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Translational Medicine Alliance Network Ireland

Translational Medicine Alliance Network Ireland is the national umbrella for organisations active in translational research, spanning many areas of health in the fields of advanced therapy medicinal products, biomarkers, imaging and tracing, small molecules and vaccines. Through support and advocacy in association with EATRIS, TMAI represents joint interests, working to secure wider engagement at a European level to improve health and prevent illness through research.

Overview of Partners

The Atlantic Technology University (ATU) is a multi-campus technological university in the west and northwest of Ireland that delivers a rich combination of academic and research excellence and was established in April 2022. The ATU is one of the largest multi-campus universities on the island, serving a diverse group of learners, staff, communities and organisations from our region and further afield.

Our collaborative approach to learning and research ensures that we deliver practice-orientated study, and applied research that seeks to address the major challenges facing society and the world. As a northern and western multi-campus technological university, we are dedicated to enabling sustainable economic, social and cultural development connected to our region and with a mindset that reaches far beyond it.

Across the ATU, our faculties have a broad portfolio of teaching and applied research in Life Sciences, Nursing, Biomedical Engineering, Medical Devices, eHealth, Health Data Analytics, Forensic Science, Environmental Sciences, and Health and Nutritional Sciences. ATU Sligo’s Faculty of Science is one of the largest science faculties outside Dublin and the central hub for innovation at the University. The ATU provide cutting-edge technologies, state-of-the-art laboratories, and work closely with industry to bring the latest research and developments into our programmes, while also leading the way in translational research in our region. We work with clinical partners in the Saolta University Health Care Group across a range of clinical research areas as well as industry and charity organisations regional and nationally.

KEY TECHNOLOGIES

  • Life Sciences
  • Medical sensing technology and Medical Imaging
  • Protein and drug characterisation
  • Novel disease therapeutics/ diagnostics development
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Ecology
  • Water and Waste-water technologies
  • Sustainability
  • Health and Nutritional Sciences
  • Clinical Nutrition
  • Neuroplasticity
  • Novel therapeutics
  • Health informatics and analytics
  • Health economics

KEY OPINION LEADERS

  • Prof. Suresh C. Pillai completed PhD in the area of Materials Chemistry from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. He then performed his postdoctoral research at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), USA. Upon completion of this appointment, he returned to Trinity College Dublin as a Research Fellow before joining CREST-DIT as a Senior Scientist in April 2004. He joined Atlantic Technological University in 2013 as a senior lecturer in nanotechnology and currently leads the Nanotechnology and Bio-Engineering Research Group. He is the recipient of the ‘Boyle-Higgins Award-2019’ from the Institute of Chemistry Ireland. He also received the Linus Pauling Lecture Award 2020 from Mahatma Gandhi University. He is an elected fellow of the UK’s Royal Microscopical Society (FRMS) and the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM). He completed an executive MBA from Dublin City University, in 2009. Suresh was responsible for acquiring more than €9 million (total value over €34 million) in direct R&D funding. He has published several scientific articles in leading peer-reviewed journals has contributed to several book chapters, has presented at more than a hundred international conferences and has delivered over a hundred international invited talks. Suresh has also been invited to deliver keynote/plenary speeches at various international conferences. He is the lead inventor in two granted US patents (awarded in 2013 and 2015) and one UK patent (awarded in 2015) and a number of international patents (pending). He was also the recipient of the ‘Hothouse Commercialisation Award 2009’ from the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation and also the recipient of the ‘Enterprise Ireland Research Commercialization Award 2009’. Currently, he is the co-editor-in-chief/ executive editor for the journal Results in Engineering (Elsevier; IF 5.00) and an executive editor for the Chemical Engineering Journal (Elsevier; IF 16.44). He is also the Editorial Board Member for the journal Applied Catalysis B (Elsevier).
  • Dr Umar Khan completed his PhD in 2009 from School physics, Trinity College Dublin. After completing his PhD, he worked in Trinity College until Jun 2016. In 2016 he Joined IT Sligo and presently working as Lecture (Chemistry) at ATU Sligo. Dr Umar Khan work involves exfoliation of nano-graphene and many other nanomaterials. Other aspect of his work is commercial application of these material in the field of biomedical devices, sensors, polymer reinforcement, stretchable/wearable electronics, and printed electronics. Dr Khan has published more than 50 publications in high impact international journals including Nature and Science. He has H-index of 47. His work is cited more than 20,0000 and reported in national and international media on various occasions. Dr Khan was listed among in Top 1 % scientist in 2019 by Web of Science. “Recognizing the world's most influential researchers of the past decade, demonstrated by the production of multiple highly-cited papers that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and year in Web of Science”. His paper “Small but strong: A review of the mechanical properties of carbon nanotube-polymer composites” in Journal Carbon was most cited paper from year 2006 to 2010. Dr Khan was the winner of four Innovation awards (CRANN Trinity College Dublin). Dr Khan is co-inventor on multiple patent applications. Dr Khan has worked on various multimillion euro projects with industrial partner (HP, Thomas Swan, Sab Miller, RCSI). He is currently working on tuning 2D nano-material for biomedical applications.
  • Professor Neville McClenaghan first took up an academic appointment at Ulster University in 1998; promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2001, and then to a personal Professorship in 2009. Served in a number of roles at Ulster, including Course Director (BSc Hons Biomedical Science), Head of School of Biomedical Sciences (2007-2017), Professor of Bio-innovation and Enterprise (since 2009), and member of Senate. Prior to joining Ulster University, held research positions in the University of Uppsala, Sweden, and Hannover Medical School in Germany, with long-standing interest and expertise in fundamental and translational diabetes research. He took up post as Vice-President for Mayo Campus of the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) in February 2019, serving as a member of the senior management team and head of campus with a core role in development with strategic reimagining and refocusing of Mayo Campus, driving forward implementation of transformative change and integration facilitating sustainability in advance of formation of the Technological University. Sustained active membership of a number of external national and international professional bodies and organizations. Recipient of awards including: University of Ulster Distinguished Research Fellowship Award; The Physiological Society Sharpey-Schafer Prize and Lecture; University of Ulster Distinguished Business Fellowship Award; Coleraine Borough Chamber Innovation in Business Award; and European ACES Academic Enterprise Award for Innovation in Life Sciences. Professor McClenaghan is a pillar lead and principal investigator in the HEAL research centre.
  • Dr Karina Litvinova is a Lecturer in Biomedical Engineering at ATU Sligo as well being a principal investigator in the HEAL and MISCHE research centres. She recently transferred from Impreial College London and Aston University Medical School to ATU Sligo. Dr Litvinova has over 18 years of experience in biophotonics and medical imaging. Most of the research specialises in advancing biosensing technologies and ultimately providing consistent, reliable and meaningful diagnostic information within clinical practice, especially for the early diagnosis of conditions such as cancers and cardiovascular diseases. She focuses on a multidisciplinary research approach, challenging herself to expand the knowledge towards new research disciplines, such as big data and AI, and find novel applications for developed laser-based imaging setups for medicine. Dr Litvinova’s research potential and versatility have been proven by several research projects in which she played the role of the main investigator. She has participated in 20 international and national scientific projects, and essentially contributed to the preparation of 15 of them, which have attracted in total more than 1 .5 million of Euros. Dr Litvinova became a recipient of the International Science Education Program SOROS, Young Investigator Award of International Astronautical Federation, Telethon Italian Borsa di Studio and Marie Curie Research Fellow, which allowed Dr Litvinova to get internships at the world-known research groups. Dr Litvinova qualities as a leader and personal communication skills are shown by an established extensive collaborative network managed in over 50 publications, 5 patents, invited and keynote talks. With her robot-assisted laser system for welding of heart tissue, Dr Litvinova has been nominated for the “Engineering Heroes – The 2021 Top 50 Women in Engineering #WE50” award. Her long-term collaborative relationship with industry has resulted in the awarding of US patent (2023) and the launch of MedTech start-up.
  • Dr James Murphy is a Lecturer in Human Biochemistry in the Dept Health and Nutritional Sciences as well as head of the Cellular Health and Toxicology Group. He has published extensively in mitochondrial biology enabling him to develop research interests and subsequently contribute to a number of research disciplines using mitochondrial biology as the platform. He is active in the area of novel skin cancer and skin damage diagnostics as well as measuring the impact of physical training intensity, both of which employ mitochondrial marker development. He has an interest also in radiation biology (both ionising and non-ionising) relating to environmental and occupational exposure as well as radiotherapy exposure. Dr Murphy’s interest in cancer therapy and by extension non-targeted radiation damage to normal cells during radiotherapy has been extended to the evaluation of novel anti-tumour compounds. This research is made possible through collaborating with Medicinal Chemists in TCD and TUD. Dr Murphy’s research has recently expanded to include the evaluation of nutraceuticals and functional foods (as Dr Murphy contributes to the Human Nutrition undergraduate programme), initially focusing on cancer cells, though also extending to their impact on cell tolerance to stress and impact on the inflammatory response. This research marries nutrition with health and medicine Dr Murphy’s research capability and potential has been recognised in a number of awards over his career: (2008-2013) Awarded an SFI Stokes Lectureship to transfer his research from DIT to IT Sligo; (2002) Awarded an Arnold Graves Scholarship, Dublin Institute of Technology; (1998) Awarded a University College Dublin Open Post-Graduate Scholarship. He has won over 2 million euro in funding from public and private sources, including SFI, Invest NI and the Irish Research Council. He is senior author in over 20 peer-reviewed publications.
  • Dr Annemarie Larkin is a Lecturer in Medical Biotechnology in the Department of Life Sciences, ATU Sligo and Principal Investigator in the HEAL research centre. Dr Larkin’s research is focused on the exploitation of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) for both diagnostic and therapeutic application in human disease with a particular emphasis on cancer. Prior to joining ATU Sligo, Dr Larkin was a Senior Research Fellow in the National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology (NICB) in Dublin City University (DCU). Her research focused on identifying novel membrane candidates for potential antibody targeting of aggressive cancers, in particular pancreatic cancer and developing functional anti- cancer MAbs for novel cancer target discovery. Dr. Larkin carried out her Ph.D. studies in DCU in the area of Multiple Drug resistance in Breast and haematological cancers and she holds an MSc. (Toxicology) from the Royal Post Graduate Medical School, University of London. Other research interests include Multiple Drug resistance of cancer, molecular characterisation of Ocular melanoma and glycosylation profiling of Multiple Myeloma (MM) disease. She has published > 40 peer reviewed articles and has supervised 4 Ph.D. students to graduation (currently supervising one Ph.D student).
  • Dr Nicolas Touzet is a lecturer in the Department of Environmental Science at IT Sligo involved principally in the delivery of the Environmental Science, Environmental Protection and Applied Archaeology programmes. The remits of his teaching topics are aligned to biology, microbiology, ecology, toxicology and biotechnology themathics relevant to archaeology and the environment in general. His research interests and areas of expertise are multidisciplinary by nature and encompass: · -Microbial oceanography & limnology -Eutrophication, water quality, biotoxins and shellfish safety -Molecular ecology, biogeography and eco-physiology of Harmful Algal Blooms -Biorefining of high value metabolites from marine and freshwater microalgae Dr Touzet has >10 years of experience in microalgal research and has contributed to six collaborative EU-funded research programmes since 2003 (SEED, HABIT, FINAL, SPIES-DETOX, WATER and MIDTAL). He is at present the beneficent of a Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) award for the conduct of a 4-year research programme on microalgal biotechnology (METALGAE project). Dr. Touzet is a member of IT Sligo¿s new Centre for Environmental Research Innovation and Sustainability (CERIS), which is focused on developing and increasing research capacity in the areas of applied ecology and resource management
  • Dr Richéal Burns joined ATU Sligo in 2019 as a lecturer in health information technology having previously worked as a senior researcher in applied health economics at the University of Oxford. Her area of expertise includes applied health economic evaluations alongside clinical trials, economic modelling, biostatistics, burden of illness studies, research design and methodology, health-related quality of life measurement and evidence synthesis. Dr Burns undertook an undergraduate in Economics, an MSc in Health Economics and a PhD in Health Economics and Technology Assessment at NUI Galway. Her doctoral research was the first and only study in Ireland to assess the cost-effectiveness of introducing a national screening programme for prostate cancer in Ireland (2010-2013). As a senior researcher, she has led the economic evaluation of several surgical, pharmaceutical and psych-social interventions alongside clinical trials and assessed the European economic burden of disease analysis for CVD commissioned by the European Heart Network and for Blood Disorders commissioned by the European Hematology Association. Dr Burns has authored over 30 peer-reviewed publications, has secured over €700k in research-related funding as well as co-leading the development of the Health and Biomedical Strategic Research Centre (HEAL), at ATU Sligo.
  • Dr Ailish Breen is a lecturer in Biopharmaceutical Science teaching across the biomedical, medical device and pharmaceutical programmes at ATU Sligo. She is a biomedical engineer and obtained her PhD in the field of tissue engineering for the treatment of chronic ulcers in diabetic patients. The work was focused on the optimization of a biomaterial scaffold for sustained release of a therapeutic gene to modulate wound healing in vivo. The research resulted in several awards including best poster at the European Society for Gene Therapy in Finland, 2004, Engineer's Ireland Biomedical Research medal finalist, HRB Communications award and Faculty of Engineering best poster prize. She has authored over 30 conference papers, including an invited plenary presentation at the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Society meeting in London, 2008. Dr Breen has secured in excess of 500,000 in funding from sources such as Enterprise Ireland, SFI Research Frontiers Programme, HRB Basic Research Grant and NUI Galway and IT Sligo bursary schemes. Funding was obtained for projects concerned with gene delivery from novel biomaterial scaffolds. Dr Breen spent three years in Industry working as Scientific Development Officer in the management of bioassays for the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Industry. Her current research interests include developing and optimising novel natural biomaterials for tissue engineering, drug release applications and antimicrobial coatings and she is a principal investigator in the HEAL research centre.
  • Dr Mary Heneghan is a lecturer in Biomolecular Science, Programme Chairperson for the Medical Biotechnology programme in the department of Life Sciences and principal investigator in the HEAL research centre. She obtained her Ph.D. in Biochemistry (2004), from National University of Ireland, Galway, in the field of Fungal Biotechnology, resulting in a peer reviewed publication and a patent on the technology produced. Dr Heneghan then went on to complete two postdoctoral research positions at Bristol University, which resulted in 9 peer reviewed papers, before completing the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at University of Bath in 2011. She commenced her lectureship at ATU Sligo in 2011. Dr Heneghan is currently supervising several postgraduate students in the field of Fungal Biotechnology, with projects investigating molecular mechanisms to increase mushroom crop yields, and optimisation of fungal enzyme production for industrial applications. Dr Heneghan's research interests broadened from Fungal Biotechnology to Science Education during her time at Bath University. Her PGCE dissertation was on the subject of questioning in the classroom, with a particular focus on the existence of gender bias in questioning. She is currently involved in research projects to enhance her own teaching activities. These include the development of authentic learning environments to mimic the workplace and investigation of the role of student presentations as a teaching tool.
  • Dr Kenneth Monaghan joined ATU Sligo in 2012 as a Lecturer in Health Sciences. He obtained his PhD & MSc from University College Dublin. Dr Monaghan has a growing research group and leads the Clinical Health & Nutrition Centre (CHANCE), and Neuroplasticity Research Groups at ATU Sligo as well being a principal investigator in the HEAL research centre. A registered Chartered Specialist Physiotherapist in Musculoskeletal injuries, he was responsible for securing more than €1.1million direct R &D funding. He has published 23 peer-reviewed articles, presented in 45 International conferences, and delivered 2 International invited talks. Dr Monaghan’s research interests include Stroke Rehabilitation; Development of community-based exercise programmes for Cardiac/Stroke sufferers; and Chronic Ankle Instability.
  • Dr Karen Coughlan is a lecturer in health sciences at ATU Sligo as well being a principal investigator in the HEAL research centre. She received her undergraduate degree in Science, specialising in Human Physiology from Trinity College Dublin in 2010. Following this, she moved to the Royal College of Surgeons and undertook a PhD investigating energy imbalance in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), testing AMPK as a novel therapeutic target in mouse models of the disease. In 2014, she began her postdoctoral research fellowship in RCSI to explore Angiogenin as a potential treatment for ALS. During her time in RCSI she was involved in various teaching activities and completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Education for Health Professionals. Additionally, she was involved in STEM outreach education in primary schools in Dublin. From 2016 - 2020 she worked as a Medical Science Liaison in the pharmaceutical industry. Dr Coughlan’s research interests include brain health and ageing, neurodegeneration, cognitive impairment, chronic diseases, disease pathology, preventative lifestyle strategies, pharmacological interventions in disease, mechanisms of action of therapeutic interventions, molecular and cellular actions in health and disease, energy metabolism, inflammation, autophagy.

KEY PROJECTS

  • Science Foundation Ireland (SFI): Frontiers Programme. Energy from Waste. Overall budget €1.00 Million (ATU budget €500,000), Role in the project- Coordinator and Principal Investigator.2022-2027
  • NATO: Emerging Security Challenges Division Science for Peace and Security Programme G5868 “New Germicide Nanocomposites for Biological Protection and Decontamination”. Funding scheme: Research and Innovation action, Overall budget €360,000 (ATU Sligo budget € 153,000), Role in the project- Principal Investigator.2022-2026
  • EPSRC-SFI: UK-Ireland partnership. Next Generation Energy Autonomous Textile Fabrics based on Triboelectric Nanogenerators (NextGenT-TENG). Overall budget €1.5 Million (Irish budget €490,000), Role in the project- Principal Investigator and Irish project lead.2022-2024
  • Horizon2020: Photo-irradiation and Adsorption based Novel Innovations for Water-treatment; Project number: 820718: Topic identifier: H2020-SC5-12-2018: Funding scheme: Research and Innovation action, Overall budget €3.5 Million (IT Sligo budget € 260,000), Role in the project- Principal Investigator.2019-2023

For project enquiries/project quotes please contact: Dr Richéal Burns, Faculty of Science, ATU Sligo

Munster Technological University (MTU) is a newly formed Technological University, an amalgamation of IT Tralee and Cork Institute of technology, based in the South of Ireland. The wider breadth of the University encompasses some 23 research Centres and Groups. MTU also hosts 4 Technology Gateways, two of which, the Centre for Advanced Photonics and Process Analysis (CAPPA) and Shannon ABC operate in the platforms of interest for EATRIS. There exists a wide spectrum of capabilities as outlined below within the University and research is conducted at all levels across the TRL spectrum. The university also has significant engagement with a no of Industrial partners on a variety of projects.

KEY TECHNOLOGIES

  • Molecular spectroscopy suite
  • SEM imaging – low vacuum imaging
  • Hyperspectral Imaging suite
  • Advanced optical imaging
  • Porotype development facilities
  • Single use bioreactor suite
  • Luminex instrument
  • Cell culture suite
  • Lyobeta mini freeze dryer
  • 100L stainless steel bioreactor
  • Histology Suite
  • In vivo skin testing probes (skin barrier, etc)
  • Portable optical density monitoring system
  • Protein design, computational modelling and synthetic protein production (Diagnostics and therapeutics)
  • Metasurface based biosensing platforms

KEY OPINION LEADERS

KEY PROJECTS

  • Enterasense, swallowable diagnostic capsule
  • Integer, Doppler blood monitoring device
  • Alcon, Inspection system for medical implant delivery unit
  • Lifesure, Optical based pregnancy test
  • TUTF – Establishment of a Biophotonics group
  • TUTF – Advance Technology for quality of life improvement
  • Medical imaging for remote diagnoses of contact dermatitis
  • Optical device for monitoring Morphea
  • Biovascular 3D – development of biomimetic medical device testing platform
  • BioWILL – Interreg funded willow tree biorefinery; development of bioactive based medical cream
  • Vascularity affinity precursor (VAP) structure for musculoskeletal tissue healing
  • FLODX – Portable Optical device for measuring bacterial growth in real-time
  • Multimicroscope – Optical microscope that can image a large area of a specimen without any moving stages
  • Portable Microtiter plate reader – a handheld, low-cost microtiter plate reader
  • LightDx – Wearable device for monitoring of daylight photodynamic therapy
  • Building an integrated computational protein design workstation

For project enquiries/project quotes please contact: Dr Liam Lewis, Centre for Advanced Photonics and Process Analysis, Munster Technological University, Cork, Ireland.

Email: liam.lewis@mtu.ie

Established in 1845, University of Galway is an internationally recognised research-led university ranked in the top 1% of universities in the world. We work to improve health and wellbeing by addressing global challenges in our areas of expertise, including in medical technologies, regenerative medicine, population health & health services, neuroscience and cancer. Embracing a partnership-driven approach to these challenges, our researchers are involved in collaborations with over 3,267 international institutions and industry partners in over 114 countries. Galway is one of Europe’s premier MedTech hubs and University of Galway is at the heart of this ecosystem. Our campus is adjacent to Galway University Hospital, where we have located our Lambe Institute for Translational Research and the Health Research Board (HRB) Clinical Research Facility. As of May 2023, we are home to a new Clinical Trials Institute, the first of its kind in Ireland, that will amplify the real-world impact arising from our research activity. Our new Medical Technologies and Advanced Therapeutics Discovery Institute will focus on accelerating understanding of disease and providing disruptive solutions for healthcare. Our facilities include extensive laboratories and research capacity and we are home to CÚRAM, the national Science Foundation Ireland Centre for Research in Medical Devices.

KEY TECHNOLOGIES

  • Microscopy
  • Confocal microscopes
  • Scanning Electron Microscope with EDX
  • Transmission Electron Microscope
  • Scanning probe Atomic Force Microscope
  • DeltaVision Core and DeltaVision Elite, both high-resolution, fully integrated, flexible, widefield fluorescence microscopes optimised for live cell imaging
  • Mass spectrometry
  • GCT and QTOF high-resolution mass spectrometers. This state of the art facility offers the ability to obtain high resolution mass spectral data by GC-MS, LC-MS, direct infusion or by direct insertion of a solid sample.
  • Flow cytometry Core
  • BD Accuri C6 Plus flow cytometer
  • BD FACS Canto II flow cytometer
  • Cytek Biosciences Northern Lights 3000 spectral flow cytometer
  • Cytek Biosciences Northern Lights 2000 spectral flow cytometer
  • BD FACS Aria II high speed cell sorter
  • Functional Genomics and Screening Core Facility
  • Janus Automated High Throughput Screening Workstation (PerkinElmer)
  • Operetta High Content Analysis Microscope (PerkinElmer)
  • Victor X5 Multimode Microplate Reader (PerkinElmer)
  • Multiflo FX Dispenser (BioTek)
  • QuantStudio 5 qPCR System (Applied Biosystems)
  • StepOne Plus qPCR System (Applied Biosystems)
  • LightCycler 480 (Roche)
  • Bioanalyzer 2100 (Agilent)

KEY OPINION LEADERS

KEY PROJECTS

  • RESTORE VISION is a European project committed to developing treatments for rare eye diseases is being led at UG by Professor Thomas Ritter. This project will focus on novel treatments and repurposed drugs that will target seven rare eye diseases: aniridia-associated keratopathy; neurotrophic keratopathy; limbal stem cell deficiency; ocular cicatricial pemphigoid; EEC syndrome; ocular graft versus host disease; and corneal neovascularisation.
  • ELR-Scar is a Horizon Europe funded project led by Professor Abhay Pandit that aims to validate a novel hydrogel biomaterial that will prevent scar tissue from forming in the heart following a heart attack.
  • The HRB Diabetes Collaborative Clinical Trial Network - an all island collaborative network led at UG by Professor Fidelma Dunne, which brings together key stakeholders to improve health and wellbeing for all patients with diabetes on the island of Ireland. https://diabetestrialsctn.ie/
  • The Home Health project led by Professor Derek O'Keefe is funded through a public-private partnership between Cúram, the HSE and led by global technology company Cisco. This project is using drones and a robot called Madra (Medical Autonomous Droid Remote Assistance) to deliver emergency medicine to people on Clare Island, Co Mayo, and aims to become a template for telemedicine in other rural parts of the country.
  • CLuB, the all-island cancer liquid biopsy consortium is an HEA North-South Research Programme funded project which brings together researchers from TTMI/SJH, QUB/the NI Biobank and the SFI Centre for Research Training in Genomics Data Science at UG. This project will develop ditigal patient models which integrate clinical and genomic data from liquid biopsies to improve outcomes for cancer patients. http://clubcancer.ie

For project enquiries please contact: Dr. Pilib OBroin

Email: pilib.obroin@nuigalway.ie

Queen's University Belfast is one of the leading universities in the UK and Ireland with a distinguished heritage and history. Founded in 1845 as Queen's College Belfast, we became an independent university in 1908. Today, we are ranked 43 in the world (Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2021), and a member of the Russell Group of UK research intensive universities, combining excellence in research and education with a student-centred ethos. Our vision is to be a global research-intensive university, generating internationally leading research coupled with outstanding teaching and learning, focused on the needs of our society, locally and globally. Our Strategy for 2030 sets out our ambition for the next ten years to Shape A Better World through life-changing education and research. The Faculty of Medicine, Health & Life Sciences hosts the School of Medicine, Dentistry & Biomedical Sciences, which is recognised for high quality biomedical and translational research, and the School of Pharmacy, which focuses on making real-world improvement for patients through expertise in pharmaceutical science and practice. The Faculty Strategy 2030 will empower discovery research and its translation to enhance the health of our planet, society and individuals; at a local, national and global level. The Faculty has recognised research strength in the fields of cancer, respiratory disease, ophthalmology, infection biology as well as precision medicine and digital innovation.

KEY TECHNOLOGIES

  • School of Pharmacy
  • Malvern Zetasizer Nano ZS
  • Invivo2 Hypoxia Workstation 400
  • Hyperspectral microscopy
  • Screen Cell3iMager
  • Hitachi TM-3030 Table SEMRaman Micro 300, Raman microscope
  • School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences - Histology Core
  • Leica CM1900 cryostats
  • Leica TP1020 tissue processor
  • BioOptica automated slide stainer
  • Leica RM2235 microtome
  • Leica Arcadia wax embedder
  • Flow Cytometry Core
  • 2 BD FACS Canto II (450nm, 488nm, 633nm; 8-colour) Acquisition Cytometers
  • BD FACS Aria IIIu (455nm, 488nm, 532nm, 633nm; 10-colour) Cell Sorter
  • Cytof Mass Cytometry
  • Preclinical Retinal Imaging Core
  • Surgical microscopes (Leica F40 and Haag Streit)
  • HGM Elite Ophthalmic Surgical Laser and Slit-Lamp System
  • Espion Electrophysiology (ERG) System
  • Heidelberg Spectralis Optical Coherence Tomography
  • Micron IV Retinal Imaging System
  • CerebralMechanics Optometry system
  • Biospherix, Oxycycler Chambers
  • Vascular Stem Cell Equipment
  • Acoustic Cytometer (ATTUNE NxT)
  • AutoMACs-Pro (Magnetic cell sorter)
  • BD FACSMelody Cell Sorter
  • xCELLigence Real-Time Cell Analysis System
  • Agilent Seahorse XF Analyzer
  • MAXWELL (Automated nucleic acid extraction system)
  • Other equipment
  • Patch-clamp electrophysiology rigs
  • DMT Pressure and wire myography systems
  • MALDI-TOF-TOF Mass Spectrometry
  • Leica LMD7 Laser Microdissection System
  • iPS cell facilities

KEY OPINION LEADERS

  • Professor Mark Lawler, Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor and Professor of Digital Health, Chair in Translational Cancer Genomics, QUB; Member of the Board of the European Cancer Society and Co-Chair of E.C.O.’s Special network on the Impact of Covid-19 on Cancer; Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the European Cancer Patient Coalition; Digital Health lead for the Federation of European Academies of Medicine; Scientific Director DATA-CAN, the UK’s Health data Research Hub for Cancer.

KEY PROJECTS

  • PATHLAKE Programme – includes some of the UK’s leading MHS Trusts and Universities in collaboration with industrial partners at the forefront of artificial intelligence and digital pathology innovation.
  • CRUK Accelerator Programme – creates critical mass in areas of pivotal importance and relevance to CRUK: molecular pathology, cancer immunotherapy and artificial intelligence/ digital pathology (AI/DP).
  • Partnership between IPSEN and QUB which secures rights to a pre-clinical stage first-in-class FLIP inhibitor program, a cutting-edge drug discovery program which was supported by Wellcome.
  • DATA-CAN - the UK’s Health Data Research Hub for Cancer – supported by the Industrial Strategic Challenge Fund. Leadership role in data driven cancer research in the UK.
  • Highlighted the impact of Covid-19 on cancer in the UK, leading to the Time to Act campaign, which has had pan-European impact.

For project enquiries please contact: Prof Mark Lawler

Email: mark.lawler@qub.ac.uk

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland RCSI is a university and professional training body focused on medicine and health sciences. It was founded by Royal Charter in 1784 to set and support professional standards for surgical training and practice in Ireland. RCSI is a Recognised College of the National University of Ireland (NUI). It gained independent degree awarding powers in 2010 and became a Designated Awarding Body in 2012. In 2019, RCSI was authorised to use the title “university” in Ireland, having been authorised to do so overseas since 2015. Today, RCSI is an innovative, leading international health sciences institution with undergraduate and postgraduate schools and faculties across the health sciences spectrum, with campuses in Dublin, Bahrain and Malaysia. RCSI has dual functions as a Professional Training Body and University of Medicine and Health Sciences. It is home to several healthcare institutes and leading research centres, driving pioneering breakthroughs in human health. RCSI is committed to service, academic freedom, diversity, and to addressing humanitarian concerns.

KEY TECHNOLOGIES

KEY OPINION LEADERS

  • Professor Gerard Curley is Professor of Anaesthesia and Critical Care at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care in Beaumont Hospital. He is Associate Scientist at the Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science at St Michael’s hospital, Toronto.

KEY PROJECTS

  • TBC

For project enquiries please contact: Prof. Ger Curley

Email: gercurley@rcsi.ie

Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin was founded in 1592. Trinity is Ireland’s highest ranked university and attracts world leading researchers and innovative companies. Trinity promotes a diverse, interdisciplinary, inclusive environment which nurtures ground-breaking research, innovation, and creativity through engaging with issues of global significance. Trinity Translational Medicine Institute (TTMI) is a Trinity Research Institute (TRI) located within the St James’s Hospital campus in Dublin 8, and brings scientists and clinicians together to develop new ways to diagnose, prevent and treat a range of pressing health concerns focusing on cancer, immunology, infection and the genomics of human disease. Additionally, the Trinity St James's Cancer Institute, builds on outstanding comprehensive cancer care delivered at St James's Hospital, with the research and educational excellence of Trinity College Dublin. Trinity St James’s Cancer Institute was the first Irish cancer institute to be accredited by the Organisation of European Cancer Institutes (OECI).

KEY TECHNOLOGIES

  • NovaSeq 6000 Sequencing System
  • BD Rhapsody system
  • BD FACSMelody Flow Cytometer
  • Luminex Cell Stream Flow Cytometer
  • Lionheart FX Automated Microscope - High Content Screening system
  • XStrahl RS225 Biological Irradiator Cabinet
  • 2*Seahorse XF Analyzers
  • 2* HypOxystation - hypoxic chamber purpose built for physiological cell culture research
  • High throughput Automation Cytell
  • MESO QuickPlex
  • Luminex MAGPIX Instrument
  • QIAcuity Digital PCR system

KEY OPINION LEADERS

  • Prof. Aideen Long is a Principal Investigator in the Trinity Translational Medicine Institute where her research focuses on T lymphocyte biology. In particular, she is interested in the intracellular signalling mechanisms involved in T cell activation and migration. Her work has also investigated how viruses such as Hepatitis C (HCV) undermine T cell immune responses to promote persistent infection.
  • TTMI Principal Investigators

KEY PROJECTS

  • €4.8M investment in Trinity COVID-19 Immunology Research hub which seeks to utilize its world-class immunology expertise to provide research-based solutions to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Researchers at TTMI are part of a successful consortium to secure €6.8M government funding as part of a 3-year, €10.5M programme to develop next generation cell therapies for cancer.
  • TTMI researchers are part of a successful consortiuma planning to invest €7.2 million in developing a better way to treat gastrointestinal cancer by delivering next generation gene therapies.

For project enquiries please contact: Frank Mangan

Email: Frank.mangan@tcd.ie

Technology University Dublin (TU Dublin) has campuses in Dublin City Centre in Grangegorman, Aungier Street and Bolton Street, and one each in Blanchardstown and in Tallaght, and, through our major infrastructural development plan, we are currently investing over €500 million in new, state-of-the-art, technology-enabled facilities to enhance our students' experience. While TU Dublin is already a leader in STEM disciplines, the University also supports the largest cohort of students of business, media, culinary arts, and the creative and performing arts. We are passionate about life-long learning and, as the largest provider of part-time education, we make an important contribution to the economic life of Ireland, enabling capacity building for the future. Our distinguished researchers and innovators are pioneers in science and technology discovery; they play active roles in informing policy and standards; and contribute to the creative life of Ireland. Our award-winning technology transfer and business incubation activity have delivered over 400 sustainable news businesses with an economic value of almost €700 million. With an international outlook, we welcome students and staff from around the world while our strong international partnerships provide plenty of opportunities for student and staff exchange programmes; major cross-collaboration research projects; and employment opportunities. We are immensely proud of our global network of over 100,000 graduates.

KEY TECHNOLOGIES

  • Analytical Laboratories
  • Two dedicated laboratories one for scanning electron microscopy, with two SEM instruments, one with EDX function, and the second which has 300 MHz and 500 MHz multi-nuclear NMR systems (can do solid state as well)
  • Suite of spectroscopic and chromatographic equipment including a GC-MS (Agilent Technology); LC-MS Q-TOF Accurate-Mass (Agilent technologies 6530); Shmiadzu uHPLC and preparative LC systems; FT-IR, UV-vis spectrophotometer, and a polarimeter.
  • Biochemistry & Cell Culture Laboratories
  • Suite of laminar airflow hoods for cell culture processes, and equipment for biochemical analysis, including spectrophotometers and a Mason Technology H1 Hybrid 96 Plate Well Reader, and a 7300 Real Time PCR System. There is also a Whithey H35 Hypoxystation for specialist protection experiments, incubators, including a C02 incubator, and a separate lab with a confocal microscope.
  • Pilot Plant
  • Fermentation Suite - up to 100L capacity with steam in place and clean in place facilities; 10L system and a 2L quad fermentation unit. Can be set up for microbial cell culture, but also has microspargers and marine type impellers for conversion to animal cell culture. All the fermenters have pH, pO2, turbidity and off gas analysis which feeds back to a MFCS data handling unit. For downstream processing there is Centrifuge 50L/hr (11,750 rpm) and a Millipore TFF unit for concentrating down product depending on the process.
  • BIOSTAT Cultibag RM 20/50 - This is a wave technology/disposable bag system for animal cell culture, up to 20L capacity currently, 50L possible with additional equipment.
  • Pilot Plant: Solid Formulations - 5 vessels ranging from 250Lto 500L; training instrumentation skid; centrally controlled by a PLC with SCADA interface for the user. Other equipment in the Pilot Plant includes - Millipore K-Prime unit for larger scale chromatography projects; Bottling line with 500ml fill capacity fed from the main vessels in the lab; Pasteurising Unit.

KEY OPINION LEADERS

  • Dr. Margaret Dunne (Human cancer immunology, including evaluation of T cell functions in inflammatory, autoimmune, malignant and pre-malignant gastrointestinal conditions. Experience in assessing immune datasets with diagnostic or prognostic potential.)
  • Dr. Andrew O’Connor (Research interests include chronic infection, respiratory pathogens, vaccine candidate identification and development, molecular cloning, protein expression and purification, and host-pathogen interactions.)
  • Dr. Fintan Kelleher (Peptide Synthesis using both solution and solid-phase methods; Greener peptide synthesis; Antimicrobial peptides, especially bacteriocins containing unusual amino acid residues; Peptide/Protein solution conformation, stability, and solubility properties; Antibiotic metabolites and AMR development; Metal-based antimicrobial agents; Biofilm inhibition; Preparation of biologically active molecules; Medicinal Chemistry; Computational studies.)

KEY PROJECTS

  • Assessment of the predictive value of immune and histological parameters in oesophageal adenocarcinoma using digital pathology. Health Research Board, grant no.: ILP-POR-2017-055
  • Development of prognostic screening tools to predict patient response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy treatment for oesophageal adenocarcinoma. Health Research Board, grant no.: HRA-POR-2015-1143.

For project enquiries please contact: Dr. Mary Deasy

Email: mary.deasy@tudublin.ie

University College Cork (UCC), a world-class university, was founded in 1845 and combines a rich tradition of teaching, research and scholarship. UCC is renowned for the quality of its academic programmes, the beauty of its campus and its vibrant student life. Our location in picturesque Cork, Ireland, home to the friendliest of Irish people, means that a warm welcome awaits every student. Its degrees, conferred by the National University of Ireland, are internationally recognised and some 19,000 students take its undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. UCC enjoys an international reputation, which draws 3,000 students from over 100 countries across the world, creating a unique cosmopolitan culture on campus.

KEY TECHNOLOGIES

  • Histopathology Core Facility
  • This specialised facility enables the automated processing of tissue samples from pre-clinical models or from patients with cancer enrolled on clinical trials. Tissue specimens are usually immediately fixed in formalin to stabilize the tissue and then processed using the LOGOS J Tissue Processor. The Tissue Tec® embedding centre is then used to transfer the specimen into a wax filled cassette. Thin microtome sections can be prepared with the Microm® microtomes. Standard H&E staining can be performed with the Linistain® H&E stainer. A Milestone microwave is available for antigen retrieval.
  • Flow Cytometry Core Facility
  • The facility has a BD LSRII flow cytometer, which is one of the most flexible yet powerful bench top analysers available. It is equipped with a unique laser system with 5 lasers (355 nm UV, 405 nm violet, 488 nm blue, 561 nm yellow/green and 640 nm red), 15 fluorescent channels and 2 channels for Forward Scatter and Side Scatter.
  • BCNI Biobank in Cork
  • The Blood Cancer Network of Ireland (BCNI) Biobank is housed here in the Western Gateway Building Cancer Research laboratories. Together with National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) and Trinity College Dublin (TCD), over 300 blood cancer specimens are available for use in research.

KEY OPINION LEADERS

  • Prof. Subrata Ghosh is the Chair and Head of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health at UCC since March 2021. He is also Deputy Director of the APC. Subrata did his doctoral research on the immunology of IBD at University of Edinburgh where he was appointed as faculty. Between 2002 and 2008 he was Prof and Chair of Gastroenterology at Imperial College London and from 2009 to 2016 he was Prof and Chairman of Medicine, University of Calgary, and Head of Medicine, Alberta Health Services, Canada. His research interests are precision medicine in IBD, innovative clinical trials, immune cell plasticity, targeted immunotherapies in IBD, interaction of nutrients, microbes and immune system, gut inflammation and nutrition, innate immunity and epidemiology and health care in IBD. He has published over 500 peer reviewed scientific articles and several books and has an h-index of 98 (Google).

KEY PROJECTS

  • TBC

For project enquiries please contact: Prof. Subrata Ghosh

Email: subrataghosh@ucc.ie

University College Dublin UCD is one of Europe's leading research-intensive universities; an environment where undergraduate education, masters and PhD training, research, innovation and community engagement form a dynamic spectrum of activity. Since its foundation, the University has made a unique contribution to the creation of modern Ireland, based on successful engagement with Irish society on every level and across every sphere of activity. The international standing of UCD has grown in recent years; it is currently ranked within the top 1% of higher education institutions world-wide. UCD is also Ireland's most globally engaged university with over 38,000 students drawn from 152 countries, including over 5,000 students based at locations outside of Ireland. The University's main Dublin campus occupies an extensive parkland estate of 133 hectares and offers world-leading facilities including the UCD O'Brien Centre for Science, UCD Sutherland School of Law, UCD Lochlan Quinn School of Business, UCD Moore Centre for Business, and the UCD Student Centre. As Ireland's largest university, with its great strength and diversity of disciplines, UCD embraces its role to contribute to the flourishing of Ireland through the study of people, society, business, economy, culture, languages and the creative arts, as well as through research and innovation.

KEY TECHNOLOGIES

KEY OPINION LEADERS

  • Prof. Patricia Maguire is a biomedical scientist with an outstanding record of high-performance research including publication in leading international journals (Nat Comm, PNAS, Blood, Proteomics etc), that has earned a global reputation as an evangelist of interdisciplinary research. As PI, I have been awarded more than €5m in competitive research funding, including €1.5m in non-exchequer income from Bayer AG, Sanofi, Actelion Pharmaceuticals, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals and Google. My outstanding reputation has led to several prestigious invited lectures (e.g. Siemens Healthineers, Université de Strasbourg (INSERM), University of Tübingen, International Society of Thrombosis & Haemostasis). I have led several global research collaborations with esteemed institutions such as Harvard Medical School & Cambridge University, resulting in senior author high-impact publications (Blood, PNAS, Proteomics).

KEY PROJECTS

  • TBC

For project enquiries please contact: Prof. Patricia Maguire

Email: patricia.maguire@ucd.ie

University of Limerick (UL) was established in 1972, the University of Limerick is an independent, internationally focused university with over 17,500 students and approximately 1,800 staff. It is a young, energetic and enterprising university with a proud record of innovation in education and excellence in research and scholarship. The University offers programmes across a wide range of disciplines, including arts, business, engineering and construction, health and medicine, information and communication technology, law, mathematics and natural sciences. UL has many marketing-leading programmes and several which are unique in Ireland. Programmes such as our BA Arts degree and the Bachelor of Business Studies are amongst the largest in Ireland and some of our Teacher Education programmes are the only ones of their kind. The University’s mission is to build on the expertise of our scholars in creating, harnessing and imparting knowledge for the benefit of our students and the enrichment of our community.

KEY TECHNOLOGIES

  • Advanced Microscopy
  • SSNMR (Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance)
  • SEM FIB (Scanning Electron Microscopy Focused Ion Beam)
  • TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy)
  • XRD (X-Ray Diffraction)
  • Single Crystal XRD
  • DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimetry)
  • XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy)
  • FTIR (Fourier transform infrared)
  • Bioreactor Facilities
  • Industry standard Applikon Bioreactor suite composed of; 5 L Bioreactor, 25 L Bioreactor with steam sterilisation in place capabilities. License for handling genetically modified organisms (GMO’s); xCelligence cell viability measurement capabilities.
  • MALDI-TOF Ultraflextreme
  • The Ultraflextreme has a range of capabilities from conventional proteomic analyses to MALDI MS imaging and the analysis of small molecules and polymers.
  • Spectroscopy
  • Perkin Elmer Spectrum 100 FTIR Spectrometer
  • Raman Spectroscopy HORIBA Labram, The Dilor XY Labram spectrometer is equipped with an Olympus BX40 confocal microscope.
  • Bruker Avance III HD wide bore 9.4 T ( ν 01 H) = 400 MHz) NMR spectrometer
  • TEM NanoMill

KEY OPINION LEADERS

KEY PROJECTS

  • TBC

For project enquiries please contact: Dr. John.Mulvihill

Email: John.Mulvihill@ul.ie

  • Shape