Prof Michael Gilchrist (Vice-Principal for Research and Innovation, UCD College of Engineering, Mathematical and Physical Sciences), Dr Brian Vohnsen (UCD School of Physics) and Prof Gareth Redmond (UCD School of Chemistry and Chemical Biology)
Over 100 investigators from across the University, covering 13 Schools, all 5 Colleges and other key institutes and centres, attended the recent Festival of Research and Innovation on ‘Health and Healthcare Delivery’ which took place on 20 April 2011. This was the second in a series of four events taking place during the current academic year, highlighting the main research themes across UCD.
Thirty-one internal speakers from 11 Schools and two Institutes, including both established and emerging investigators, as well as two speakers from the National College of Art and Design, covered the following topics: a) Design and Health, b) Lifespan: Food, Ageing and Independent Living, c) New Insights into Disease Mechanisms, d) E-Health and Personalised Medicine, e) Drug Development in the Academic Arena, and f) Next Generation Medical Devices.
A particularly active discussion centred on the use of remote monitoring of patients, taking on board state-of-the-art advances in the ICT arena. There was considerable dialogue amongst the festival participants, which was also aided by a poster session during the breaks. Common cross-cutting themes which emerged from the day included a greater focus on convergence between the disciplines, translational research and effective industry-academia partnerships.
The primary organiser of the event, Professor William Gallagher (Vice-Principal of Research and Innovation at the UCD College of Life Sciences) said: “This event is testament to the extraordinary breadth of top-level research in the health and healthcare delivery domain, much of which benefits from the highly inter-disciplinary culture that has grown in UCD over recent years. Our researchers are well positioned to take on board the medical, societal and economic challenges that face us”.
