August 2013 NUI Galway projects secure €1.3m in Health Research Board Funding

Four programmes to run for three years are among 40 selected from over 209 applications

NUI Galway has secured funding from the Health Research Board (HRB) worth €1.3m for four research programmes to run over the next three years.The HRB is to invest €12m in a total of 40 projects focused on different areas of research.

Questions addressed nationally include; Are current increases in suicide rates linked to the recession? Does our blood group determine our risk of heart attack? How do we improve outcomes for young adults with diabetes?  Four of the research projects will be conducted at NUI Galway.

Dr Sean Dinneen is investigating an intervention that will improve outcomes for young adults living with Type 1 Diabetes. Dr Thomas Ritter, National University of Ireland Galway aims to develop a new topical treatment for skin inflammation using adult stems cells.

Dr Wenxin Wang will seek to develop a new topical treatment for RDEB (Recessive Dsytrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa) which causes severe skin blistering in sufferers. Dr Dara Cannon aims to identify the biological subtypes of Bipolar Disorder to better understand the illness and speed up patients’ relief from symptoms.

Professor Lokesh Joshi, Vice-President for Research at NUI Galway welcomed the awards, adding that ‘today’s announcement is further endorsement of the calibre and relevance of research underway at NUI Galway.  In particular, this research will improve health outcomes for patients with type 1 diabetes, skin inflammation, RDEB, and bipolar disorder.  As a research-led University, innovative research is central to our objectives and I congratulate each of the researchers on their success under the HRB programme’.

'This funding will address a wide range of subjects, including mental health, cancer, diabetes and arthritis, says Enda Connolly, Chief Executive at the HRB. 'It will support health professionals and researchers to examine pressing research questions that will deliver strong evidence to enhance patient care, improve people's health or lifestyle and positively influence how we deliver our health services'.

The HRB selected a total of 40 projects from 209 applications. These were assessed by international peer review panels who believed the nature, scope and relevance of the proposals demonstrated great ambition and innovation that would lead to results that are relevant both nationally and internationally.

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