Professor Timothy Lynch Interviewed by the Irish Independent
Professor Tim Lynch, Vice Principal of Health Affairs and Chief Academic Officer of the Ireland East Hospital Group (IEHG) was recently interviewed by Katherine Donnelly of the Irish Independent where he spoke about the importance of academic medicine and the urgent need for a national research biobank.
Professor Lynch detailed the work on-going across UCD and the IEHG during the course of COVID-19.
"Extensive support to the HSE from academia has ranged from the provision of facilities including labs, contact-tracing hubs, accommodation and field hospitals/clinics to research, and the supply of medical and personal protective equipment. "
Professor Lynch also advised how a national research biobank could advance research into the genetic basis of diseases in Ireland and could be funded through national lottery funds if the Department of Health were to pursue it.
Professor Alistair Nichol, UCD chair of critical care medicine and an intensive care consultant at St Vincent's Hospital, was also interviewed and advised:
"We are looking at people every winter with pneumonia and the idea is that for a new pandemic flu or coronavirus, the increase in pneumonia in the intensive care unit is the canary in the coalmine. We had our armoury ready. We were waiting for pandemic flu, not pandemic coronavirus, but when it came we were able to pivot immediately. We had some treatments going within two days,"
Read the full interview on the (opens in a new window)Irish Independent website