Conway Fellows receive SFI-IRC Pathway funding for multiple myeloma research projects

Two recently appointed Conway Fellows, Dr Despina Bazou and Dr Aisling Coughlan will receive funding awards under the SFI-IRC Pathway programme announced by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Patrick O’Donovan TD on 11 July 2024.

Pictured (L-R): Dr Despina Bazou & Dr Aisling Coughlan

The SFI-IRC Pathway programme is a collaborative initiative between Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and the Irish Research Council (IRC) to support early-career research across all disciplines and to encourage a cohesive research ecosystem in Ireland. It is a €14.6 million investment in 25 projects over a four-year period that will also provide additional support to each awardee to recruit a postgraduate student who will be primarily supervised by them.

Dr Despina Bazou and Dr Aisling Coughlan are two of seven awardees based in University College Dublin. Both researchers focus on the area of multiple myeloma - a cancer of the plasma cells, which are a type of white blood cell made in the bone marrow. 

Dr Bazou from UCD School of Biomolecular & Biomedical Science is specifically interested in precisely how malignant plasma cells migrate outside of the bone marrow as the disease progresses, known as extramedullary disease (EMD). 

To date, no official guidelines regarding EMD treatment are available globally. Clinicians treat it as the primary disease even though it is already resistant to first-line therapy. There is urgent need to understand EMD at a molecular level to identify therapeutic targets and improve patient outcomes.

Dr Bazou will use advanced techniques to compare the molecular signatures of the disease before and after it progresses beyond the bone marrow and understand the interaction with other cells involved in the progression of the disease. 

Commenting on the award, Despina Bazou said, “I am grateful to SFI and the IRC for this opportunity to improve our understanding of the tumour microenvironment in multiple myeloma. The results originating from my project will help to optimise precision treatment for multiple myeloma patients.” 

Dr Coughlan from UCD School of Medicine is also interested in improving therapeutic options in multiple myeloma. She will use advanced techniques to investigate the changes that impact gene activity in this disease. 

Dr Coughlan wants to more fully understanding at a molecular level what happens in therapy resistance – where drugs that initially work for a patient become less effective over time.

Commenting on the award, Aisling Coughlan said, “Epigenetic cancer therapies are promising particularly for patients that cannot handle aggressive treatment regimes such as chemotherapy. I am delighted to receive this funding to explore the epigenomic differences that underlie drug sensitivity in multiple myeloma.”

Minister O’Donovan said: “This Pathway funding will help facilitate a defined journey from post-doctoral research to independent researcher. Bridging this gap is a challenging but critical milestone, and the research selected for investment will address key challenges and opportunities, ranging from new therapies for Parkinsons to the development of sustainable supercapacitors.”

Commenting on the awards, Dr Ruth Freeman, Director, Science for Society at Science Foundation Ireland, said: “We are delighted to work in partnership with our colleagues in the IRC to deliver the SFI-IRC Pathway programme. It provides targeted support to early-career researchers who will use the funding to pursue independent research at the frontiers of knowledge. Investment in these projects will generate novel discoveries and insights across diverse research topics, from environmental sustainability to disease treatment and prevention, to wireless network security.”