Six Conway Fellows receive €3.6 million funding under Research Ireland Frontiers for the Future programme

Conway Fellows, Professor Cormac Murphy, Assoc. Professors Niamh O'Sullivan and Fiona Freeman and Drs Rebecca Henry, Gary Brennan and Dearbhaile Dooley have been awarded funding under the Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland Frontiers for the Future Programme announced by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Patrick O’Donovan TD.

Welcoming the announcement, Minister O’Donovan said: “I am pleased to announce the Research Ireland Frontiers for the Future projects, which support high-risk, high-reward research endeavours. The selected projects, spanning 12 research institutions, bring fresh and innovative ideas that will help boost business and benefit society. 

Pictured (L-R): Fionnuala O’Leary, Chief Executive Officer, Children’s Health Foundation (co-funder); Dr Ruth Freeman, Director, Science for Society at Research Ireland; Minister Patrick O'Donovan TD; and Dr Fiona Freeman, UCD, whose research project focuses on treating bone cancer among children, teenagers and young adults.“

The awards to Conway Fellows willl fund the following research projects over the next two to four years.

Improved bioremediation strategies 

Prof Cormac Murphy from the UCD School of Biomolecular & Biomedical Science will map the biochemical steps of microbial PFOA metabolism. 

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) belongs to a group of chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) found in numerous everyday products. Exposure to PFAS is linked to severe health effects such as high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and cancer. Microorganisms can degrade PFAS so are important in cleaning contaminated environments. However, the specific enzymes involved are not known. 

In this project, the enzymes involved in PFOA degradation will be identified in fungi, which can degrade high concentrations of PFOA, and a bacterium. 

Prof. Murphy explains, “This will enable improved bioremediation strategies and inform the development of future compounds to make them benign by design”.

Novel therapies for brain trauma patients with pre-existing obesity 

Recently appointed Conway Fellow, Dr Rebecca Henry from UCD School of Biomolecular & Biomedical Science will assess the role of obesity-induced neuroimmune responses in driving brain inflammation and neurological decline in the presence of brain trauma.

Evidence suggests that obese patients who suffer from a brain trauma experience more serious clinical complications and higher death rates than non-obese patients.
 
Dr Henry explains, “To develop targeted therapeutic approaches for the former group, we first need to understand the mechanistic drivers underlying these complications.” 

With her team, Dr Henry will investigate the role of the GDF-15/GFRAL signalling axis in mediating neuroprotective effects in the presence of comorbid diet-induced obesity and traumatic brain injury.

This research is critically important both at a fundamental physiological level and for the development of novel therapies for brain trauma patients with pre-existing obesity.

Developing novel therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative disease

Mutations in a gene called ATL1 result in severe problems with brain function from birth. Typically, affected children cannot walk, talk or swallow. There are no therapies to treat children with ATL1 mutations. 

With her award, Assoc. Professor Niamh O'Sullivan from the UCD School of Biomolecular & Biomedical Science aims to develop new drugs that can reduce the amount of the mutant ATL1 protein that is produced in the brain. 

“We will design, test and optimise our drug candidates in cell and animal models which replicate disease-causing ATL1 mutations. Any drug that can lessen the severity of disease would be life-changing for the affected children and their families”, explains Assoc. Prof. O’Sullivan.

Acquired and genetic epilepsies

Dr Gary Brennan from the UCD School of Biomolecular & Biomedical Science conducts research on epilepsy. Epilepsy is a brain disease which causes seizures. Seizures happen when brain cells are more active than usual. The way cells behave is controlled by the genes that are active in those cells. 

The activity of some genes is changed in epilepsy. However, almost nothing is known about genes that produce non-coding RNAs. The activity of these genes also changes in epilepsy. 

Dr Brennan and his team will test whether correcting non-coding RNA genes can prevent epilepsy or reduce seizures. They will test what happens when these genes are switched off to identify how these genes control our brain cells.

As a Frontiers for the Future partner, Children’s Health Foundation is funding this research.

Targeting inflammatory signalling between microglia and astroglia in spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a complex medical challenge affecting nearly 27 million people worldwide. SCI patients lose capabilities of movement and sensation due to damage to electrical nerve cells in their spinal cord. 

After the initial mechanical impact, SCI is associated with a diverse inflammatory response that involves other non-electrical cells called glia. Although largely considered to be detrimental, inflammation can also play a beneficial role in regeneration. 

Dr Dearbhaile Dooley from the UCD School of Medicine will study glial cells using a variety of new approaches to alter their behaviour and provide a more favourable environment for regeneration/recovery after SCI.

Enhancing the therapeutic response of chemotherapy in bone cancer.

Osteosarcoma is an aggressive bone cancer that affects children, teenagers and young adults. The ability to hide from the immune system is a critical factor in the growth of osteosarcoma tumours within the body. 

Associate Professor Fiona Freeman from UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering aims to develop a new therapy that uses the body's own immune system to attack the tumour. 

“This is an entirely new concept to treat this debilitating disease”, explains Assoc. Prof. Freeman.
 
“Using innovative engineering techniques, we will create specialised delivery vehicles that can transport the treatment to the immune cells as an add-on to chemotherapy to improve its ability to eradicate the cancer cells throughout the body.

As a Frontiers for the Future partner, Children’s Health Foundation is co-funding this project with Research Ireland. 

Celine Fitzgerald, Interim Chief Executive Officer, Research Ireland, commented: “The Research Ireland Frontiers for the Future programme helps to build research capacity, expertise and reputation.
 
This latest round of grants will support a diverse range of research positions and represents a strong commitment to developing future talent in key areas. It has been a pleasure having Children’s Health Foundation as a funding partner in that drive to strengthen Ireland’s research pipeline.”

Fionnuala O’Leary, Chief Executive Officer, Children’s Health Foundation, commented: “Children’s Health Foundation is a proud partner of Frontiers for the Future programme, and we are delighted to co-fund paediatric research projects that will benefit sick children throughout Ireland. 

Working with Research Ireland, we are able to leverage the funds our incredible supporters raise, to deliver larger grants for research into childhood diseases. This ensures the tireless efforts of our fundraisers can result in kinder and more gentler treatments for sick children. Frontiers for the Future programme plays a key role in enabling us to fund paediatric research with the potential to deliver impact for sick children now and into the future.”