Research Impact Case Stories

Dr Dania Movia champions the reduction and replacement of animal testing via research and training of young scientists.

Youth suicide rates in Ireland are above the European average, and research has highlighted that there has been a notable increase in anxiety and depression among young people in Ireland over the past 10 years.

Dr Geraldine Foley’s research is focused on investigating dimensions of mutual support between patients and family caregivers in palliative care, and on developing a framework for decision-making in palliative care.

In their first year, children receive vaccinations against dangerous infections but achieve protection only after several booster vaccinations.

Dr Margaret Lawler’s research focuses on understanding the role of psychosocial factors in adolescents’ body image and physical activity participation.

Life experiences particularly in late childhood and adolescence can impact on how young people see themselves in relation to their peers.

A large body of Dr Robert Briggs’s work has focused on advancing the understand of the mechanistic pathways underpinning late life depression, especially the link with cardiovascular disease and neurocardiovascular instability.

The Trinity International Development Initiative (TIDI) is the hub of international development at Trinity College. The initiative is currently funded by Irish Aid and the Higher Education Authority (HEA) under the Programme of Strategic Cooperation between Irish Aid and Higher Education and Research Institutes 2007‐2011.

The Trinity International Development Initiative (TIDI) is the hub of international development at Trinity College. The initiative is currently funded by Irish Aid and the Higher Education Authority (HEA) under the Programme of Strategic Cooperation between Irish Aid and Higher Education and Research Institutes 2007‐2011.

Researchers from the Department of Psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin are trialling a potential additional treatment for depression: the anaesthetic ketamine. Ketamine works differently from current antidepressants, although we are still finding out how.

Researchers at St James’s Hospital, Tallaght University Hospital and Trinity College Dublin have received €7.5 million funding under Science Foundation Ireland’s Strategic Partnership Programme to accelerate research into understanding SARS-CoV2 and to develop solutions to inform pandemic responsiveness and protect our communities.

Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is associated with impaired satiety control: not knowing when you have had enough to eat. Symptoms include hyperphagia (over-eating) and extreme obesity.

Down syndrome (or Trisomy 21) is the most common chromosomal abnormality, making up 8% of all such cases registered Europe-wide.

At the heart of this research strategy 2021-2026 is a passion to better tell our story so that the School of Medicine and its outstanding research teams will gain the recognition and support they deserve.

Catastrophic events over the last decade or so have highlighted the challenge of governing health systems at times of shock.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common cause of dementia, occurs when toxic proteins accumulate in the brain, resulting in memory loss and impaired daily functioning.

Falls are very common as people get older and many result in hospitalisations.

Childhood Type 1 diabetes is potentially fatal. Poor disease control can cause life limiting complications in childhood and adult life, including blindness, kidney failure and amputations.

Haemophilia is a group of inherited disorders in which blood fails to clot properly, causing longer-than-normal bleeding.

The National Cancer Registry of Ireland reports an overall improvement in cancer survival.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the most deadly infectious disease globally.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease which causes inflammation, pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints.

Oesophageal cancer cases exceeded 600,000 in 2020, with over half a million deaths, making it the 6th leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide.

Frailty is related to getting older. It describes reserves, leaving us vulnerable to sudden changes in health triggered by seemingly small events such as a minor infection or a change in medication or environment.

Neurodegenerative diseases are debilitating incurable conditions that cause decline in movement, thinking and behaviour.

Vitamin D deficiency has been suggested as a risk factor for ~200 diseases. The suspected disease links have earned vitamin D a lot of attention; however, the absence of a definite proof has been fuelling a heated debate on whether these associations are direct and causal.

The events of the past year have made us all too familiar with the lexicon of immunology and has highlighted the critical importance of our immune system in fighting infection. However, in some individuals genetic and environmental factors conspire to cause the immune system itself to attack their own bodies, resulting in inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriasis.

Smoking-related lung cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in Irish women, having overtaken breast cancer. The incidence of new cases is the highest in Europe. The highest rates of smoking are among socio-economically disadvantaged women, who are more likely to smoke to cope with negative emotions and stressful situations, and experience more difficulties in quitting and are more likely to relapse.

The valley of death in innovation is when the “idea” is not reaching sufficient scientific and financial support to make it into advanced clinical investigation or trials. The global success in the COVID-19 nanovaccine came about thanks to decades of nanotechnology-enabled drug development in cancer nanomedicine.