected by an international panel of experts following a rigorous application process. As a matter of course, a public review was undertaken alongside the scientific peer review to assess whether the research is in the best interests of the patient or the general health of the population. Successful projects were selected based on their scientific quality and innovation, impact, and feasibility. Each project will be funded for a maximum of four years.
ENDS
*Details of the successful 33 awards, including press contacts, follow:
The successful lead applicants in the Patient-Oriented Research remit were:
Project: Developing the IL-36 receptor antagonist as a therapy for colon cancer
Lead Applicant: Dr Elizabeth Brint
Host Institution: University College Cork
Project: Development, validation, and dissemination of the PRECIS-3 tool to support the design of pragmatic randomised controlled trials: Towards making clinical trials part of routine clinical care
Lead Applicant: Dr Frances Shiely
Host Institution: University College Cork
Project: A probiotic strategy for antipsychotic-induced metabolic dysfunction
Lead Applicant: Professor John Cryan
Host Institution: University College Cork
Project: Examining the diagnostic and functional role of a novel DNA methylation signature in predicting Colorectal Cancer Metastasis - “INTERACT”
Lead Applicant: Dr Sudipto Das
Host Institution: RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences
Project: Interrogation of novel Glioblastoma Subtypes towards an improved Precision Medicine Approach for Brain Tumour Patients
Lead Applicant: Professor Annette Byrne
Host Institution: RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences
Project: Investigating the relationship between the Complement Pathway and outcomes in Psychosis; from Clinical High Risk to First Episode Psychosis
Lead Applicant: Professor David Cotter
Host Institution: RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences
Project: Study of the role of platelets In Sepsis (SEPSIS)
Lead Applicant: Professor Dermot Cox
Host Institution: RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences
Project: Increased Thrombotic Risk in Patients with Myeloproliferative Neoplasms: Linking Inflammation, Metabolism and Hypercoagulability - the CLIMB study
Lead Applicant: Dr Roger Preston
Host Institution: RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences
Project: The design and psychometric evaluation of a health-related quality-of-life outcome measure (QoLTEN) for adults with Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN)
Lead Applicant: Dr Pauline O'Reilly
Host Institution: University of Limerick
Project: Stromal cell subtypes define distinct pathogenesis in RA and PsA
Lead Applicant: Professor Ursula Fearon
Host Institution: Trinity College Dublin
Project: IMPRINT: Defining pathogen-specific immune predictors of bloodstream infection outcomes
Lead Applicant: Professor Rachel McLoughlin
Host Institution: Trinity College Dublin
Project: Analysing the therapeutic potential of anti-inflammatory drugs in brain development, neuronal activity and long-term outcomes after birth asphyxia
Lead Applicant: Dr Eva Jimenez-Mateos
Host Institution: Trinity College Dublin
Project: Defining how innate immune function is impacted long-term in people who have had active Tuberculosis
Lead Applicant: Dr Sharee Basdeo
Host Institution: Trinity College Dublin
Project: Altered histone protein acetylation is associated with dysregulated NK cell metabolism in different cancer types
Lead Applicant: Professor Clair Gardiner
Host Institution: Trinity College Dublin
Project: Effective Subsets of Fine-Grained Network-based Neurophysiological Biomarkers for Early Stratification in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Lead Applicant: Dr Bahman Nasseroleslami
Host Institution: Trinity College Dublin
Project: Comprehensive characterisation of resistance mechanisms for the accurate detection of Helicobacter pylori antimicrobial resistance
Lead Applicant: Dr Sinead Smith
Host Institution: Trinity College Dublin
Project: STARFISH: Sustained inflammation in preterm infants and multiorgan dysfunction correlates with long-term outcomes
Lead Applicant: Professor Eleanor Molloy
Host Institution: Trinity College Dublin
Project: A translational investigation of the anti-inflammatory and antidepressant effects of Psychedelics in Depression
Lead Applicant: Dr John Kelly
Host Institution: Trinity College Dublin
Project: Discovering and modulating mechanisms by which Peptidylglycine alpha-Amidating Monooxygenase (PAM) influences the risk of genetically inherited tissue damage in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Lead Applicant: Professor Gerry Wilson
Host Institution: University College Dublin
Project: Neutrophil Plasticity in Infection and Inflammation
Lead Applicant: Professor Ulla Knaus
Host Institution: University College Dublin
Project: Predicting Onset, Variation and Effect of treatment in Rheumatoid Arthritis (PROVE-RA)
Lead Applicant: Professor Douglas Veale
Host Institution: University College Dublin
Project: Hepato-Flame: Studying the interaction of diet, obesity, microbial translocation and inflammatory pathways in hepatobiliary cancer development: A European prospective cohort study
Lead Applicant: Dr David Hughes
Host Institution: University College Dublin
Project: Interrogating Steroid Non-responsiveness in the Irish Eosinophilic Oesophagitis Population
Lead Applicant: Dr Joanne Masterson, Maynooth University
Host Institution: Maynooth University
The successful lead applicants in Health Services Research remit were:
Project: Identifying and Addressing the Barriers to Home Haemodialysis (DREAM)
Lead Applicant: Dr Paul O'Connor
Host Institution: National University of Ireland, Galway
Project: The development of an intervention to improve the use of point-of-care diagnostics in the management of respiratory tract infections in primary care: a mixed methods study
Lead Applicant: Professor Cristin Ryan
Host Institution: Trinity College Dublin
Project: Planning and design for quality of life and resilience in residential long-term care settings for older people in Ireland: Research and Universal Design Guidelines for new-build, adaption and retrofit
Lead Applicant: Professor Desmond O'Neil
Host Institution: Trinity College Dublin
Project: Development of a Core Outcome Set for research studies with older adults in the Emergency Department
Lead Applicant: Dr Katie Robinson
Host Institution: University of Limerick
Project: A realist process evaluation of an intervention to promote competencies in interprofessional collaboration among interdisciplinary integrated care teams for older people
Lead Applicant: Dr Deirdre O'Donnell
Host Institution: University College Dublin
Project: Addressing the economic and human cost of hospital-acquired and nurse-sensitive adverse events in older patients through optimal use of routine discharge data and measurement of missed nursing care
Lead Applicant: Dr Marcia Kirwan
Host Institution: Dublin City University
The successful lead applicants in Population Health Research remit were:
Project: Investigation of hospital sanitary ware as reservoirs of persistent antimicrobial-resistant pathogens and links to bloodstream infections: Implications for infection prevention and control
Lead Applicant: Dr Fiona Walsh
Host Institution: Maynooth University
Project: Exploring the risk factors and consequences of cannabis use in adolescence using population-based data: the "CANNARISK" study
Lead Applicant: Professor Mary Cannon
Host Institution: RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences
Project: SocialPaths: Sex-specific socioeconomic pathways to cardiovascular disease risk across the life course
Lead Applicant: Dr Linda O'Keeffe
Host Institution: University College Cork
Project: Mental Health and Wellbeing during the Transition from Childhood to Young Adulthood
Lead Applicant: Dr Anne Nolan
Host Institution: Economic and Social Research Institute
Press contacts:
- University College Cork. Joe Leogue, UCC Office of Media and PR. Email: joe.leogue@ucc.ie
- RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. Jane Butler, Communications Manager. Email: janebutler@rcsi.ie Phone: +353-(0)1-402-8610
- University of Limerick. Alan Owens, Communications Officer. Email: Alan.Owens@ul.ie
- Trinity College Dublin. Ciara O’Shea, Media Relations Officer, Trinity Communications, Trinity College Dublin. Email: coshea9@tcd.ie Phone: +353 1 896 4337
- University College Dublin. Caroline Byrne, Communications Manager, UCD Research. Email: caroline.byrne1@ucd.ie
- National University of Ireland, Galway. Ed Carty, Director of Marketing and Communications. Email: ed.carty@nuigalway.ie
- Dublin City University. Niamh O’Doherty, Communications Officer, Dublin City University. Email: niamh.a.odoherty@dcu.ie
- Maynooth University. Rachel Kavanagh, Communications Officer. Email: Rachel.Kavanagh@mu.ie Phone: +353-01-708-3662
- Economic and Social Research Institute. Jeanne Sutton, Communications and Dissemination Manager. Email: Jeanne.Sutton@esri.ie