Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Exercise - Online Information Webinar

27th July 2018 .

Eventbrite Register here »

Liberties Fun Run 18th July 2018

This will be the 10th anniversary of this iconic Dublin event. Starting & finishing in the grounds of the Irish Royal Hospital Kilmainham, the route takes in some of the most famous sites throughout the Liberties including St James’s Gate, Francis Street, The Coombe and Fatima. Time 7:45pm You can walk, run or just support. Gynaecological cancer accounts for one in eight cancers in women. GynaeCancerCare at St James’s hospital treats one third of all gynaecological cancers in Ireland. The St James’s Hospital Foundation is committing all proceeds from the Liberties Fun Run 2018 to GynaeCancerCare. The money will go towards a new outpatient diagnostic and treatment unit. Save the date. Sign up please »

See Poster » (PF 2.6 MB)

Medical Alumni Symposium – Date: August 24th 2018

Please see the weekend programme here »

24 August 14.00-17.00 Medical Alumni Symposium, Stanley Quek Lecture Theatre, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute Registration starts from 13.30. Awaiting CPD accreditation for 3 credits.

Trinity Alumni Reunion Weekend will take place from 24 - 26 August 2018

The Alumni Weekend 2018 takes place on campus from 24th - 26th August. This event is open to all alumni graduates who are marking an anniversary year are particularly encouraged to attend. Graduates are welcome to attend the whole weekend or to book individual events. Full information on the Alumni Weekend 2017 Programme can be found on the Trinity Alumni site here www.tcd.ie/alumni/weekend »

Health Innovation Hub Ireland launches annual call for submissions

Government initiative, Health Innovation Hub Ireland (HIHI), has launched a national call – both focussed and open - to industry. HIHI works across healthcare and Irish businesses to solve problems, improve the health service and in the process helps to create jobs and exports. The annual HIHI call brings finalists together for a national dragon’s den style pitch, with the winning products fast tracked into Ireland’s

health service for study.

Application available on hih.ie ».

For more information email: galvinei@tcd.ie

Vote for Katie - CN Student of the Year nomination

Katie O'Sullivan, final year Human Nutrition and Dietetics student, has been shortlisted from student dietitians in Ireland and the UK for CN Student Dietitian of the Year. CN (Complete Nutrition) is a UK leading nutrition title, with a readership of over 13,000 health professionals. The nomination arises from Katie's final year thesis on paediatric dietitians attitudes to, and experience of, blended tube feeds. Katie's work is the first of it's kind in Ireland. Her results will be used to inform how current dietetic resources are used in this area and how dietitians can support families making the choice to use this form of tube feeding. They will also inform future training needs and resource development in the area of blended tube feeds.

VOTE HERE » ffor Katie. The Unit of Human Nutrition and Dietetics would like to congratulate Katie and wish her the best of luck.

Schrödinger at 75: The Future of Biology 5 - 6 September 2018

Trinity College is organising a unique international meeting ‘Schrödinger at 75: The Future of Biology’ on 5-6 September 2018 at the National Concert Hall to mark 75 years since Erwin Schrödinger, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist, then Director of Theoretical Physics at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS), gave three public lectures entitled 'What is Life?' at Trinity College Dublin. Following their publication in 1944 as a book of the same name, these lectures had a tremendous influence on the development of molecular biology. We will mark the 75th anniversary of these lectures with an unprecedented gathering of some of the most brilliant minds working in biology today. Tickets are €100. For more information and to book a ticket please visit www.tcd.ie/biosciences/whatislife/ »

Uniphar CROSS Cycle 6th-8th September 2018 - Cycle Ireland Ancient East

​Now in its 7th year, the Cross Atlantic Cycle raises funds for C.R.O.S.S. Charity and Cancer Research in St. James's Hospital and Trinity College, Dublin. Funds raised by the C.R.O.S.S cycle have allowed the purchase of crucially important state-of-the-art pieces of equipment, which have been used by over 60 researchers working in a number of cancer types, including oesophageal cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer and lung cancer. Please visit www.crossatlanticcycle.com » for more information about the event.

September 17 - 23 the ALMAR centre will host a cholesterol awareness week, Tallaght University Hospital

The Advanced Lipid Management and Research Centre (ALMAR centre) has been established at Tallaght University Hospital since 2016. This is directed by Professor Vincent Maher Consultant Cardiologist / Lipidologist who has over 30 years experience in clinical lipidology and lipid research. Read on » (PDF 96 kB)

This September 17th to 23rd , the ALMAR centre will host a cholesterol awareness week including public lectures, fund raising events and cholesterol testing at different sites. Lipid disorders are easily identified and usually managed without difficulty but a significant number need specialised care.

For those and for the initiation of new novel therapies and ongoing research linked to TCD, the ALMAR centre needs your support. Any help would be gratefully appreciated to help maintain this essential service. www.idonate.ie/almarcentre ».

Cancer Week Ireland 2018 - 24-30 September

Be part of the Conversation. https://www.cancer.ie/ ».

Syncope & Related Disorders International Training Days

13-14 September 2018

International training event run by the Falls and Syncope Unit, Mercer’s Institute for Successful Ageing (MISA) building, St James’s Hospital, Dublin.

Further Information » (PDF 1.7 MB)

Enquiries to: syncopetraining@stjames.ie

Bookings through Eventbrite »

Pre-Analytics & Laboratory Medicine Study Day - 21 September 2018

The event will be iheld in the Trinity Lecture Theatre, Trinity Health Centre, Tallaght University Hospital.

Further Information on Participants & Speakers » (PDF 94 kB)
Please register in advance at Eventbrite »:
Study Day Flyer » (PDF 328 kB)

Looking forward to seeing you there! CPD points will be available

Congratulations to the Medicine Final Class of 2018

Students Vs. Professors 8th Annual Soccer Match "El Classico"

The annual soccer match between medical students and professors took place on Friday 27th April (Results Day). The students emerged victorious with a final score of 5-1. Well done to all involved.

Congratulations to the Occupational Therapy Final Class of 2018

Congratulations to the Physiotherapy Final Class of 2018 (Ireland and Singapore Programme)

Congratulations to the Radiation Therapy Final Class of 2018

Classroom Photo Click to view »

Congratulations to the Human Health and Disease Final Class of 2018

In Memoriam – Beulah Bewley 1929-2018

Dame Beulah Rosemary Bewley, a School of Medicine graduate, who was on the Tercentenary Board of the School 2007-20012, died in January 2018. Beulah Bewley, OBE, was a British public health physician and ex-President of the Medical Women's Federation on the General Medical Council. She qualified at Trinity College Dublin in 1953 and was conferred with an Honorary LLD in 2002. She served on the Royal Society of Medicine's section on Epidemiology and Public Health. In her career she worked at several hospitals including the Academic Department of Community Medicine at King's College Hospital Medical School, Denmark Hill, London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. In 1982 she served on the Faculty of Public Health Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom and at the Department of Community Medicine at St Thomas's Hospital Medical School in London. Bewley was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2000 for her services to public health and in recognition of her leading role in promoting equal opportunities for women. Read more »

Provosts Teaching Awards

Congratulations to the School of Medicine winners for this year's Provost's Teaching Awards announced at a ceremony in the Provost's House on 10th April 2018: Prof Lina Zgaga », Public Health and Primary Care; Prof David Kane », Clinical Medicine

Special commendations were presented to those shortlisted for a teaching award in 2018: Dr Matthew McGovern », Paediatrics; Ms Clare Whelan », Clinical Skills Tutor

Laidlaw Undergraduate Research and Leadership Programme

Congratulations to our 5 medical students LtoR Conor Fitzmaurice Susan Yi Yang Robert Power Kate Johnston Philip Smyth recipients of the first cohort of Laidlaw Undergraduate Research & Leadership Programme Scholars https://www.tcd.ie/Careers/laidlaw/ »…

Association of Medical Students Ireland, TCD

AMSI TCD concluded yet another exciting academic year full of events and initiatives. We would like to thank the speakers, members, and attendees for making our recent events successful, such as our talks on HPV vaccination, LGBTQI healthcare, and pharmacoeconomics. With a new committee for 2018-2019 taking over from the hard work of the 2017-18 committee, we look forward to building on our success in the upcoming academic year. AMSI TCD continues into summer 2018 as we will be hosting 5 international students for electives this summer in a variety of specialties, including our first international research elective under Dr. Padhraig Ryan. We would like to thank everyone, especially the School of Medicine, for their help and support and look forward to serving the student community and beyond for 2018-19.

https://www.facebook.com/AMSITCD/ » https://www.amsiofficial.com/tcd-amsi-committee/ »

M.O.V.E.

The M.O.V.E. (Medical Overseas Volunteer Electives) charity would like to thank Mr. Anthony O’Toole (Deputy Environmental Services Manager, Facilities Management, Tallaght Hospital) and Olive Killoury (Clinical Facilitator, School of Medicine TCD) for providing medical students with scrubs and medical supplies to our members for our summer electives. M.O.V.E. is a charity run by 3rd year medical students at Trinity College Dublin. The aim of M.O.V.E. is to raise money throughout the year to give financial support to resource poor hospitals in the developing world. The members of M.O.V.E. raise money through street collections, bag packing, raffles, and entertainment nights such as pub quizzes, corporate donations and donations from medical alumni. This summer, M.O.V.E. members will travel to hospitals all over the world where the money raised throughout the year. The money is divided among the members and used to buy medical equipment, supplies and medications for these hospitals. M.O.V.E. members spend a month in these hospitals learning about medicine and helping to care for patients where appropriate.

Marion B. Sulzberger Award

Alan D. Irvine », MD, DSC, Clinical Medicine, TCD, was awarded the Marion B. Sulzberger, MD, Memorial Award and Lectureship » for his work in atopic dermatitis (AD) at the 2018 AAD Annual Meeting in San Diego, California

Dr. Irvine, is known for his accomplishments in rare genetic skin disorders and vascular abnormalities.

Paintings Donated to the Anatomy Discipline

Anatomy have received 2 wonderful gifts of paintings from two renowned artists.

1.'Waterfall' Imelda Healy 2018: Donated to the Relative’s Room, Anatomy Department, TBSI: Oil on Canvas: Rivers and mountains; This painting imagines the great Yosemite mountain falls in California, melded with the waterfall at a friend's house in West Cork. There is a history of Native American women standing at their tepees during a massacre, singing 'Nothing lasts for ever, only the rivers and the mountains'. For my parents Eithne and Joe Healy, who left their bodies to TCD Anatomy department for the benefit of Arts and Sciences.

2. The ‘spot exam’ drawing by Megan Eustace as a tribute to all our ‘Silent teachers’.

The students will love ‘the spot exam’ drawing, in the Anatomy Dissection Theatre and hopefully be inspired by it

I am certain the bereaved donor families will receive some comfort and consolation, when they visit the’ Relative’s Room’ from looking at ‘The Waterfall.’

Best Oral Presentation Prize

Congratulations to Ms Oonagh Griffin, a HRB-funded PhD candidate with the Centre for Pancreatico-Biliary Diseases at Tallaght University Hospital and The Department of Surgery, TCD, who won the prize for Best Oral Presentation at the Inagural UCD-SVHG Tranlational Medicine Symposium earlier this month. Oonagh is supervised by Professor Kevin Conlon (TCD) and Professor Justin Geoghegan (St Vincent's University Hospital, SVUH), and is formerly a Senior Dietitian in Pancreatic Disease at SVUH. Oonagh's award-winning presentation detailed her research into Body Composition Change during Chemotherapy for Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Cancer. Oonagh is pictured with Ms Kay Connolly, CEO of SVUH

Lee Lusted Silver Award

Helen O'Donnell has won the 2018 Lee Lusted Silver Award at the Society for Medical Decision Making European Conference (Leiden, Netherlands) for her research entitled "Negotiating the Relationship between Price and Volume: Implications for ICER Calculations in Heterogenous Treatment Populations". Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratios (ICERs) are calculated in economic evaluations to quantify whether a new intervention can be considered value for money. Helen’s work recognised that when price negotiations are linked with extending reimbursement of an intervention to a broader patient population, cost-savings may be generated which would reduce the incremental costs of extending reimbursement. She proposed a novel method of calculating ICERs for subgroups to include these cost-savings in the calculation of ICERs. The impact of the work may be considerable given the ability of the novel method to change conclusions regarding the cost-effectiveness of interventions and the increasing use of subgroup reimbursement restrictions and price negotiations to optimise the use of new technologies.

Helen is a PhD candidate within the Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, where her supervisors are Dr Michael Barry and Dr Laura McCullagh. She is based in the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics.

Donal Hollywood Medal

Congratulations to Jessica Flood, Radiation Therapy, who was awarded the Donal Hollywood medal for her final year undergraduate thesis “Caring For Patients with Dementia Undergoing Radiation Therapy in Irish Radiation Therapy Departments – A National Audit”. Jessica is pictured here with Head of Discipline, Michelle Leech.

Undergrad medicine students publish on Irish waiting lists & cost-effectiveness

An analysis of public waiting lists for inpatient and day-case care from a cost-effectiveness perspective has been published by TCD undergraduate medical students. Phillip Tse Chiang Chen, Dane Wanniarachige, Síofra Murphy, Katie Lockhart published their study » in Value in Health, a leading health economics journal. Their analysis assessed the cost-effectiveness of the 20 interventions subject to the largest waiting lists within the Irish public health system. Using published cost-effectiveness estimates they showed that 19 of the 20 interventions with the largest lists appear to have cost-effectiveness ratios below Ireland's current threshold of €45,000 per quality-adjusted life-year. This indicates that resources may need to be reallocated from funding new interventions to better address the existing unmet need of Irish patients. The study arose from the 2nd med-research project programme coordinated annually by Dr Paul Spiers and was supervised by Dr James O'Mahony » of the Centre for Health Policy and Management.

Poster Prize - Annual Irish Congress of Anaesthesia

Mary Flahive, an MSc in Research student with Dr. Julie Broderick in the Discipline of Physiotherapy won a prize at the Annual Irish Congress of Anaesthesia, held in Dublin Castle on May 24/25th for her poster and presentation of her MSc research entitled ‘Physical Function Performance and Recovery of Patients undergoing Abdominal Surgery in relation to post-operative complications – a prospective real world study’. Please view her E-Poster » (PDF 416 kB)

Colm O'Morain Research Medal

Congratulations to Catriona Gallagher, Lecturer in Clinical Medicine (TCD), Dermatology Research Registrar at Tallaght University Hospital and a member of the TAGG research group of Prof McNamara in the School of Medicine, supervised by Dr. Ann-Marie Tobin, shown here receiving her Colm O'Morain Research Medal at the Ground Rounds on 8th June 2018. Catriona’s award-winning presentation detailed her research into the “Skin Cancer in at risk Irish IBD patients’’. Further information can be found at https://www.tcd.ie/medicine/tagg/ »

Medicine, Health and Humanities - Exhibition Day 1st Year Medicine

On April 12th the First Year Medical Students wrapped up the Medicine, Health and Humanities module with an Exhibition Day. Students may cover areas such as Advocacy, Arts & Health, Health & Equality, Medicine in Society, Perception in Medicine and Art, Philosophy, Creative Writing, Chronic Disease Prevention, Drama & Medicine, Narrative Medicine, Touch, Literature & Medicine and History of Medicine. We have been supported by many academics and would like to thank the module leads and contributors who make this a great student experience.
Four parallel sessions were held with 49 presentations and 15 posters and artwork presented. There were fantastic displays of creativity and original thinking. The judges were very impressed with the standard of work and at times moved by the poignancy of the students’ insights into medical practice and the patient experience.

World Ovarian Cancer Day 8 May 2018

Trinity St. James’s Cancer Institute marked World Ovarian Cancer Day by holding a public event with presentations on the new developments in the management of ovarian cancer. Speakers included: Dr Dearbhaile O’Donnell, Dr Terri McVeigh, Dr Claire Thompson and Dr Sharon O’Toole. There was a special celebration of the contribution of Emer Casey Foundation and other supporters of the ovarian cancer care and research.

Supporting Practice Educators: An Interdisciplinary Practice Education Study Day’

The 6th annual Interdisciplinary Practice Education Study Day was held in the Trinity Centre for Health Sciences on Thursday 21st June. This popular event is a collaboration between Trinity College Dublin and the School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Sciences, UCD. This year’s event was the largest to date with input from 5 of the healthcare professions. Over 150 participants from the disciplines of Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Radiation Therapy, Human Nutrition and Dietetics, and Clinical Speech and Language Studies attended. Keynote presentations, with interactive components, were delivered by Dr Mike Wride (‘Exploring Quality Feedback in Practice Education’) and Dr Mark Robinson (‘Responding to Students in Distress’). In ‘Approaches to Supporting Students: The Student Coordinator and Tutors’ Experiences’, Anne-Maria Scanlon (Physiotherapy), Marie Cox (Speech and Language Therapy), Julie Flanagan (Occupational Therapy) and Theresa O’Donovan (Radiation Therapy) shared their insights on optimising the student experience. Finally, Dr Denise Lawler spoke about ‘Improving Quality in Practice Education’. Feedback from the study day was very positive and the organisers look forward to incorporating all suggestions into the next Trinity-hosted event in 2020.

Dementia Friendly Hospital Guidelines from a Universal Design Approach

This provides detailed guidance in relation to dementia specific design issues and the Universal Design (UD) of acute hospitals in Ireland. For many patients, the hospital is challenging due to the busy, unfamiliar, and stressful nature of the environment. For a person with dementia the hospital experience can be exacerbated by cognitive impairment and behavioural or psychological symptoms, and can therefore prove to be a frightening, distressing, and disorientating place. Read on » (PDF 493 kB)

Editorial Board of BMC Palliative Care

Dr Geraldine Foley, Assistant Professor, has joined the editorial board of BMC Palliative Care. BMC Palliative Care, part of the BMC-series journals (Springer), is an international and open-access journal (5-year Impact Factor 2.036) publishing original peer-reviewed research in clinical, scientific, ethical and policy issues, regarding all aspects of palliative care.

Editorial Board Appoint to Precision Nanomedicine Journal

Ussher Assistant Professor in Translational Nanomedicine, Dr. Adriele Prina-Mello (TTMI) has been recently appointed as Editorial board Member of Precision Nanomedicine Journal. Dr. Lajos Balogh (Editor in chief of the Precision Nanomedicine Journal and former Editor in chief for Elsevier’s Nanomedicine Journal) presented Precision Nanomedicine as an open access, online-only international journal assisted by artificial intelligence that promotes all progressive and rational aspects of nanomedicine including theory and practice of basic science, preclinical, and clinical, as well as commercialization aspects. . Dr. Prina-Mello, is inviting all Trinity College colleagues, Irish and International collaborators and expert in the Nanomedicine or Nanotechnology applied to Medicine research field, to submit original as well as reproducibility and replication studies, i.e., research manuscripts that reproduce, evaluate, and confirm research results. Similarly, discussions of negative results are also welcome. Further information available here »

Laboratory for Biological Characterisation of Advanced Materials (LBCAM) led by Prof. Adriele Prina-Mello has been selected for the first issue. The LBCAM Nanomedicine group are part of the key research efforts enabling technology R&D at TTMI (Trinity College Dublin) with the focus to translate innovative and breakthrough solutions in the biomedical and clinical sciences for the benefit of patients and society.

Visit of the Discipline of Radiation Therapy to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, South Africa

Congratulations to Michelle Leech and Claire Poole, from the Discipline of Radiation Therapy recently visited the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesbug, South Africa. The potential for research collaboration between the Discipline of Radiation Therapy and the department of Medical Radiation Sciences was explored as well as an exchange of teaching and learning methodologies. The Discipline will welcome students from Johannesburg for a clinical programme from 2019.

National Palliative and Home Care Strategy at King Hussein Cancer Center in Amman, Jordan

Dr Bridget Johnston, Research Fellow at the Centre for Health Policy and Management, recently presented findings from an economic analysis of a pilot home care scheme at the launch of the National Palliative and Home Care Strategy at King Hussein Cancer Center in Amman, Jordan. Policy makers from within the healthcare sector and government attended the event, with the Minister for Health delivering the keynote address. The Jordanian National Home Care Initiative (JNHCI), funded by USAID, was established in 2016 with the aim of providing professional training in palliative care and expanding capacity to deliver comprehensive palliative home care to people with serious or life-limiting illness.

Dr Johnston, co-director of the Palliative Care Economics (PaCE) Research Group, has collaborated with the JNHCI since 2017 with the aim of developing an evidence base to support the expansion of palliative home care services throughout Jordan. Given her recent role as a member of the technical team from TCD supporting the Oireachtas Committee for the Future of Healthcare with their Sláintecare report, the JNHCI also arranged for Dr Johnston to deliver two workshops on transitioning towards Universal Health Coverage following the launch event. The ‘Training of the Trainer’ sessions focused on the role of economics in guiding health policy and a whole-systems approach to developing and evaluating services. The workshops targeted policy makers from different governmental and non-governmental health sectors.

Anatomy gives a Warm Welcomes to Trinity Access Programme Students

Anatomy host TAP students on Thursday 21st June. Giving students an opportunity to experience what the study of anatomy is like with an exciting afternoons programme of demonstrations on “Introduction to Anatomy in TCD and the Body Donor Programme”, “An Insight into the Internal Organs” and “A Brief Forensic Encounter with a Skeleton” The students were offered an insight into the broad range of opportunities studying Anatomy in the School of Medicine Trinity can offer them.

City Quay National School visits TTMI

Trinity Translational Medicine Institute (TTMI) has a very active outreach committee whose main aim is to promote science in the community. With this in mind, TTMI are now involved with the Trinity Access Programme (TAP) which helps support people from areas with low progression rates to higher education to reach their full educational potential.

Read on » (PDF 1MB)

Joint success story achieved between the Master Degree in Molecular Medicine, the Nanomedicine and LBCAM

The most recent work carried out by the Laboratory for Biological Characterisation of Advanced Materials (LBCAM) led by Prof. Adriele Prina-Mello has been selected for the first issue of the recently launched Precision Nanomedicine journal The critical identification of extracellular vesicle (EV) roles in precision medicine was carried out by John Savage, as part of his involvement in the Master degree in Molecular Medicine at the Trinity Translational Medicine Institute (TTMI) within the School of Medicine. Read on » (PDF 153 kB)

MSc. In Molecular Medicine Postgraduate Career Seminar

The MSc. In Molecular Medicine hosted a Postgraduate career seminar on June 6th in the TTMI attended by postgraduate students from around School of Medicine. Prof. Ross McManus (Director of MSc. in Molecular Medicine) moderated the evening while Dr. John McKeon (CEO, Allergy Standards), Dr. Kristina Gegenbauer (Senior Scientist, Global Biotherapeutic Technologies, Pfizer), Dr. Ríona Ní Ghriallais (Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer, ProVerum Medical) and Dr. Karl Quinn (Spondyloarthropathies Clinical Partnerships Leader, Genome Medicine Ireland) shared insight into their careers paths in scientific research and industry. Ms. Orla Bannon (Director, Career Advisory Service, TCD) provided valuable advice on career planning and development. Networking continued following the seminar with a cheese & wine reception held outside the Durkan LT for all attendees.

CRF and TTMI Celebrate International Clinical Trials Day with A Seminar About Involving Patients in Research

The focus of the Seminar, which took place on May 17, was how to involve patients and their families in research. Opening the seminar Professor Martina Hennessy, Director of the CRF, pointed out the Seminar Programme starts out from the acknowledgement that clinical research leads to better patient care and that involving patients makes for better clinical research.

Read more »

The CRF is excited to announce that Trinity is now active as a clinical trial sponsor

The CRF is excited to announce that Trinity is now active as a clinical trial sponsor. This has been a long journey spanning across 3 years and is a huge achievement. The first sponsored study is expected to be up and running in the CRF by the end of this summer and Trinity has already supported 6 DIFA awards as sponsor. Sponsorship is operationally supported by the CRF, with a range of services on offer including project management, pharmacovigilance, monitoring, quality audit, trial master file maintenance, support with ethics and regulatory applications and preparation of trial documentation. Applications and expressions of interest are invited from interested investigators.

CRF announces its first project with Genomics Medicine Ireland

The CRF is also delighted to announce the opening of its first project with Genomics Medicine Ireland (GMI) project on inflammatory bowel disease led by Dr Kevans. This project will be based in St James’s hospital but is a joint venture between TCD and the hospital. This study aims to recruit a total of 1,500 patients over a 3 year period. GMI continue to seek expressions of interest in enriched populations.

How lung energetics helps immunity battle TB

New advance explains how cigarette smoking causes lung immune cell exhaustion, leading to tuberculosis. The tuberculosis immunology research group at Trinity College Dublin and St James’s Hospital Dublin have discovered how crucial immune cells in the lung, called macrophages, affect a change in metabolism, to respond to the bacteria that causes tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis).

Read on » (PDF 347 kB)

MedEx Comes to Tallaght

Prof Sean Kennelly, Dept of Medical Gerontology, TUH, has been the lead in bringing the MedEx programme to Tallaght. MedEx is a community based chronic illness rehabilitation programme which has run in DCU successfully for the last 10 years. A recent HSE evaluation of the programme showed positive effects on psychological wellness, cognition, strength, aerobic capacity, body composition, inflammatory markers, fasting glucose, physical activity levels, 24-hour blood pressure, falls risk as well as disease specific improvements in COPD (CAT score) and claudication (improved initial and absolute claudication times). As we know much of the disability and impaired quality of life associated with any chronic illness is caused by inactivity and deconditioning. Consultants and GP’s in the Tallaght area can now refer patients to the rehabilitation programme where there are programmes available for heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, cancer, peripheral vascular disease and neurodegenerative conditions. New programmes will commence this year for chronic pain, heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, cystic fibrosis and for renal failure patients on dialysis. More info and photo »

Professor Sean Tierney, Consultant Vascular Surgeon at TUH awarded Employee Hero Award in 20th Anniversary Celebration of the opening of TUH

The mentoring award category was for a staff member who demonstrated outstanding teaching skills and served as a role model and mentor to any member of staff. Professor Tierney received a number of nominations from colleagues throughout the Perioperative Directorate. In summary ‘Professor Tierney is a great mentor, he is patient and helpful, always making time for those that need help or guidance. How he gets the time to teach so many doctors and nurses while caring for so many patients is just amazing. He is an excellent teacher and teaches with such kindness and humour never making the student feel like they are asking a ‘stupid’ question.’ More info and photo »

Mercers Institute for Successful Ageing hosts TILDA Scientific Advisory Board Meeting

The Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) is a key component of the governance structures of The Irish Longitudinal Study of Ageing (TILDA). The SAB is composed of international longitudinal study experts in one or more of the TILDA domains (economic, health, and social). This panel of experts, chaired by Dr James Smith, provides advice to TILDA on the research questions of most importance to the scientific community and policy makers. The group also provides feedback on the methodologies being adopted so as to ensure that TILDA is at the forefront of ageing research on a global level. On the 10th and 11th May the meeting was held in the Mercers Institute for Successful Ageing (MISA), St James Hospital. Over the two days presentations were delivered by TILDA researchers and external invited speakers. On day 1 topics included the biological theme of research underway in TILDA, findings of the TILDA end of life report, the collaboration between GBHI and TILDA and how longitudinal studies may be able to assist informing the efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance. There was also the opportunity for SAB members to have a tour of the clinical facilities available at MISA. Day two commenced with a forum of presentations from the PhD studies underway. This was followed with presentations on the national frailty education programme and were given an update on the longitudinal studies of Scotland (HAGIS) and Northern Ireland (NICOLA). The meeting concluded with a closed meeting between the SAB and members of the TILDA management team where the work going on was complimented and invaluable advice on the next steps for TILDA was provided.

Home FIRsT Workshop March 2018

A one day workshop was held on 9th March 2018 in MISA, St James’s Hospital. The day provided information to enable a multidisciplinary clinical audience to develop their knowledge on whole systems approach to older persons care and understanding and manage frailty syndromes in the emergency, acute and community settings. It also assisted to strengthen the links between professionals in the community and hospital working with older people and allow for continued communication pathways/networks to be developed going forward. Over 75 healthcare professional from around the country attended the event. Home FIRsT are a Specialist Older Persons Team based in the Emergency Department, in St James’s Hospital. The team consists of a cANP for Older Persons, Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist, Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist and Senior Medical Social Worker. The team’s aim is to promote admission avoidance and facilitate the safe discharge of older people who would otherwise require hospitalisation. The event was organised by Professor Conal Cunningham, Home FIRsT Team & Ms Aoibheann McMorrow, Care of the Older Person Directorate, St James’s Hospital, Dublin.

Medicine, Law and the Older Person April 2018

This one day event with over 80 attendees was held on 13th April 2018 provided an overview of medico legal topics. It was designed to reduce gaps in knowledge and to address areas of increasing concern for doctors. Topics included: Ethics, Ward of court and enduring power of attorney, Negligence, The Medical Witness, The Coroners Court, Consent, Medical Council complaints, Report writing and the Nursing home support scheme. The event was opened by Professor Brian Lawlor and speakers included : Mr John Costello, Legal Consultant, Orpen Franks Solicitors; Dr Ciaran Craven, Senior Counsel; Dr Simon Mills, Junior Counsel; Dr Myra Cullinane, Dublin City Coroner; Professor David Smith, Associate Professor of Healthcare Ethics in Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland; Professor JB Walsh TCD School of Medicine; Ms Katie Mulroy, Solicitor & Legal Advisor and Mr William Kennedy, Director of Regulation, Medical Council. Closing remarks were by Professor Davis Coakley. The event was organised by Professor Conal Cunningham, Dr David Robinson and Mr Matthew Gibb.

Biostatistics for Healthcare Professionals Study Day May 2018

This one day event held on 18th May 2018 in MISA provided participants with an overview of the main concepts of biostatistics and to develop basic critical appraisal skills to assess the quality of research evidence of publications. The event had over 60 attendees. The event provided an overview of: Research methods, The Research Process, Sampling, Research Designs and an Introduction to Inferential Statistics. The event was jointly organised by MISA and TILDA and the organising committee included Professor Conal Cunningham, Dr Daniel Carey, Dr Oisin Hannigan, Dr Robert Briggs, Dr Triona McNicholas and Dr Paul Claffey.

MSc. in Health Services Management #June Guests 2018 Managing Health & Social Care for Life – But Not as We Know It!

This Guests Event 2018’ took place on Thursday, 7 June. The panel of expert speakers took a ‘future scope’ on delivering health and social care services for an emerging health system landscape – Imagine 2030! List of Guest Speakers » (PDF 284 kB)

Dr Barry closed this event saying that “this is a reflective space for our MSc students to take a break and reflect on the big picture of our Health Service and today’s speakers and discussions accomplished a high level of interesting reflection”