2008 Press Releases

€1.3m boost for UCC health research
05.06.2008

Dr Geraldine Boylan, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, School of Medicine, Dr Liam Marnane and Dr Gordon Lightbody, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, have recently received over €1.3 million in research grants from national and international agencies for newborn brain research.
This funding will allow the group to develop systems that allow clinicians to accurately monitor brain function in newborn babies in intensive care units.
 
Brain-injury in newborn babies, sometimes caused by a lack of oxygen around the time of birth can result in cerebral palsy, mental retardation, learning disabilities and epilepsy.  Seizures or 'fits' are often the first clue to a developing neurological injury but are difficult to detect clinically. Monitoring the electrical activity of the brain is the only accurate way to detect all seizures in newborns. Early detection of seizures will allow prompt and effective treatment and should translate into better long term neurological outcome for the smallest and most vulnerable members of the population.
 
The research grants have come from The Wellcome Trust, UK; Science Foundation Ireland and a clinical training fellowship from the Health Research Board.  Dr Boylan, Dr Marnane and Dr Lightbody, who are also Principal Investigators with the Newborn Brain Research Group at UCC http://www.ucc.ie/en/neonatalbrain/ are leading a multidisciplinary team from the Departments of Paediatrics & Child Health, Electrical & Electronic Engineering and Computer Science at UCC. These grants will also allow the team to formalise collaborations with colleagues at University College London and to work with Professor John Morrison in Computer Science at UCC to develop a remote monitoring system for newborn babies. This funding is also significant for the expanding Neurosciences group in UCC http://www.ucc.ie/en/cns/
 
Picture shows Dr Liam Marnane, Dr Geraldine Boylan and Dr Gordon Lightbody of UCC

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