In this issue:

Welcome to Issue 1 - January 2009
New Chair of Molecular Medicine Ireland Board
MMI cited in first report on the Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation (SSTI)
GCP Training to be Hosted by RCSI Clinical Research Centre
Dublin Centre for Clinical Research - Clinical Informatics Manager
GeneLibrary Ireland
MMI Clinician Scientist Fellowship Programme
MMI Courses & Workshops
Irish Clinical Research Infrastructure Network
MMI profiled in HEA publication "Transformations - How Research is changing Ireland"
News In Brief
Upcoming Events

Welcome to Issue 1 - January 2009

Welcome to the first newsletter of Molecular Medicine Ireland. MMI is a research collaboration between five partner institutions - National University of Ireland, Galway, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork and University College Dublin. MMI was formed with funding under PRTLI 4, and was launched as a new charitable company by Minister Mary Hanafin on 17 April 2008.

The vision of Molecular Medicine Ireland is improved healthcare through the development of diagnostics and therapies from concept to realisation. MMI provides a means by which the partner institutions can coordinate their translational and clinical research activities to speed up the translation of science into new diagnostics and therapies of benefit to patients. MMI carries out its mission through activities outlined in this Newsletter.

Ireland faces many challenges in 2009 and beyond. It is encouraging that the Government, in the recently launched strategy Building Ireland’s Smart Economy, has recommitted to investment in research and development to put Ireland in pole position to benefit from the economic upturn, when it eventually comes. We also welcome the recent announcement by Minister Batt O’Keeffe of PRTLI 5 which will support, amongst other things, proposals for structured PhD programmes and shared facilities in the third level sector. MMI provides the dynamic, collaborative environment across the partner institutions and their associated hospitals to support structured PhD programmes to train the next generation of clinician scientists and to develop shared facilities for translational and clinical research.

We hope you find this Newsletter of interest and useful in keeping in touch with MMI developments. Please let us know if we can make it more relevant in any way.

Ruth Barrington PhD
CEO

The achievements of Molecular Medicine Ireland and its forerunner the Dublin Molecular Medicine Ireland (DMMC) are substantial.

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Through the DMMC, the partner institutions secured over €40m for the Programme for Human Genomics, funded by the Higher Education Authority’s Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI) Cycle 3. This programme funded the enabling technologies in the Conway Institute in UCD, the Institute of Molecular Medicine in TCD/St James’s Hospital and the Institute of Biopharmaceutical Sciences in RCSI, which transformed the research capacity of the partner institutions.
The development by the DMMC of a portfolio of collaborative, trans-institutional courses in molecular medicine that capitalise on the research and teaching strengths of the constituent institutions, clinical expertise in the associated hospitals, and additional expertise from industry and other academic centres. Over 1,500 postgraduate students and researchers have participated in the courses, utilising an innovative education and training platform to develop skills essential to academic research and for careers in the biopharmaceutical industry.
The establishment of the Prostate Cancer Consortium by the DMMC partners, with assistance from the Irish Cancer Society.
Through the DMMC, the partner institutions secured €23m to develop the Dublin Centre for Clinical Research (DCCR), funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Health Research Board. The DCCR involves the building of a new clinical research facility at St James’s Hospital and the deployment of a network across the city linking the existing clinical research facilities in RCSI/Beaumont Hospital, UCD/Mater Misericordiae University Hospital/St Vincent’s Hospital.
The success of the Molecular Medicine Ireland partners in securing commitments from the Health Research Board and the Health Services Executive to invest over €20m in developing clinical research facilities at the National University of Ireland Galway/ University College Hospital Galway and at University College Cork/Cork University Hospital.
The establishment by Molecular Medicine Ireland of the Irish Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (ICRIN) to facilitate the national coordination of clinical research and to participate in the development of the European Clinical Research infrastructures Network. Funding of €0.5m has been secured for this purpose for two years from the Health Services Executive and the HRB.
The success of the Molecular Medicine Ireland partners in securing €10 funding from PRTLI Cycle 4 to establish a Clinician Scientist Fellowship Programme which will train the next generation of academic medical leaders in Ireland who will drive the translation of scientific advances into improved diagnostics and therapies for patients.
The award to Molecular Medicine Ireland (with Queen’s University Belfast) by the HRB and the R&D Office in 2008 of the contract to develop the planning phase of the all-island GeneLibrary project.

New Chair of Molecular Medicine Ireland Board

Dr Damian O'Connell MB B.Sc Ph.D has been appointed Chair of Molecular Medicine Ireland. Dr O'Connell is Executive Director and Global Development and Clinical Leader for Pfizer Analgesic Portfolio and has been a director of the Board since February 2007.

He replaces Dr Mike Kamarck PhD, President, Technical Operations and Product Supply, Wyeth who has stepped down from the chair and membership of the Board after four years service. On taking up his appointment, Dr O’Connell paid tribute to Dr Kamarck’s outstanding contribution as Chair to the development of the company over the past four years, in particular to his leadership in overseeing the transformation of the Dublin Molecular Medicine Centre into a national organisation, Molecular Medicine Ireland. Dr Ruth Barrington, Chief Executive of Molecular Medicine Ireland, congratulated Dr O’Connell’s on his appointment as Chair. On her own behalf and that of the staff, she thanked Dr Kamarck for his strategic leadership of the organisation and unfailing courtesy. She wished him well in his important new role with Wyeth.

The Board of Molecular Medicine Ireland has also appointed Dr Stevo Knezevic MD PhD, Dip.Pharma.Med as a Director. Dr Knezevic is Chief Medical Officer, Wyeth Europa, Middle East and Africa and has extensive experience of clinical research, both from as an academic and industry perspective.

The Board accepted the resignations of Professor Brian Harvey, Professor of Molecular Medicine and Director of the Research Institute, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and Mr Frank Kenny, Founding Partner, Delta Partners. Dr O’Connell thanked Professor Harvey and Mr Kenny for their contributions as directors to Molecular Medicine Ireland.

MMI cited in first report on the Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation (SSTI)

“Cycle 4 has funded the formation of Molecular Medicine Ireland, an expansion of the PRTLI enabled Dublin Molecular Medicine Centre (DMMC) which was, in 2007, successful in attracting Wellcome Trust funding for the establishment of a Clinical Research Centre in Dublin. A particularly exciting development under Cycle 4 is the establishment of the first new Clinician Scientist Fellowship Programme to train the next generation of academic medical leaders in Ireland. This received funding of €10million from the PRTLI Cycle 4 and will be organised on a national basis by Molecular Medicine Ireland. This will comprise at least 22 Fellows competitively selected from medical graduates at registrar level who wish to undertake PhD training and will help to address a national need identified in the HEA/Forfas Research Infrastructure Review and in the ASC report on Health Research in Ireland.”

In June 2006 the Government adopted a 7-year Strategy for Science and Technology. The SSTI constitutes one of the principal pillars of the National Development Plan 2007-2013 (NDP). Over its lifetime the Strategy aims to realise the following goal: Ireland in 2013 will be internationally renowned for the excellence of its research and at the forefront in generating and using new knowledge for economic and social progress, within an innovation driven culture.

The full report can be downloaded as a PDF document (1.37 MB) from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment website: http://www.entemp.ie/publications/science/2008/firstreportonSSTI.pdf

For further information on the MMI Clinician Scientist Fellowship Programme, please click here

GCP Training to be Hosted by RCSI Clinical Research Centre

The RCSI Clinical Research Centre at Beaumont Hospital will be hosting the first ICRIN GCP course on 24 February 2009. Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training is required by the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) for all those involved in carrying out clinical trials. This is a one day course designed to fulfill this requirement and will be the first of a number of ICRIN courses to be carried out across the country in 2009. A second course will be offered at the Mater Hospital Clinical Research Centre on 29 April 2009. Anyone interested in participating in these courses should contact Charlene Grice on 01 477 9823, email to charlene.grice@molecularmedicineireland.ie, or visit www.MolecularMedicineIreland.ie

Dublin Centre for Clinical Research - Clinical Informatics Manager

The Dublin Centre for Clinical Research (www.MolecularMedicineIreland.ie/DCCR) has received an excellent response to the advertisement for the position of Clinical Informatics Manager. A large number of high quality applications have been received and these will be shortlisted for interviews at the end of January.

Clinical Informatics will be a critical underpinning of the collaborative Dublin-wide clinical research envisaged by the DCCR. The DCCR has already established a number of Clinical Interest Groups and these will rely on IT infrastructure to support clinical research activity.

GeneLibrary Ireland

In 2008 Molecular Medicine Ireland (MMI) in association with Queen's University Belfast, with Dr. Peter Doran of UCD as Principal Investigator, was awarded the contract by the HRB and R&D Office to undertake the design phase of an all-island control biobank of volunteer samples and phenotypic data known as GeneLibrary Ireland. The University of Ulster has since joined this collaboration, ensuring that this initiative involves all the leading academic institutions in biomedical research and their associated hospitals on the island of Ireland.

In order to deliver on the design phase of GeneLibrary Ireland, MMI, on behalf of the collaborating institutions, convened Working Groups involving over 80 experts in genetics, translational research, epidemiology, ethics, law, finance, laboratory science and communications. These working groups have examined and made recommendations on the construction of this bio-resource for the benefit of researchers and people on the island of Ireland. A Scientific Advisory Board, consisting of international experts in biobanking has guided the preparation of the design phase and much has been learned from site visits to similar biobanks, for example Generation Scotland.

The establishment of GeneLibrary Ireland as a biomedical research infrastructure will enable and support the continued development of translational and genetic research on the island of Ireland. The biobank of 10,000 DNA and blood samples from volunteers on the island, together with key phenotypic information will serve as a control population to study the genetic determinants of common diseases, which significantly impact patients in Ireland and Northern Ireland. These diseases include cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, respiratory disease and cognitive disorders along with key disease areas that are over represented in the population such as coeliac disease, multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis and haemachromatosis. In addition, this collection will provide a valuable resource to study the genetic background of the population on the island of Ireland.

The report of the design phase of GeneLibrary Ireland is near finalisation and will be submitted to the funders in early 2009. The next phase of this project will involve the development of an implementation plan to establish GeneLibrary Ireland as an all-island biomedical research infrastructure. This phase which will be completed in the first quarter of 2009.

Within the MMI directorate, Dr Jan Guerin is coordinating the preparation of the design phase and implementation plan for GeneLibrary Ireland, assisted by Mel Clifford of Clifford Robbins Ltd, who is project manager for the initiative.
Further information – Jan.Guerin@MolecularMedicineIreland.ie

MMI Clinician Scientist Fellowship Programme

The objective of the Clinician Scientist Fellowship Programme, funded by the HEA under PRTLI Cycle 4, is to train the next generation of clinician scientists with the unique and specialised knowledge essential to fulfil Ireland's research needs in translational medicine. This training programme transcends institutional boundaries to give fellows unparalleled access to the top biomedical researchers in the country and to state-of-the-art basic and clinical research facilities. The aim is to educate biomedical investigators who will lead the quest for new therapeutic strategies. The CSFP provides a systematic means to train this essential group through a structured PhD programme for medical graduates of three years in duration.
MMI issued the first call in November 2007, attracting 75 expressions of interest, and put in place a rigorous review and selection process in which 40 candidates submitted full applications supported by mentoring teams in the host institutions. Following interview, 19 candidates were awarded MMI Clinician Scientist Fellowships. The Clinician Scientist Fellowship programme was launched by Mary Hanafin TD, Minister for Education and Science, at the official launch of Molecular Medicine Ireland at the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland on 17 April 2008.
This first group of Fellows began the programme in July 2008. The additional MMI fellowships (three hosted by University College Cork) were awarded following interview of eight candidates by the selection panel in November 2008. The CSFP research is in disease areas including various cancers, cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders, and diabetes.

The Fellows come together for part of their training, developing their experiences beyond any single laboratory or institution. This national element to the CSFP, coordinated by MMI, comprises a structured taught course curriculum, delivered by experts in biomedical research and also provides important ancillary professional skills. These courses are complemented by annual meetings of Fellows and their supervisors that enable review of progress and networking. An Education Committee includes representatives from each institution.

The MMI Clinician Scientist Fellows participated in 77 hours of lecture-based and practical learning in Dublin in July and September 2008, in addition to their laboratory research in five host institutions. The CSFP Structured Training covered research and laboratory methods, writing and communication skills, translating research into the clinical setting, integrity in scientific research, disease mechanisms at the molecular level, animal models of disease, hands-on bioinformatics, information retrieval, project management, and experience of various core technology facilities, plus a module in which the Fellows prepared and delivered presentations on the biology underlying various diseases. Keynote lectures from leading clinician scientists provided a variety of experience in translational research.

Further structured training and annual meetings will take place in NUI Galway in 2009 and in UCC in 2010.
For further information please see www.molecularmedicineireland.ie/csfp

MMI Courses & Workshops

The MMI cross-institutional Courses & Workshops Programme, funded originally as a DMMC activity in PRTLI Cycle 3, has built on the research and teaching strengths of our partner academic institutions and the clinical expertise in the affiliated teaching hospitals.
It delivers an easily accessible means for researchers in multiple institutions to come together to develop their skills and broaden their training in the biosciences, with a major emphasis on translational research.

MMI Courses (taught courses of 3-35 contact hours, both lecture-based and practical) are designed specifically for a cross-institutional audience, are delivered by instructors from multiple institutions (including international keynote lecturers and industry representatives), and are coordinated via a dedicated administrative infrastructure in the MMI Directorate, with continual course development assisted by participant feedback.

1501 individuals attended one or more DMMC/MMI Courses and Workshops between December 2003 and June 2008 (this gave rise to 2595 attendances). 152 individuals were instructors during this period. The total of 1501 users includes 734 PhD students (basic science and medical backgrounds) and 228 postdoctoral staff.

Courses have been specifically designed and delivered to make accessible various technologies, including proteomics and genomics; address translational research areas such as cancer, immunology, and neurobiology; and provide opportunities to gain important skills such as writing research papers and getting them published. MMI has teamed with industry to develop courses: Molecules to Medicines: How Biopharma Delivers, developed in partnership with Wyeth, ran for the third time in 2008 (see News in Brief).

MMI Courses supplement research degrees and provide career-long training in MMI partner institutions. We also invite applications from further afield (throughout Ireland and internationally) for selected courses and workshops. Overseas interest was boosted by our first International Workshop, Epigenetics: From Mechanisms to Medicines, which took place in June 2007 and attracted 96 attendees, with over half travelling from the UK, Germany, Austria, France, Poland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Croatia, Turkey, Sweden, and Australia.

The result is a growing cross-institutional and cross-discipline teaching and learning community that enriches the work environment for existing researchers and promotes Ireland as a place to study and work in biomedical research. Details of the two most recent MMI Courses are in the News in Brief section of this newsletter. For further information please contact education@molecularmedicineireland.ie

Irish Clinical Research Infrastructure Network

Molecular Medicine Ireland is funded by the HRB and HSE to host the Irish Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (ICRIN) and to develop its potential as a coordinating centre for, in particular, academic-led clinical research. ICRIN was established in 2006 to ensure that the investment in clinical research facilities and personnel in Dublin, Cork and Galway by the Wellcome Trust, HRB and HSE are harnessed in a single national network that supports multi-site clinical studies across a wide range of diseases.

ICRIN has taken a number of initiatives to address deficits in clinical research in Ireland. A Situation Analysis describing the current processes governing clinical research in Ireland will be published in early 2009.

A Roadmap for Clinical Research in Ireland has been completed which recommends steps to overcome the many obstacles to undertaking clinical research in this country. Many experts participated in the preparation of the Roadmap, including clinical researchers, ethicists, lawyers, patient representatives and industry sponsors. The Roadmap will be published in 2009. A GCP training programme has been designed and launched and three courses will be run in Dublin in 2009.

ICRIN is a member of the European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (ECRIN), which it joined in October 2006. ECRIN is funded under FP6 and FP7 to develop an infrastructure of support, training and expertise, for clinical research in the participating EU member states, with a particular focus on supporting academic-led clinical research.

A major objective of ECRIN is to stimulate and facilitate the creation of coordinating centres and national networks for their subsequent connection to the European network. ECRIN aims to build a critical mass at European level to support European-wide clinical studies. The current participants in the ECRIN network are Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, with the participation of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), and the contribution of the European Forum for Good Clinical Practice (EFGCP) and the Telematikplattform as associated partners. ECRIN hopes to include infrastructure networks in other member states. ECRIN was recently shortlisted as a preferred provider of education and training under the EU's Innovative Medicines Initiative.

MMI profiled in HEA publication "Transformations - How Research is changing Ireland"

Since the inception of PRTLI in 1998, over €865 million has been allocated to provide state-of-the-art research infrastructure in the State’s higher education sector including research facilities, centres for innovation and world-class research libraries. It has also provided funding for over 1000 researchers and 2000 postgraduate students covering every academic discipline. “The physical footprint of the PRTLI is visible in every university, institute of technology and other higher education institutions” (Page vii).

The book profiles a sample of projects funded under PRTLI which demonstrate how this investment in higher education research has impacted positively on the daily lives of people in Ireland, for example, by helping us to get around faster, live longer and more fully, plan more effectively and understand our environment.
A unique feature of the PRTLI model has been to promote and foster a culture of cooperation and collaboration within and between academic institutions. By identifying and building on the existing strengths of each institution together with support from the private sector, Ireland as a nation can work towards its goal to become an international centre of excellence for research and innovation.

The final chapter of the book, which is entitled “Future”, focuses on the leading role played by Molecular Medicine Ireland in developing a collaborative research environment for biomedical research. As a beneficiary of PRTLI funding, MMI aims to identify and support collaborative research projects among its five partner institutions, Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, NUI Galway and University College Cork. “The partner institutions each have strengths which contribute to a strong national profile in molecular medicine” (Page 180).

PRTLI funding has also enabled MMI to take the lead in the training of the next generation of Clinician Scientists thus ensuring the future of clinical research in Ireland which is dependent on highly trained medical experts. To quote MMI’s CEO, Dr Ruth Barrington: “We aim to ensure that Ireland has highly trained leaders in academic medical research who will keep us at the cutting edge of medical research particularly in those areas that we have particular strength. This includes areas such as immunology and infection, neuroscience, vascular biology, aspects of cancer, and food and nutrition” (Page 181).
Further information on “Transformations - How Research is changing Ireland”, including details on how to obtain a copy of this publication, is available at www.hea.ie

News in Brief

Inaugural Clinical Research Nurses Day

The Dublin Centre for Clinical Research held its inaugural Research Nurses Day on 1st October 2008 at the Davenport Hotel in Dublin. Over 30 research nurses from the Dublin area teaching hospitals participated in a series of seminars addressing the development of research nursing as a distinct area of professional nursing practice. The Dublin Centre… More »

Molecules to Medicines: Read a report of MMI/Wyeth course

In collaboration with Wyeth, MMI ran, for the third year, the highly popular course 'Molecules to Medicines: How Biopharma Delivers'. The two-day course was held at the TCD Institute of Molecular Medicine, St. James's Hospital on 15-16 October 2008.
This MMI/Wyeth course attracts a large audience of research students, academic staff and clinicians, including… More »

2009 NCI Summer Curriculum Call for Applications Now Open

The National Cancer Consortium is pleased to announce that the Health Research Board (HRB) of Ireland and the Health & Social Care Research & Development Office (HSC R&D;) of Northern Ireland are now accepting applications for the 2009 NCI Summer Curriculum in Cancer Prevention in Bethesda, Maryland, US. Please see the attached documents below for… More »

Sixth run of MMI course "Techniques and Strategies in Molecular Medicine" in December 2008

The MMI course “Techniques & Strategies in Molecular Medicine” ran over four days in the Hamilton Building, Trinity College Dublin, on 11,12 & 15,16 December 2008. This was the sixth annual running of the course. There were a record number of applicants to the course and 95 people attended one or more sessions. Attendees heard… More »

Issue 1 - January 2009

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