Located
in Cork University Hospital (CUH) the HRB Discovery Centre will provide the
clinical space, IT infrastructure and office space to conduct clinical
assessments. Five dedicated research staff will help ensure that the children
are being cared for and that the research is carried out to the highest
standards. Locating the new Centre at CUH is a strategic move due to the
established paediatric research programmes and neo-natal care already in place
at the hospital.
Lead
researcher on the paediatric programme, Professor Jonathan Hourihane, Professor
of Paediatrics and Child Health at CUH says: "Locating
in CUH will ensure that some of Ireland’s leading paediatric researchers in
University College Cork will benefit from the opportunity to link their
research work to clinical care and training. The centre will support both new
and existing research programmes."
"For
example; BASELINE, Ireland’s first study to observe children from before birth
up to two years of age will examine the development of allergies, metabolic
problems such as bone health, diabetes and also common neuro-developmental
problems in early life. Because
many adult conditions such as heart disease, obesity and asthma have their
origins in childhood, we plan to extend this programme so we can observe the
changes in the children as they get older and identify any potential changes or
links which could increase understanding of how these epidemic diseases affect
Irish children as they grow and become adults. The
centre will also be the Irish central point for an emerging international study
called NEMO. This study aims to understand, and hopefully mitigate, the effects
of hypotension (abnormally low blood pressure) in babies in the womb and
related cellular damage that occurs within the brain and spinal cord as a
result of the inadequate oxygen", he explains.
The
HRB Discovery Centre is part of a much bigger HRB clinical research facility
(CRF) and research programme currently being developed by University College
Cork, Cork University Hospital and Mercy University Hospital and both centres
will be part of a national research network supported by the HRB. The creation
of a CRF in Cork represents a critical step towards the development of a
clinical research environment within the hospitals in association with UCC. The
CRF will facilitate and promote clinical research of an international standard
and research results will improve people’s health and patient care as well as
providing research career opportunities.
According
to Professor Damian O'Connell, Director of the HRB Clinical Research Facility
in Cork: "The
HRB Discovery Centre will be an integral part of the HRB Clinical Research Facility
in Cork. While this latter facility is still undergoing development, we have
already commenced a variety of research programmes in heart disease, cancer and
pharmabiotics and nutrition. When the facility is finished later this year it
will become an essential component and enabler of these existing high quality
clinical research programmes extending their investigative range and depth
while also affording an opportunity to open up new clinical research efforts."
Speaking
about this latest development in the national network of Clinical Research
Facilities, Enda Connolly, Chief Executive at the HRB says: "This
HRB Discovery Centre at CUH, and its parent Clinical Research Facility is part
of a much bigger plan to increase, develop and streamline health research in
Ireland. It will link into a network of HRB clinical research facilities in
Dublin, Cork and Galway. The aim of these facilities is to systematically
bridge the gap from promising research into new drugs, medical devices or
diagnostics that benefit patients and are actually useful in clinical care.
This in turn will lead to commercial spin offs and economic benefits."
Pictured at the Official Opening of the HRB Discovery Centre at Cork University Hospital were: Pat Madden, Chief Executive, Mercy University Hospital, Cork; Enda Connolly, Chief Executive, Health Research Board; Professor Damian O'Connell, Director, HRB Clinical Research Facility Cork; Professor Anita Maguire, VP for Research and Innovation, UCC and Professor Jonathan Hourihane, Director of Paediatrics, HRB Discovery Centre, Cork University Hospital.
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