Clinical research helps discover ways to improve medical care and establish new treatments which will improve the quality of life for patients. Clinical research staff through a multidisciplinary team effort all work together to create a scientific and caring culture for the benefit of patients and with the common goal of developing new cures for chronic diseases. Doctors, nurses, technicians, scientists and in particular patients, through their donation of samples for molecular research, play a key role and are making an immense contribution to our efforts to understand the mechanism of disease and effect improved patient outcomes into the future.

Specialist hospital-based clinical research facilities have been put in place at Beaumont Hospital, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital and St Vincent's University Hospital. St James' Hospital, currently home to a Biobanking facility, will soon commence construction of a Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Centre, scheduled for completion in 2009.

These clinician scientist-led facilities provide dedicated space to conduct detailed phenotypic assessments and collection of biological samples. Dynamic bi-directional links between basic scientists and clinician investigators who share the common goal of improving patient care and patient outcome have the potential to create a highly effective specialised clinical research network. These links are well established with the university research institutes affiliated to the teaching hospitals.

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Research Institutes

In recent years new research laboratories have been established around Ireland within modern multi-disciplinary research institutes. These complement and work closely with the hospital-based clinical research facilities providing analytical and technological support for clinical programmes. The main research institutes are:

• UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular & Biomedical Research at University College Dublin
• Institute of Molecular Medicine at St James' Hospital/Trinity College Dublin
• RCSI Research Institute at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
• The National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science at NUI Galway
• The BioSciences Institute at University College Cork

Technologies & Bioresources

A portfolio of new technologies and bioresources is being assembled within these institutes and within the principal teaching hospitals to support current research programmes.
Technology cores have been established in:-

• Transcriptomics
• Proteomics
• Cell Imaging
• Transgenics
• Bioinformatics

These core facilities have been centralised to ensure that they are appropriately resourced with dedicated and experienced technologists. The facilities are accessible to all investigators regardless of institutional affiliation.