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Five Conway Fellows receive SFI Principal Investigator awards
Five Conway Fellows are among nine UCD scientists to receive Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Principal Investigator (PI) awards in the latest funding scheme.
“Spanning SFI’s research portfolio, from Life Sciences to ICT to Energy, the PI Programme has been instrumental in helping Ireland to become a formidable, emergent scientific force on the international stage in recent years,” said the Minister for Research and Innovation, Mr Seán Sherlock TD who attended a showcase of the scientific research work on 16 June 2011.
“Traditionally, researchers supported by the PI programme over the past decade have proven to be the essential individual building blocks of the strong scientific edifice that has emerged in Ireland.”
“SFIs PI programme serves as a beacon of excellence to prospective overseas researchers, investors and others wishing to do business with, or in, Ireland. These project awards also help to increase our understanding of critical areas of science, whilst also assisting the Irish economy and society in the process – by generating breakthroughs to hopefully deliver new products, services and sustainable jobs into the future,” he said.
Altogether forty-four research projects will receive funding of €44 million through the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation via Science Foundation Ireland’s (SFI) ‘Principal Investigator’ (PI) programme.
The five Conway Fellows to receive SFI Principal Investigator awards include:
Professor Patrick Lonergan, UCD School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine
“Understanding Embryonic Mortality: Discovery of Mechanisms Regulating Conceptus Growth and Development in Cattle”
Embryonic mortality is a significant obstacle to improving pregnancy rates in a variety of mammals. The overall hypothesis addressed in this proposal is that specific factors in uterine secretions regulate survival and growth of the embryo/conceptus. Specifically, we hypothesize that maternally-derived ligands in the uterine histotroph are responsible for successful embryo/conceptus growth at specific stages of development and mediate their functions by signalling through specific receptors expressed on the cells of the embryo/conceptus. Despite significant progress in our understanding of the temporal changes in the transcriptome of the uterine endometrium, we have only a rudimentary knowledge of the genes and pathways governing growth and development of the conceptus in cattle. Specifically, we still do not know the functional mechanisms through which maternally derived molecules regulate embryonic development. The findings will have implications for both domestic animal and human fertility.
Dr Gerard Cagney, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science
“Physical & genetic interaction map of a critical cell fate determination machine”
At least 200 distinct cell types emerge from a single human cell (a stem cell) following fertilization, yet we have only a crude understanding of the machinery inside cells that generates them. Stem cells can potentially replace tissues damaged by disease, including many diseases that have been difficult to treat to date, like spinal cord injuries, arthritis, and heart disease. To make safe and effective therapies, we need to understand the process of cell development more fully. Over 2000 protein factors are believed to control this process but it’s not clear how they interact with each other and in what order – this information is essential for understanding how the process works, and for intervening in it for clinical purposes. We will use new methods to make a map of the central players in cell differentiation so that scientists and clinicians are better informed when designing new disease treatments.
Professor Johan Ericsson, UCD School of Medicine and Medical Science
“Identification of novel mechanisms that regulate the SREBP family of transcription factors, key regulators of lipid metabolism”
Elevated levels of cholesterol in the blood is a major risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease, the most common cause of death in the Western world. The dysregulation of lipid (fat) metabolism is also of central importance for the development of obesity and type-2 diabetes. The aim of Prof. Ericsson’s work is to understand how lipid metabolism is regulated on the molecular level and how this is related to the development of cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes. His work will focus on a family of proteins that control lipid metabolism, insulin signalling and the function of fat cells. The long term goal is to determine if these proteins are valid targets for lipid-lowering therapies in cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes.
Professor Ulla Knaus, UCD School of Medicine and Medical Science
“ROS Signalling in the Lung – Control Mechanisms and Functional Consequences”
Lung diseases are on the rise, increasing the suffering of people worldwide and posing a rising burden on health care costs. Although the lung possesses elaborate immune defence mechanisms and a remarkable ability for regeneration, the morbidity and mortality rates for infectious and chronic lung diseases are high. Many respiratory diseases including acute lung injury, asthma, and pulmonary fibrosis are associated with an imbalance in airway redox regulation. Potential sources for pulmonary oxidant stress are enzymes that release reactive oxygen species into the airways. These enzymes reside in cells lining the respiratory tract and might be essential for maintaining a tight seal so that fluid will not leak into the lungs. This study will combine analysis of the regulation of these oxidases with disease-centered in vivo investigations to address the role of oxidant-producing enzymes in lung disease. Answers to these key questions should provide the basis for innovative therapeutic strategies.
Dr Patricia Maguire, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science
“Wnt pathway in vascular biology: a novel target in atherothrombosis”
Heart disease is a major cause of death in Ireland. Platelets are vital to normal blood clotting but can also negatively contribute to the build-up of atherosclerotic plaque (fats) in artery walls and to the clot formed upon plaque rupture, the process underlying a heart attack or stroke. We have discovered new signalling machinery in platelets, termed WNT signalling, and can demonstrate that activation of a distinct subset of this WNT machinery can negatively control platelet function. This research programme will now investigate how the full complement of WNT machinery regulates platelet activity. We also have evidence of WNT activators/inhibitors circulating in the bloodstream and will classify these, uncover their source and test if their levels change during heart disease. Their particular effects on platelets and other blood cells will also be examined. Constituents of the WNT pathway may provide new therapeutic targets in the treatment of heart disease.
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