The Molecular Medicine Ireland Clinical & Translational Research Scholars Programme has been funded under Cycle 5 of the Government’s Programme for Research in Third-Level Institutions (PRTLI) announced today (16 July 2010). An Taoiseach, Brian Cowen T.D. (pictured left) and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Batt O’Keeffe, T.D. made the announcement of €358m funding in total. The Government is committing €259 million in capital funding and €99 million in recurrent funding to successful projects, the single largest research and innovation investment in the history of the State.

The successful Molecular Medicine Ireland bid, led by NUI Galway with partners Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork and University College Dublin, secured funding for a collaborative structured PhD ‘MMI Clinical & Translational Research Scholars Programme.’ Dr Damian O’Connell, Chair of Molecular Medicine Ireland and Vice President of Clinical Research & Development at Pfizer, congratulated the partners on their successful bid for PRTLI funding, which “utilises the MMI partnership, an established collaborative platform with a track record in education and training, to develop scientists who will conduct innovative patient- and disease-focused research, build strong links with industry, and help in creating an innovative R&D culture in Ireland.”

Professor Laurence Egan, Chair of Clinical Pharmacology at NUI Galway, Director of MMI and lead Principal Investigator on the bid, commented “we are delighted that this important collaborative programme has been funded under Cycle 5 of PRTLI. It focuses the clinical and translational research expertise and resources of four institutions to develop future research leaders who will be well equipped to work with clinicians and the pharmaceutical industry to bring innovative discoveries to the market and to patients.”

Description of the MMI Clinical & Translational Research Scholars Programme

There is a shortage of scientists in Ireland undertaking innovative patient and disease-focused research and with an understanding of how to bring research results to the clinic. The MMI partner universities will address this deficit by developing a structured PhD programme in clinical and translational research to produce scientists trained to generate innovative discoveries and translate them to the clinical and commercial arena. This proposal levers the teaching, research and clinical expertise and resources of the MMI partner universities, their affiliated hospitals and clinical research facilities. In conjunction with industry collaborators, this structured PhD programme will provide the Scholars with research training of the highest quality and an in-depth understanding of the clinical and regulatory environment essential for careers in academic or commercial healthcare research.

The MMI Clinical & Translational Research Scholars (CTRS) Programme is a structured 4-year PhD programme in patient- and disease-oriented research for basic science graduates. They will be recruited by a selection panel representative of academia and industry. In Year 1, Scholars will participate as a national cohort in a didactic curriculum reflecting the expertise of each partner institution and developed with the engagement of the innovation and enterprise community. Practical placements in industry, clinical research facilities and patient-or disease-oriented research groups will broaden their research skills. In years 2-3, Scholars will avail of additional structured training modules, alongside intensive research training. Structured training modules will be designed and delivered as a blended learning curriculum that includes development of an online distance learning platform. This will enable remote groups to interact, both in management of the programme and in learning teams.

The CTRS Programme complements other MMI Education & Training activities: the PRTLI Cycle 4-funded MMI Clinician Scientist Fellowship Programme and the PRTLI Cycle 3-funded Courses and Workshops Programme, both of which are being mainstreamed.