APC News
APC Researcher awarded funding for schizophrenia research
The Health Research Board announced this week that it was funding nine new projects under Emerging Investigator Awards for Health (EIA) 2022, one of which is led by APC researcher, Dr Linda Katona.
The Health Research Board announced this week that it was funding nine new projects under Emerging Investigator Awards for Health (EIA) 2022, one of which is led by APC researcher, Dr Linda Katona.
Dr Katona’s research seeks to identify the gut microbiome-responsive brain biomarkers of cognitive impairments relevant to schizophrenia.
“Ireland has among the highest rates of mental illness in Europe, and schizophrenia is one of the leading psychiatric diagnoses nationally and the one carrying the biggest economic cost. Schizophrenia patients have problems remembering their past, are unable for social interactions and cannot retain information long enough to use it. Gut microbes affect our mood and motivation and interfere with our mental abilities,” Dr Katona said.
“Recent research shows that information from our gut gets transferred to our brain through the vagus nerve, and that disruptions in the communication between gut microbes, vagus and brain often accompany the core symptoms of schizophrenia. This project will examine this and attempt to answer questions such as how our gut microbiome, through the vagus nerve, interferes with our memory, how it influences our social interactions, and how it can affect our concentration.
“By exploiting these gut-brain-behaviour relationships for novel, better-targeted therapeutic interventions, this study could revolutionise how schizophrenia and similar brain disorders are treated, significantly improving the lives of millions of people globally,” she said.
Welcoming the announcement, UCC President Professor John O’Halloran said:
“We are delighted to have secured these prestigious, highly competitive research awards from HRB. Securing our future through excellence in research and in supporting excellent researchers is the highest priority at UCC. I'm thrilled that we have secured these awards, which will enable us to accelerate our UCC Futures ambition to change the world and improve both our healthcare system and patients outcomes.”
UCC Vice President for Research & Innovation Professor John Cryan said:
“I am delighted to congratulate Doctors Katona, O’Mulane and Matvienko-Sikar for this important recognition of their impactful research. I am particularly pleased to see this strong representation of female health researchers here in UCC for these highly sought after awards. Collectively, their research is focused on finding effective solutions to some of the most pressing and urgent challenges that we face in healthcare both nationally and globally. These awards lay the foundation for these investigators to be key role models in Irish research moving forward and will support our UCC Futures research programme in areas ranging from sustainability; children; ageing & brain science; and food, microbiome & health.”
