The annual RCSI Research Day took place on the 5th March, 2013. As with other years, the emphasis was on oral and poster presentations by Investigators early in their career, Post-doctoral Fellows, Post-graduate & Undergraduate Scholars and Academic Staff. 186 abstracts were submitted this year.
During his Opening Address, Professor Raymond Stallings, Director of Research, spoke about the high standard of research and the critical role that research plays within the College. Prof Stallings acknowledged and extended thanks to the sponsors and the many people who contributed to the day. Prof Stallings also made two announcements a new Seed funding Scheme (/research/seed-funding-scheme-2013) and the 3U Prize.
There then followed an exciting series of oral presentations:
- Postgraduate: RCSI MSc, MCH, MD and 1st year PhD students
- Undergraduate: all students who undertook research projects in summer 2012 (Research funded by RCSI Alumni, HRB, CITC, Assoc. Phys.),
- PhD Scholars: RCSI 2nd, 3rd and 4th PhD students
- Early Career Investigators: RCSI postdoctoral fellows
Late afternoon, Prof Raymond Stallings and Dr John McDermott, introduced Professor Timothy O’Brien, Director of the Regenerative Medicine Institute at NUI Galway, who delivered this year’s John J Ryan Distinguished Lecture.
The talk title was: “Translating Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy to the Clinic: Challenges and Opportunities”.
The day came to a close with a presentation of the following awards by Professor Cathal Kelly CEO:
‘Mr Kamal Sayed Prize in Neurosurgery’,
This prize is presented to pay special tribute to the memory of Mr Kamal Sayed, a graduate of RCSI (Class of 1960). A solid silver College medal will be awarded to a neurosurgery trainee to reward outstanding work and excellence in the field of neurosurgery. This is a prestigious award of RCSI and is run in conjunction with the Irish Institute of Clinical Neuroscience (IICN).
Recipient: Mr Philip O’Halloran
Title : Anti-angiogenic Efficacy of Bevacizumab alone and in combination with a dual P13K/Mtor inhibitor in a reproducible orthotopic explant, using a multi – modality molecular imaging approach.
Presented by Dr’s Jacintha and Safia Sayed, both daughters of Mr Kamal Sayed and graduates of RCSI & Professor Cathal Kelly CEO
The prize for ‘Front Cover Illustration’ was presented to Ryan McCoy
Early Career Investigator Category
The Barnes Medal – Dr Barnes was a founding member of ICROSS, the “International Community for the Relief of Starvation and Suffering”, a small international charity fighting poverty and disease and is noted for his work on Hansen’s Disease (leprosy).
Presented by Dr Barnes wife Mrs Betty Barnes and his son Matthew Barnes & Professor Cathal Kelly
Recipient: Kirsten Pohl
Title: Altered cytosolic ion concentrations impact upon Rab27a activation in cystic fibrosis neutrophils.
The prize for best Early Career Investigator Poster Presentation was presented to
Recipient: Bojana Mirkovic
Title: Role of Short Chain Fatty Acids, Produced by Anaerobic Bacteria, in the Cystic Fibrosis Airway.
PhD Scholars Category
This category was open to all 2nd, 3rd and 4th year PhD Scholars.
This is an important award to acknowledge the excellence and quality of on-going research within Ireland. The winner will received the Roche Gold medal and €500.
Presented by Mr Simon Thorpe of Roche Diagnostics & Professor Cathal Kelly
Recipient: Jennifer Lynch
Title: MiR-335 suppresses neuroblastoma disease pathogenesis.The prize for best PhD Scholars Poster Presentation was presented to Amos Matsiko, Dept. of Anatomy.
The prize for best PhD Scholar Poster Presentation was presented to
Recipient: Irina Babina
Title : Palmitoylation of CD44 regulates breast cancer cell migration via alterations in its lipid raft affiliation.
Port-graduate Category
This category was open to MSc, MCH, MD and 1st year PhD Scholars.
The recipient will received a silver College medal and a prize fund of €1,000 to pay for attendance at a conference.
Presented by Mr Bernard Kennedy of Mundipharma Pharmaceuticals & Professor Cathal Kelly
Recipient: Pathma Ramasamy
Title: Proteomic Analysis of Uveal Melanoma.
The prize for best Post-graduate Poster Presentation was presented to
Recipient: Irene Mencia Castano
Title : Nano-hydroxyapatite particles as novel non-viral microRNA delivery vectors for bone tissue engineering applications.
Undergraduate Research Category – The Dr. Harry O’Flanagan Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Research
This category was open to all Summer Students who completed a research project in 2012.
This award, a solid silver College medal, was created by Dr. Yacoob Kadwa, RCSI graduate (Class of 1965) to pay special tribute to the memory of Dr. Harry O’Flanagan, former Registrar of the RCSI.
Recipient: Ayman Saeed
Title : Effect of synthetic retinoic acid derivatives in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Multiple Myeloma cells.
Organising Committee: Prof. Kevin McGuigan, Stephanie O’Connor and Cathy Priestley.
Sponsors: Roche Diagnostics, Mundipharma Pharmaceuticals.