SFI Research Frontiers Programme Awards - May 2010

APC investigators Dr Elizabeth Brint and Dr Aileen Houston received awards under Science Foundation Ireland’s Research Frontiers Programme (RFP). Minister Batt O’Keeffe recently announced the 47 awards amounting to €8.5million to 11 Higher Education Institutions.

The Research Frontiers Programme (RFP) plays a key role in developing Ireland’s knowledge-based economy and makes a major contribution to the development of a highly skilled workforce. The programme supports fundamental, innovative, cutting-edge and internationally competitive research in a broad range of disciplines in Science, Mathematics and Engineering. It has a specific focus on early career investigators and provides funding for post-graduate training and research. The RFP Award is over a 4 year period.

Dr Brint is a lecturer in the Department of Pathology at UCC whose research focuses on regulation of the immune response and its role in the development of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). This RFP award will enable Dr. Brint to investigate the mechanisms by which the immune system in the gut distinguishes normal from pathogenic bacteria, the disruption of which may lead to IBDs.

The importance of inflammation in cancer is well accepted. Investigations into the inflammatory processes that underpin not only the development of colon, but also many other cancers, are vital for the development of novel preventative and therapeutic strategies against this disease which is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. The findings of Dr Houston’s proposal may potentially result in more efficient treatment against cancer, and save lives.

Other UCC researchers who received awards were Prof. Cormac Sreenan, Dr Joseph Manning and Dr Gerard O'Keeffe. Tyndall National Institute’s Dr Eric Moore and Dr Russell Duane also received awards.

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