Irish Cancer Society Research Awards Ceremony - List and Description of Research Scholars and Fellows

The Irish Cancer Society Research Awards Ceremony took place on Tuesday evening (November 27), outlining a €1.65 million investment in cancer research for nine Fellows and Scholars. Here are all the details.

Research Scholars

Michael Coleman Michael Coleman from Co Cork has been awarded a Research Scholarship to complete a PhD in breast cancer research in UCC. More than 2,600 people are diagnosed with breast cancer in Ireland every year. Michael’s research is focused on understanding breast cancer invasion. One of the major problems with cancer treatment is controlling and preventing the invasion of cancer into other tissues. The research team in UCC with which Michael is working has identified a biological marker that might flag the potential for breast cancer cells to become invasive. Michael’s research aims to test how effective this marker is at predicting invasiveness in breast cancer. Catriona Dowling Catriona Dowling, from Tralee in Co. Kerry, has just graduated with a Masters in Life Sciences from the University of Limerick and is starting her Research Scholarship at UL also.  Deirdre is joining another Irish Cancer Society Research Scholar, Maeve Kiely, who started her Scholarship in UL last year, so she’s in good company! This Research Scholarship is in the area of colorectal cancer, a common cancer that affects both men and women. Catriona’s lifelong ambition has been to pursue a career in research and this funding from the Irish Cancer Society is allowing her to fulfil her dream. Deirdre Duff Deirdre Duff is based at Trinity College Dublin and St James’s Hospital. Amazingly, of the nine research awards being presented today, two of the researchers are from Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, and Deirdre is one of these. The focus of Deirdre’s PhD is oesophageal cancer. This cancer affects 400 people in Ireland every year. According to Deirdre, she wants to apply her scientific skills in a way that will make a difference to cancer patients. Cancer has affected people close to her and this really motivates her to join the battle against it. Her research experience to date has made her well aware that experiments do not always work out first-time and that one must often work long hours and employ diligent, creative troubleshooting to achieve success. James Evans From Mayfield in Cork, James Evans will carry out his Research Scholarship at UCC.   James’s Scholarship is in the area of prostate cancer. According to the most recent data available, nearly 3,000 cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed in Ireland in 2010. With his supervisor, James hopes to design a gene-based treatment for prostate cancer, to improve on existing treatments. Dr Katie O’Sullivan Dr Katie O’Sullivan is a medical graduate from Co. Meath who is completing a PhD in cancer research as part of her surgical training. Katie’s research involves exploring the link between obesity and oesophageal cancer. She has had clinical experience of managing oesophageal cancer patients which has allowed her to foster a real interest and passion for the area. Looking to the future, Katie intend to focus her career on upper gastrointestinal surgery with a particular interest in applying minimally invasive and robotic techniques to oncology work. For Katie, obtaining a PhD in cancer research is a critical part of her medical training.

Research Fellows

Dr Anne-Marie Byrne Our second researcher from Dungarvan, Dr Anne-Marie Byrne is conducting her Research Fellowship at Trinity College Dublin and St. James’s Hospital. Anne-Marie’s project aims to investigate how oesophageal cancer develops. Through her research to date she has shown that acid reflux or “heartburn” plays an important part in this process. The Research Fellowship will look at a component of our cells called the Golgi (pronounced Gol-gee), which is responsible for making the proteins or building blocks of our cells, and will investigate if this is involved in the development of oesophageal cancer.  Dr Michelle Nyhan Dr Michelle Nyhan is also researching oesophageal cancer but she’s based in the Cork Cancer Research Centre, UCC. One of the challenges to successful treatment of oesophageal cancer is that some of the cancer cells are resistant to chemotherapy drugs and this enables the cancer to re-emerge at a later time point, which is often more aggressive. Michelle’s project aims to investigate why some cancer cells don’t die in response to chemotherapy drugs and ultimately to overcome this resistance to cell death. This Fellowship funding will support Michelle in becoming a leader of her own research group Dr Maria Prencipe  Dr Maria Prencipe is originally from Italy but has been working in UCD for the last six years in the area of breast and ovarian cancer research. Being awarded this Research Fellowship represents the first step towards becoming an independent investigator with the added benefit of still having her mentor’s valuable supervision in the early years of the transition. The objective of Maria’s Fellowship award is to test a previously-identified marker in prostate cancer as a possible target for novel drugs that will improve advanced prostate cancer treatment. If successful this will lead to clinical trials of this new drug. Both Maria’s and James’s prostate cancer research are supported by the Movember Foundation. Dr Aideen Ryan Dr Aideen Ryan from Ballinasloe in Co. Galway is conducting her research into colorectal and gastrointestinal cancer at NUI Galway. Aileen's mentor and their team in Galway have already discovered that the body’s own immune system affects how colon cancer cells spread. In this research project, Aideen aims to discover the factors that control the immune system’s interaction with colon cancer. Blocking these factors would enable researchers to develop new drugs that could be used to strengthen our immune response to cancer. To view a selection of photos from the evening, please visit our Irish Cancer Society Research Awards Facebook photo album. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"1421","field_deltas":{},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"height":"368","width":"460","class":"media-image media-element file-media-original","data-delta":"1"},"fields":{}}]] Pictured at the Irish Cancer Society Research Awards on Tuesday, November 27th were (from left): Research Scholar James Evans, Irish Cancer Society Head of Research Prof John Fitzpatrick, Research Scholar Michael Coleman, Research Fellow Dr Michelle Nyhan and Professor Cliona O’Farrelly, Chairperson of the Irish Cancer Society Research Priorities Committee For more photos from the evening, please visit our Irish Cancer Society Research Awards Facebook photo album.