EBulletin - School of Medicine - Faculty of Health Sciences

School of Medicine - November 2011 Edition

	Report from the School of Medicine click here
Institute of Molecular Medicine Tercentenary Symposium Online Registration Closed - Please register at the conference from 8am
	Institute of Molecular Medicine Tercentenary Symposium “The Future of Medicine: 2020 Vision" 4th of November 2011. For further information click here
Upcoming Events
	Tercentenary Commencement Ceremony Professor Ara Warkes Darzi of Denham, Professor Charles Dinarello, Professor Parveen Kumar, Professor Michael Marmot and Professor Esther Sternberg, Professor Harriet Wallberg-Henriksson will be awarded honorary degrees at a special commencement ceremony marking the Tercentenary of the School of Medicine on the 3rd of November 2011
	Robert Boyle Foundation Prize Lecture "Releasing Innovation in Healthcare: the NHS Innovation London experience" Dr. David Chilvers, CEO National Health Service Innovations London (NHSIL) on Thursday 3rd of November 2011 at 6.00 pm Robert Smith Lecture Theatre, Health Sciences Building, SJH. tel: 01-416-2645 - Invite
	*Invitation to the launch of a Support Service Website for Students with Asperger’s Syndrome including videos and i-book by* The Minister for Health, Dr. James Reilly T.D. on Thursday 3rd of November 2011 at 11am sharp in the Neill / Hoey Lecture Theatre, Long Room Hub, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2 Invite
	Trinity Med Day Friday 4th of November click here for further information and donation details. Trinity Med Day 10th Anniversary Gala, Saturday 5th of November in the Convention Centre Dublin and is black tie. The Gala will feature a drinks reception, dinner, and entertainment by Ireland’s premier party band, the Heartbeats. Tickets are priced at €100 per person. A table of 10 is priced at €1000. For further information click here The beneficiaries this year are the Heart Failure Unit, SJH and the Epilepsy Unit, AMNCH. A contribution will also be made to the Arts & Alzheimer’s Initiative. The goal this year is to raise a record-breaking €100,000.
	Royal Hibernian Academy Exhibition “Apertures & Anxieties Artists celebrate 300 years of Trinity’s School of Medicine”, 18th November – 21st December. We hope to see you there. For further information click here
	Development Research Week The Trinity International Development Initiative (TIDI) will host the third annual Trinity Development Research Week from 7th-11th November 2011. TIDI presents a week-long programme of activities, to showcase international development research, including public lectures, research seminars, exhibitions and student presentations. Events will be held in collaboration with researchers and students from TCD and a range of education institutes, as well as NGOs and other development organisations. The programme will highlight development research and its application across themes including climate change, humanitarian response and financing for development. Read on for full programme of events
	Upcoming Eurolife Distinguished Lecture "Epigenetics in Clinical Medicine; Learning and taming of the functional genome" by Tomas J. Ekström, PhD Professor of Molecular Cell Biology , Laboratory for Medical Epigenetics, Dept. of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden on November 22nd at 5 pm at Innsbruck Medical University Lecture Hall Pharmacology Peter-Mayr-Str. 1, 1a, Innsbruck
	Invitation to submit online applications for the upcoming MMI/Pfizer course – Molecules to Medicines: How Biopharma Delivers. Date: 22-23 November 2011. Main Venue: Biosciences Building, Trinity College, Pearse street, Dublin 2 Online application period: 19 Oct – 18 Nov 2011. Read on for further details
	The next Full School Committee Meeting will take place on the 14th November at 6pm, Tercentenary Hall, Biomedical Sciences Institute, 152 -160 Pearse Street, Dublin 2
Tercentenary Events
	Trinity Psychiatrists “Trinity Psychiatrists”, a book by Fellow Emeritus, Professor Marcus Webb, was launched on 18 October read on
	TCD International Cancer Conference “State of the Art of Cancer Care” 7-9 September 2011 World experts in the field of cancer came together for a conference hosted by Trinity College Dublin to discuss advances in cancer care. Read on.
	Tercentenary Alumni Weekend 2011 As 2011 marks the Tercentenary celebrations of Medicine at TCD, over 400 of its graduates and friends (representing 7% of the TCD medical alumni) from 16 countries of the School of Medicine gathered in Trinity to meet with former classmates, share stories of their lives and careers to date and discover what has changed in Trinity since their student days. The exciting programme of events featured “Medical Dublin” tours, a symposium entitled “300 Years and a Day – Tercentenary Away”, a steam train outing, a celebratory dinner and opening of the Tercentenary Hall. Click to view photo gallery
Tercentenary News
	2011 TCD Alumni Awards - Dr Deirdre Kelly Deirdre Kelly B.A., M.B., M.D., F.R.C.P.I. (1971) is among four outstanding alumni who have been selected as recipients of the 2011 TCD Alumni Awards. The awards recognise alumi with outstanding achievements in their respective fields and the contribution they have made in Ireland and internationally. Professor Kelly is Director of the Liver Unit, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Professor of Paediatric Hepatology at the University of Birmingham. Read on
	Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute Shortlisted for Engineers Ireland The Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, where the School of Medicine has relocated, has been shortlisted for an Engineers Ireland Excellence Award. Eight projects are in with a chance to win the award for Engineering Project of the Year 2011 which will be judged by the largest number of online votes. Read on
New Funding
	BioCroi Ltd Receives €800,000 Funding A TCD campus company, BioCroi Ltd, founded by Dr Tony Davies of the School of Medicine at the Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, recently received €800,000 in seed investment from the MedTech Accelerator Fund managed by Kernel Capital, including €300,000 from Enterprise Ireland and private investors. Read on
	TILDA Receives US and Irish Funding The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) has recently been awarded grants of €700,00 from the National Institute of Health and National Bureau of Economic Research, USA and the Health Research Board in Ireland to research the harmonisation of TILDA technology based health measures to other longitudinal datasets in Europe and the USA. The group will also study the impact of the recession in Ireland on physical and mental health and develop early biomarkers of frailty and age related decline. The research will be conducted in collaboration with the Geary Institute at UCD, NUI Galway, the University of Mannheim, Germany, Cambridge University and The NBER, Massachusetts, USA. Read on
	The Prostate Cancer Research Consortium Grant (Irish Cancer Society): 600,000 euros - Professor John O'Leary is the co lead PI on this grant. Health Research Board Grant: 230,000 - Professor John O'Leary is the co PI on this grant. Professor O'Leary was invited by Movember (the prostate cancer charity) to submit a grant on circulating tumour cells in prostate cancer: the essential link between obesity, inflammation, coagulation and the cancer cascade: biddable amount 1.5 million. This will be submitted in association with the Prostate Cancer Research Consortium.
	FP 7 Success for NILVAD- (Professor Brian Lawlor) The total value of this grant will be €6 million across 10 European countries. This will be the largest investigator led clinical trial in Alzheimer’s Disease ever conducted in Europe and positions Trinity College, St James’s Hospital and Mercers Institute for Successful Ageing as the leaders in Alzheimer’s Research in Europe read on
School News
	The annual M.O.V.E. Ball took place on October 14th this year and was a great success. It was held in the Bracken Court Hotel in Balbriggan and the theme was "Masquerade", which allowed the guests to get very creative! There were over 200 guests in attendance, who were treated to champagne receptions, a delightful sit-down dinner, live band and DJ until late. There was a great atmosphere and everyone had a thoroughly enjoyable evening. With all of the proceeds going directly to M.O.V.E., it was feel-good fun for all!
	Reports and presentations from medical students electives 2011 click here
	A new organisation has been founded by Trinity students. It's called "medConnect", and it aims to be an extensive information resource for students interested in pursuing medical electives in health institutions in the developing world. There is already a substantial amount of information on the website and it is hoped that this success will continue. Though founded by Trinity students, medConnect is not affiliated with Trinity, and indeed hopes to expand to other colleges.
	The Postgraduate Research Day was held on Monday 19th September 2011. This years Postgraduate Research day was different to other years in that it was a joint symposium with the Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology and the Department of Pharmacology, University of Michigan. Read on
	School of Medicine Continues to Strengthen Links with University of Michigan Representatives from the University of Michigan’s Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology and the Department of Pharmacology recently visited Trinity’s School of Medicine, further developing the academic collaboration between the two institutions. The visit builds on an academic collaboration agreement signed between the two institutions in 2009 which was set up to develop their respective academic strengths and research strategies. Read on
	New Closets for Old Skeletons As part of the tercentenary of the School of Medicine at TCD and in a fitting tribute to its 300-year history Professor Davis Coakley contributed to an article in the Medical Independent of July 28th. The piece referred to the relocation of the TCD Medical School to the new biomedical sciences facility. He provided a fascinating insight into the history of the old anatomy building and the school of medicine itself including some of the world renowned doctors who trained and worked there. Click here for this article
	Musculoskeletal Research. A number of new projects in the area of musculoskeletal research are currently underway, strengthening the School of Medicine’s commitment in this area read on
	Maria O’Sullivan (Associate Professor (adjunct), Senior Scientist, Clinical Medicine, AMNCH) joins the Editorial Board of ‘Proceedings of the Nutrition Society’ (impact Factor 3.9). The journal, based in London, publishes peer-reviewed scientific papers in nutrition and its application to human and animal health and is read by academics, researchers and clinical practice workers.
	Update from the Department of Medical Gerontology read on
	The MMI Clinical and Translational Scholars Research Programme was launched on the 10th October 2011 by Minister Sean Sherlock TD. The CTRSP is a four year structured PhD programme based at 4 of MMI’s partner institutions including TCD read on
School News taken from the TCD Communications Office
	Trinity Nutritionist Briefs Health Committee on Nutritional Value of Certain Foods - Dr Fiona Lithander - Unit of Nutrition and Dietetics
	Malaysian Government Signs Partnership Agreement with Irish Universities to Promote Study of Medicine in Ireland by Malaysian Students
	Hepatitis C Discovery Has Potential for the Development of New Treatment - PhD student, Danijela Petrovic led by Dr Aideen Long, Senior Lecturer in Molecular Medicine at the TCD Institute of Molecular Medicine
	New TCD Research Reveals Children’s Perspectives on Family Life, Health and Expectations for the Future - Growing Up in Ireland – the National Longitudinal Study of Children
	Nobel Laureate Speaks at International Workshop on Helicobacter - Highlights included details of the discovery by Professor O’Moráin and his research group which shows that eradicating the Helicobacter pylori organism leads to a permanent cure of duodenal ulcer. Professor of Medicine and Vice-Provost of Medical Affairs at Trinity College Dublin’s School of Medicine, Dermot Kelleher presented results of his collaborative work with South America and Europe on childhood acquisition of the bacteria.
	TCD Researchers Win Funding for Cutting-Edge Research Projects - The successful TCD researchers from the School of Medicine were Dr Arun Bokde, Dr Veronica Campbell, Dr Christian Kerskens and Dr Jacintha O’Sullivan.
	Research Reveals Link between Abnormal Body Weight in Children and Bullying - This study was conducted by researchers at the School of Medicine's Department of Public Health and Primary Care, AMNCH.
	Trinity College Researchers Contribute to New Findings in Largest International Genomics Studies of Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder - An international research consortium, including researchers from the Dept of Psychiatry, Psychosis Research Group, has discovered that common genetic variants contribute to a person’s risk of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
	New Research Increases Understanding of Drug Effects in Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease - Scientists from Trinity College Dublin, in a collaboration between the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline and St James’s Hospital Dublin, have used a novel combination of technologies to better understand the mechanics of a commonly prescribed medication for Alzheimer’s Disease
	Dr Emma Stokes, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy at Trinity College’s School of Medicine, has become the first Irish Vice-President of the World Confederation of Physical Therapists
	Research Reveals Geriatric Medicine Improves Survival Rates - Professor Desmond O’Neill, Associate Professor of Geriatric Medicine at Trinity College Dublin who is based at the Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Dublin Incorporating the National Children's Hospital, worked on the review with Trinity College researcher, Dr David Robinson in conjunction with researchers in Scotland
	Clinician Scientists Win Molecular Medicine Ireland Research Prizes - Professor Dermot Kelleher presents the Tercentenary Medal to Professor Garret FitzGerald during the MMI Clinician Scientist Annual Meeting.
	Research on Whistleblowing in Irish Hospitals Receives Literati Award - The study, by Dr Eilish McAuliffe and Linda Moore of Trinity College’s Centre for Health Policy and Management, was recently published in Clinical Governance: An International Journal and chosen as a Highly Commended Award Winner at the Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2011
	Four Trinity Professors Admitted to the Royal Irish Academy. The new members include Professor Thorfinnur Gunnlaugsson, Professor Shane O’Mara, Professor Colm O’Morain and Professor Jane Ohlmeyer. Election to the Royal Irish Academy (RIA) is the highest academic honour in Ireland and is a public recognition of academic achievement.
Public Lectures
	The Eurolife Distinguished Lecture Series presented "What can be learned from Rheumatoid Arthritis as a prototype auto-immune Disease?" by Prof. Tom W. J. Huizinga, Head of Dept of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Centre on 16th September 2011 at The Leksell Auditorium, Eugeniahemmet, T3:02, Karolinksa Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden. (Sound podcast and pdf of this presentation is at the above link)
Staff Retirements
	Professor Shaun McCann's Festshrift was organised by Profesor Paul Browne on the 30th September 2011
	Dr Paul Glacken retired from Head of the Department of Anatomy on the 30th September 2011
Staff and Student Awards/Prize Winners
	Enterprise Ireland have awarded the 2011/2012 innovation award to a project on RAMAN spectroscopy in cervical cancer to a project jointly held by DIT and TCD. The DIT lead is Fiona Lyng PhD. The TCD leads are Cara Martin PhD and Professor John O'Leary. The work is being performed in the Coombe molecular biology lab. Read on
	Dr Anne Molloy, Department of Clinical Medicine, has received a Health Research Board project award towards carrying out a Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) on neural tube defects (NTDs) read on
	IRCSET scholar with the Discipline of Physiotherapy, Cuisle O'Donovan, came highly commended for the Hans Stoboy Award at the International Pediatric Exercise Physiology Conference last month. The Hans Stoboy award is presented to novice researchers who contribute significantly to all aspects of the conference, and demonstrate the potential to be successful in the field of pediatric exercise science. It is the highest award presented by the European Group of Pediatric Work Physiology to student investigators.
New Staff
	Dr Martina Hennessey - Director Undergraduate Teaching and Learning
	Dr Deirdre McNamara - Head of Clinical Medicine, AMNCH
	Dr Paul Tierney - Head of the Department of Anatomy
	Dr David Robinson - Department of Gerontology Dr Robinson graduated from Trinity College, Dublin in 1996 and completed his basic and specialist training in Queensland, Australia and the South Dublin Geriatric Training Scheme. He was the first Watts Clinical Fellow in the Mercer's Institute for Research on Ageing where his MD thesis examined vitamin B12 deficiency and its relevance to falls and cognition. He also undertook a Masters in Healthcare Ethics and Law which examined the ethics of the Fair Deal legislation and has an interest in comprehensive geriatric assessment in the acute setting. Prior to joining us in MISA David worked as a locum consultant geriatrician in St Vincent's Hospital.
	Jean Fletcher - joint Ussher appointment between School of Medicine and School Biochemistry & Immunology - Lectureship Translational Immunology and will contribute to the teaching and co-ordination of Human Health Disease
	Elizabeth Derwin, Executive Officer, Biomedical Science Institute
	Alma Lyons - Executive Officer, Dept of Surgery, Trinity Centre, SJH
	Siobhan O'Leary (Doyle) - has returned to the Dept of Psychiatry from maternity leave