Four researchers at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences have been awarded more than €1.2 million through the latest round of the Health Research Charities Ireland (HRCI)-Health Research Board (HRB) Joint Funding Scheme.

The RCSI-led projects will advance research into earlier cancer diagnosis, brain metastases and epilepsy, with a strong focus on research priorities shaped by patients and health research charities.

The awards form part of a €3.1 million investment in 12 health research projects announced by the HRB and HRCI. Eight HRCI member charities participated in this round.

Successful RCSI awardees

Professor Patrick Redmond, Associate Professor at the Department of General Practice, has been awarded €344,945 for the YO-FIT project. The research will assess the use of a simple stool test, known as a FIT, accessed directly through primary care, to help identify possible colorectal cancer earlier in younger adults.

Dr Damir Varešlija, Senior Lecturer at the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, has been awarded €343,986 to investigate biological processes shared by cancers that spread to the brain. The project aims to identify new opportunities to detect brain metastases earlier and develop treatments that could work across multiple cancer types.

Professor David Henshall, Professor of Molecular Physiology and Neuroscience and Director of FutureNeuro, has been awarded €271,259 for the CONTACTS project. The research will combine detailed recordings of brain activity with molecular information to better understand epilepsy and ultimately support improvements in its diagnosis and treatment.

Dr Cristina Ruedell Reschke, Senior Lecturer in the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences and a FutureNeuro investigator, has been awarded €276,000 for the DS-COMBINE project. It will investigate how factors including the body's 24-hour rhythms could be used to develop more personalised approaches to care for adults with Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy.

Patient-focused research

Professor Fergal O’Brien, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at RCSI, said: "The HRCI-HRB partnership ensures that patients and health research charities have a strong voice in shaping research priorities. The strong representation of RCSI researchers in this funding round reflects our commitment to patient-focused research, from improving the early detection of cancer to developing more personalised approaches to neurological conditions.

"I congratulate our researchers on their success in this programme and look forward to seeing the impact of their research on patients and their families."

The latest awards mark the thirteenth round of the HRCI-HRB Joint Funding Scheme, which has supported 177 research projects with more than €31 million in funding since 2006.