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Cancer

Trinity St. James’s Cancer Institute

Trinity St James Cancer Institute (TSJCI) was established in 2014 as a collaborative project between TCD, St James’s Hospital- Ireland’s largest hospital, and St. Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network. TSJCI is formally constituted under a memorandum of understanding between the institutions. In 2025, TSJCI was designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Centre by the Organisation of European Cancer Institutes (OECI), the first and only of its kind in Ireland. OECI accreditation is important as it helps to ensure that cancer patients in Ireland receive the same high standard of treatment and care as in lead Cancer Institutes in other countries.

Research is a critical component of TSJCI and its research vision is to advance cancer care through internationally recognised fundamental, translational, and clinical research in cancer prevention; molecular and precision oncology; cancer immunology; and cancer survivorship and supportive care, leading to improvements in health status and quality of life for people in Ireland and beyond. More specifically our goals are to:

1. Decrease the burden of cancer by conducting focused, impactful fundamental, translational, and clinical research into cancer prevention, causes, multi-modal therapies and survivorship.
2. Provide sustainable, long-term support to cancer research within the Trinity St. James’s Cancer Institute, by building and maintaining a community of highly skilled world class researchers and attracting internationally competitive scientists and clinicians to the Institute.
3. Position TCD and its constituent hospitals and institutions as a nationally and internationally recognised hub for cancer research; ultimately
4. Enhance the quality and value of our patient care. TSJCI aims to further develop as an internationally recognised comprehensive cancer centre.

TSJCI is committed to collaborations (e.g., between oncology, social and behavioural science, epidemiology, genetics/genomics, pharmacology, and allied health sciences, law, business, and the arts) that can lead to new discoveries, conceptual models, and strategies to reduce the burden of cancer in diverse populations and across the cancer continuum.

Directed by Professor Lorraine O’Driscoll, TSJCI’s research is focussed on improving outcomes for people with cancer through innovative and ground-breaking fundamental, translational, and clinical research. Synergising the work of researchers and clinicians, and also informed by our patients’ representative group, this will be achieved via 4 interconnected Research Themes.

Trinity St James Cancer Institute Scientific Report 2018-2022

1. Cancer Prevention

     Leads: Prof. John O’Leary and Assoc. Prof. Cara Martin [cmartin3@tcd.ie]; Dr. Karen Cadoo [kcadoo@stjames.ie]

2. Molecular and precision oncology 

   Leads: Prof. Lorraine O’Driscoll, Molecular Oncology [lodrisc@tcd.ie]; Prof. Maeve Lowery, Precision Oncology [mlowery@tcd.ie]

3. Cancer Immunology 

    Leads: Prof. Clair Gardiner [gardinec@tcd.ie]; Prof. Joanne Lysaght [jlysaght@tcd.ie]; Prof. Patrick Forde [fordep1@tcd.ie]

4. Cancer survivorship and supportive care 

        Lead: Prof. Juliette Hussey [jmhussey@tcd.ie]; Prof. Owen Smith [smithow@tcd.ie]

In addition we have cross-cutting thematic leadership in:
Radiation oncology: Prof Gerry Hanna [ghanna@tcd.ie]
Nursing: Snehal Prabhukeluskar [SPrabhukeluskar@sjjames.ie]
Please contact the thematic leads above if you would like further information.
For general queries contact Dr. Patricia Doherty, Senior Research Programme Officer at thecancerinstitute@tcd.ie