The Dublin Centre for Clinical Research (DCCR) and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland CRC at Beaumont Hospital hosted a Road Show on 23rd June, exhibiting the UK Clinical Research Facilities Network Information Portal. Over 30 researchers from Ireland and Northern Ireland attended the event which featured presenters from both parts of Ireland and also from England.

(From left) Jeremy Towns, DCCR; Shane Hoy, UK Clinical Research Facilities Network; Michael Neely, Northern Ireland HSC R&D Office

Dr Ruth Barrington, Chief Executive of Molecular Medicine Ireland, hosted the event and provided up to date news on the development of the Irish Clinical Research Infrastructure Network. Dr Michael Neely from the Research and Development Office of the Department of Health and Social Care (HSC) in Northern Ireland provided an update of how clinical research activities are being developed and organised in Northern Ireland. Jeremy Towns, Programme Manager of the DCCR, presented information on how the DCCR is developing and he and Dr Gráinne O’Regan of Trinity College and Crumlin Children’s Hospital, provided an example of how clinical research networks spanning Ireland and the UK can be leveraged to generate strong research proposals to funding agencies.

In the afternoon, Shane Hoy of the UK Clinical Research Infrastructure Network presented the information portal, which is used to share information and an array of documentation on use to clinical research facilities. Already, about 10% of the portals registered users are based in Ireland. Mr Hoy illustrated how easy the portal is to use and how the value of information developed in other locations can be amplified by its reuse and adaptation. Mary McGrath of the UCD CRC also introduced the group to the Irish Research Nurses Network and explored ideas of how this group could work on an all-Ireland basis. Deirdre Hyland of the RSCI gave a talk on the new Research Nursing Certificate Course and Charlene Grice of ICRIN spoke about the Good Clinical Practice (GCP) course being organised across the Dublin area CRCs.