Health Research Board - Health Research Awards2015
List of awards
HRB - Health Research Awards 2015 – Listed by Host Institution
Project Title
/Principal Investigator
/Host institution
1
/Parent-adolescent communication and negotiation of self-management responsibilities for adolescents' with Type 1 Diabetes
/Dr Veronica Lambert
/Dublin City University
2
/Spectroscopic imaging for prognostic applications in breast and oesophageal cancer treatment (SPECPREDICT)
/Professor Aidan Meade
/Dublin Institute of Technology
3
/A Moment for Hand Hygiene in the Intensive Care Unit: How Can Compliance be Improved?
/Dr Paul O'Connor
/National University of Ireland, Galway
4
/EMERGE: A randomised placebo controlled trial of the Effectiveness of MEtformin in addition to usual care in the reduction of Gestational diabetes mellitus effects.
/Professor Fidelma Dunne
/National University of Ireland, Galway
5
/Medically licensed mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of systemic sepsis.
/Dr Daniel O'Toole
/National University of Ireland, Galway
6
/Traumatic spinal cord injury in Ireland: service planning for changing epidemiology
/Dr Eimear Smith
/National Rehabilitation Hospital
7
/An Inflammatory Biomarker Study of Psychosis: a Longitudinal Study in an At Risk Population
/Professor David Cotter
/Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
8
/A translational systems biological study to identify molecular predictors for responsiveness to TRAIL-receptor agonists in colorectal cancer
/Dr Markus Rehm
/Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
9
/Blood adenosine levels as a novel diagnostic of seizures in humans
/Dr Tobias Engel
/Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
10
/Breast cancer risk: The influence of blood selenium status and interactions between selenium supply biomarkers and genetic variations in the selenoprotein gene pathway
/Dr David Hughes
/Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
11
/Cold air plasma to enhance hospital hygiene leading to reduced surface bacterial counts and patient acquisition of vancomycin-resistant enterococci and Clostridium difficile infection
/Professor Hilary Humphreys
/Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
12
/Early life stress and the etiopathogenesis of auditory hallucinations in young people
/Professor Mary Cannon
/Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
13
/Irish Medical Career Tracking Study (The MedTrack Study)
/Professor Ruairi Brugha
/Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
14
/Oral flucloxacillin alone versus flucloxacillin and phenoxymethylpenicillin for the emergency department outpatient treatment of cellulitis: a non-inferiority randomised controlled trial
/Dr Abel Wakai
/Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
15
/The effects of maternal and foetal stress during pregnancy on adult mental health
/Dr Mary Clarke
/Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
16
/Patient Preferences for Health
/Dr Roisin Adams
/St. James's Hospital Foundation Limited
17
/Prevention of Postoperative Persistent Bowel Symptoms in Patients with Hirschsprung’s Disease
/Professor PremPuri
/The Childrens' Medical and Research Foundation
18
/Blood Brain Barrier Dysfunction in Schizophrenia; A Molecular Genetics Based Approach to Prognosis
/Dr Matthew Campbell
/Trinity College Dublin
19
/Defining host and microbe-derived immune targets for development of improved host-directed therapies and vaccines for TB
/Professor Joseph Keane
/Trinity College Dublin
20
/Development of prognostic screening tools to predict patient response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy treatment for oesophageal adenocarcinoma
/Dr Margaret Dunne
/Trinity College Dublin
21
/Disease gene independent generic suppression-based therapies for retinal disorders
/Professor G Jane Farrar
/Trinity College Dublin
22
/Evaluating metabotropic glutamate 5 receptor-selective drugs as a novel therapeutic strategy for Alzheimer’s disease
/Professor Michael Rowan
/Trinity College Dublin
23
/Evaluating the role of TLR3 L412F in disease progression in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
/Professor Seamas Donnelly
/Trinity College Dublin
24
/INCA: Interaction Analytics for Automatic Assessment of Communication Quality in Primary Care
/Dr Saturnino Luz
/Trinity College Dublin
25
/NIMBUS group: Neonatal Inflammation and Multiorgan dysfunction and Brain injUry reSearch group
/Professor Eleanor Molloy
/Trinity College Dublin
26
/Preclinical evaluation of a novel therapeutic strategy for Ulcerative Colitis
/Dr Patrick Walsh
/Trinity College Dublin
27
/Research in Depression: Endocrinology, Epigenetics and neuroiMaging: the REDEEM study
/Professor Veronica O'Keane
/Trinity College Dublin
28
/Targeting dysregulated bioenergetics in the inflamed RA joint
/Dr Jean Fletcher
/Trinity College Dublin
29
/Targeting NK cells to improve HCV vaccine immunogenicity
/Professor Clair Gardiner
/Trinity College Dublin
30
/Urine soluble CD163 as a biomarker of crescentic glomerulonephritis
/Professor Mark Little
/Trinity College Dublin
31
/Viral Hepatitis C Associated Neurocognitive Dysfunction in Ireland in the DAA era
/Professor Suzanne Norris
/Trinity College Dublin
32
/Ethnic Minority Health in Ireland - Building the evidence base to address health inequities
/Professor Anne MacFarlane
/University of Limerick
33
/Dysfunctional mItochondriaproVokes Inflammation iNprEeclampsia; a novel medical interventional target to improve maternal and fetal diagnosis in preeclampsia. Short title: DIVINE
/Professor Louise Kenny
/University College Cork
34
/Preclinical characterization of fingolimod as a potential therapeutic agent for stroke
/Dr Christian Waeber
/University College Cork
35
/Profiling receptive and expressive prosodic skills in children with spina bifida and hydrocephalus
/Dr Alice Lee
/University College Cork
36
/PAPRICA: Protein Biomarker Assays for Psoriatic Arthritis - Clinical Evaluation and Validation of Multiplexed Panels for Diagnosis and Prognosis
/Professor Oliver FitzGerald
/University College Dublin
37
/Towards treatment stratification for successful smoking cessation: Harnessing predictive neurocognitive models
/Dr Robert Whelan
/University College Dublin
Individual award details
- Parent-adolescent communication and negotiation of self-management responsibilities for adolescents' with Type 1 Diabetes
Principal InvestigatorDr Veronica Lambert
Host Institution Dublin City University
Duration (months) 36 months
Budget Total (€) €329,962.00
Lay Summary
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, blood glucose levels and insulin administration, the continual involvement of parents in sharing self-care responsibilities with adolescents with T1D is recommended to ensure good metabolic control. However, often parents of adolescents with T1D struggle with finding a balance between monitoring adolescents blood glucose control and fostering adolescent autonomy for their own diabetes self-care. While previous studies have indicated the need to develop an intervention to facilitate families to establish shared goals and positive parent adolescent communication about diabetes shared care, no family based intervention is currently available. The purpose of this study is to develop a plan for the design of a family based intervention to support parents’ in communicating and negotiating shared self-care responsibilities with adolescents (11-17 years) with T1D. Using the Medical Research Council guidelines for the development of healthcare interventions this study will involve five phases; (i) a systematic review of previous research in this subject area, (ii) clinic observations, (iii) interviews with 30 families (mothers and/or fathers and adolescents with T1D) and audio-diaries with 10 families, (iv) a questionnaire with about 175 parent(s) and adolescents with T1D and (v) the development of a plan for the design of a new healthcare intervention to support parent-adolescent (with T1D) communication about shared self-care responsibilities in T1D. The findings of this study will have many benefits to families with adolescents living with T1D most specifically it will afford them with an opportunity to have their needs reflected in the design of an intervention to support parent-adolescent communication about diabetes shared care.
Ends.
- Spectroscopic imaging for prognostic applications in breast and oesophageal cancer treatment (SPECPREDICT)
Principal InvestigatorProfessor Aidan Meade
Host Institution Dublin Institute of Technology
Duration (months) 36 months
Budget Total (€) € 329,393.00
Lay Summary
Each cancer patient has a unique response to cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. An individual patient’s 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 gene sequencing and associated computational methods it is now possible to link a patient’s biological profile and lifestyle characteristics to measurements of their treatment response. This can supply clinicians with a prediction of the risk of recurrence or probability of regression of cancer for a particular patient and for a particular treatment option. While there are a number of costly commercial genetic tests (such as the Oncotype DX assay) that can predict which patients have a higher risk of cancer recurrence, they fail to predict those who have a low to intermediate risk of recurrence (at least 60% of patients). This project will develop a novel low cost, rapid assay based on biochemical imaging of patient tissue which will identify the risk of recurrence of breast and oesophageal cancer before treatment by chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The project will employ Raman spectral imaging which uses laser light to image patient tissue and does not require special labelling. A limited pilot study with the technology has already shown that it predicts radiotherapy response in oesophageal cancer patients with 85% accuracy. The research will deliver a revolutionary assay clinicians may use to accurately prescribe the most appropriate therapy option for a given patient with oesophageal or breast cancer and will form the basis of a technique which can be rolled out for other cancer types in the future. The assay will lead to a reduced number of patients in whom inappropriate therapies are prescribed with an associated reduction in healthcare costs.
Ends.
- A Moment for Hand Hygiene in the Intensive Care Unit: How Can Compliance be Improved?
Principal Investigator Dr Paul O'Connor
Host Institution National University of Ireland, Galway
Duration (months) 36 months
Budget Total (€) €318,044.00
Lay Summary
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 been historically low, leading to a national and international focus on improving hand hygiene.
Although the hand hygiene procedure itself is simple to carry out, the behaviour related to hand hygiene is complex and is not readily understood, explained, or changed. International bodies have made recommendations for how to improve hand hygiene practices, but there are serious weaknesses in the research evidence to guide the implementation of these recommendations. As a result, infection control practices are not based on sound scientific knowledge, may be of limited effectiveness, and resources are not being used efficiently.
The aim of the proposed research project is to take a scientific approach to improving hand hygiene in the Irish health service. This research will provide valid and practical methods for improving hand hygiene compliance in Irish Intensive Care Units (ICUs). In order to address the weakness of the research in this area:
- a multi-factorial study involving all of the stakeholders (i.e. patients, nurses, doctors, and regulators) will be carried out to identify the barriers and facilitators to effective hand hygiene practices; and
- based upon this research, all of the stakeholders will be involved in identifying an sustainable intervention that is appropriate for improving hand hygiene compliance in Irish ICUs.
The proposed approach provides direction to regulators, health service managers, and health service providers on ‘how’ standards can be achieved rather than only defining ‘what’ standards must be achieved. This information will be valuable to improving hand hygiene in critical care settings both nationally and internationally.
Ends.
- EMERGE: A randomised placebo controlled trial of the Effectiveness of MEtformin in addition to usual care in the reduction of Gestational diabetes mellitus effects.
Principal InvestigatorProfessor Fidelma Dunne
Host Institution National University of Ireland, Galway
Duration (months) 60 months
Budget Total (€) €799,903.00
Lay Summary
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 diabetes long-term. Infants of mothers with GDM have a greater risk of being born overweight and require admission to neonatal intensive care units because of low blood sugars, and other medical complications. The first line of managing high blood sugar levels is diet and exercise. However, 40% of women with GDM will require insulin to maintain normal blood sugar levels. While insulin is effective at keeping blood sugars in the normal range, it has important side-effects and limitations for the mother (e.g. excessive weight gain, low blood sugars, delivery by caesarean section) and baby (tendency to excess weight). A potential other treatment is a tablet called metformin used for 30 years in diabetes and fertility treatment. In a GDM trial in New Zealand, metformin was shown to work as well as insulin and be safe during pregnancy. Metformin might also reduce the chance of women with GDM developing long term diabetes after pregnancy. Two trials are on-going examining metformin in overweight women without diabetes and in women with Type 2 diabetes during pregnancy. We wish to see if metformin is effective for all women with GDM (not just those who are obese) if given at the time of diagnosis in addition to diet and exercise management. We want to see also if metformin is associated with less excessive weight gain and need for insulin. This may translate into better pregnancy outcomes, reduce progression to Type 2 Diabetes for the mother and break the circle of future diabetes in the offspring.
Ends.
- Medically licensed mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of systemic sepsis.
Principal InvestigatorDr Daniel O'Toole
Host Institution National University of Ireland, Galway
Duration (months) 30 months
Budget Total (€) € 329,559.00
Lay Summary
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 medicines available for systemic sepsis, and treatment relies on fluid delivery and ventilation coupled with immediate broad-spectrum antibiotics. Recent studies using adult derived stem cells (MSCs) have indicated profound anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and pro-healing effects in a variety of disease conditions, including other debilitating infectious diseases such as pneumonia. The Centre for Cell Manufacturing Ireland (CCMI) and Orbsen Therapeutics Ltd., both based on the NUI Galway campus, have recently initiated a collaboration to produce medically licensed MSCs isolated by a novel and highly efficient mechanism. We hope to utilize this exciting new potential medicine in a series of laboratory experiments to assess their potential. We will measure anti-inflammatory and anti-biotic traits, the safety of the medicine, and the overall ability of these MSCs to alter the sepsis disease in an animal model. We will also determine whether a frozen cell product, a requirement for the treatment of a rapidly evolving acute condition, works as well as the traditional freshly prepared type. If these evaluations are successful we will proceed to seek further funding to establish clinical trials in systemic sepsis patients using this novel therapeutic agent.
Ends.
- Traumatic spinal cord injury in Ireland: service planning for changing epidemiology
Principal InvestigatorDr Eimear Smith
Host Institution National Rehabilitation Hospital
Duration (months) 18 months
Budget Total (€) € 100,344.00
Lay Summary
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 (NRH) will be reviewed and information gathered on patient gender, age, cause of injury, type and severity of injury, length of hospital stay and discharge destination. During 2016, the same information will be collected as patients sustain injuries and are admitted to the NRH. A mini-study (pilot) has already been carried out to help in deciding which years to select for the retrospective part of the study. The 5 year period chosen from 2010 was selected because in that year the NRH achieved international accreditation; associated with this, there was a change in documentation in the hospital records which means that necessary data can easily be retrieved since that time.
Once the information is gathered, statistics will be carried out to estimate how frequently spinal cord injury occurs per head of population, average patient age when spinal cord injury occurs, gender most affected, most common causes, types and severity of spinal cord injury. Statistics will also be carried out to examine if there is an association between patient age or injury type/severity and the length of hospital stay and discharge destination. For the retrospective part of the study, results from the 2011 census will be used for statistical calculations. The prospective study coincides with a new census in 2016.
Results of the study will give us updated information on the spinal cord injury patient population, which we will then use to plan how we deliver rehabilitation services and to assist with discharge planning.
Ends.
- An Inflammatory Biomarker Study of Psychosis: a Longitudinal Study in an At Risk Population
Principal Investigator Professor David Cotter
Host Institution Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Duration (months) 36 months
Budget Total (€) €329,048.00
Lay Summary
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 earlier.