2016 Press Releases
Major award for UCC research
UCC Pharmacology lecturer, Dr Anne Moore, is one of three researchers in Ireland given a major award for her work in enhancing the body's immune system.
The 2016 SFI-Pfizer Biotherapeutics Innovation Award programme is a collaboration between Science Foundation Ireland and Pfizer and gives academic researchers an opportunity to deliver potential discoveries in the areas of immunology, oncology, cardiovascular and rare diseases.
Dr Moore’s research group develops and translates innovative therapies that modulate immune function. Mounting evidence from recent clinical studies demonstrates that harnessing the body’s own immune response to kill tumour cells can be a very effective mechanism to treat cancer. This collaboration aims to develop a novel strategy that enhances the body’s natural anti-tumour response.
In addition to the funding, academic researchers will have the opportunity to work with the Pfizer Global Biotherapeutics Technology (GBT) group in Dublin, as well as Pfizer’s R&D innovation engine, the Centre for Therapeutic Innovation. The teams’ research will focus on the application of cutting edge technologies for next generation protein therapies.
The other recipients of the SFI-Pfizer Biotherapeutics Innovation Award are:
- Prof Martin Steinhoff, University College Dublin – Prof Steinhoff leads a translational research team attempting to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying skin inflammation and associated chronic itch, for which there remains a significant unmet clinical need. The team hopes to generate targeting molecules that block the activation of key players in these inflammatory pathways.
- Dr Leonie Young and Prof Arnold Hill, Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland – Dr Young and Prof Arnold Hill are interested in the underlying mechanisms that control breast cancer resistance to traditional chemotherapeutics. Their aim is to use pre-clinical models, clinical datasets and breast cancer patient samples to better characterize, and effectively target, treatment resistant breast cancers.