Eight RCSI researchers have been awarded funding totalling more than €3.4 million by the Health Research Board (HRB) under the Investigator-Led Projects (ILP) scheme.

The funding is part of an overall investment of €12.4 million by the HRB to support innovative and internationally competitive projects across three overarching themes: patient-oriented research, population health research, and health service research. 

The successful RCSI lead applicants were:

• Dr Shane Browne, Lecturer, Department of Anatomy and Regenerative Medicine to develop a biomaterial with antimicrobial and pro-angiogenic properties for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers 
• Dr Olga Piskareva, Lecturer, Department of Anatomy and Regenerative Medicine to develop an anticancer mRNA vaccine for GPC2-positive tumours 
• Dr Ailish Malone, Senior Lecturer, School of Physiotherapy for a project to enhance health, function and participation after childhood brain tumours through rehabilitation for children and young people, and their families 
• Professor David Cotter, Professor of Molecular Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry for research to investigate particular biomarkers for the prediction of treatment responses to antipsychotic medications 
• Professor Fergal O’Brien, Professor of Bioengineering and Regenerative Medicine, Department of Anatomy and Regenerative Medicine to develop a scaffold for the delivery of gene therapies in the treatment of Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) 
• Dr Jennifer Ryan, Senior Lecturer, School of Physiotherapy to develop implementation strategies for prevention of musculoskeletal complications among children with cerebral palsy 
• Dr Frank Moriarty, Senior Lecturer, School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences to enhance medicine optimisation and deprescribing in chronic kidney disease in primary care 
• Dr Dan Wu, Lecturer, Department of Chemistry to use machine learning to predict the health risks of pyrolysis reactions in flavoured vapes.

Professor Fergal O’Brien, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at RCSI, commented: “I extend my congratulations to the RCSI awardees on their outstanding success in the HRB Investigator-Led Projects scheme. The breadth of these awards, spanning psychiatry, regenerative medicine, physiotherapy and chemistry, reflect the strength of RCSI’s research in addressing both current and emerging health challenges through innovative, interdisciplinary approaches.” 

Dr Mairead O’Driscoll, Chief Executive at the Health Research Board, said: “The ILP scheme illustrates the HRB’s commitment to support high-quality investigator-led research. We want to create new internationally relevant knowledge that will help to address major health challenges in society. And we want to make a positive impact on tomorrow’s health care.”