A successful methods centre that is capable of supporting the Irish Critical Care- Clinical Trials Group in is a key component to improving outcomes in Intensive Care patients in Ireland.

The HRB funded Irish Critical Care-Clinical Research Centre (ICC-CRC) represents a group of highly motivated clinicians, nurses and scientists working collaboratively to improve outcomes in critically ill patients in Ireland. The ICC-CRC aims to support research being conducted by the Irish Critical Care-Clinical Trials Group (ICC-CTG).

The ICC-CTG Story 

In 2010 we commenced out first interventional randomised controlled trial of a statin in 534 patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (NEJM, October 2014).  Since then the ICC-CTG, completed a demographic study of the burden of critical care in Ireland, to determine feasibility for future interventional studies. 

The ICC-CTG has taken part in 2 international member sites are participating in many observational studies (two co-ordinated by the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine- led by John Laffey (Co-Applicant) and interventional randomised controlled trials coordinated by the Australian CTG (ARISE and EPO-TBI).?

We have two articles in press in the New England Journal of Medicine, October 2014 (HARP-2 and ARISE). This is the highlight of the IC-CTG achievements to date?. It demonstrates that a key support is a team of highly motivated ICU clinicians who are committed to the IC- CTG and who work in all the major ICUs in Ireland and who in combination provide care to the overwhelming majority of critically ill patients in the Island of Ireland.

Overview

Aims of the ICC-CRC

• The ICC-CRC will become a focal hub of all critical care research activity in Ireland. We are establishing the ICC-CRC as an Internationally regarded centre of excellence in initiating and conducting high impact, large-scale, investigator-initiated clinical trials designed to determine the best and the most cost-effective practice in critical care medicine.
• The overall aim of the ICC-CRC is to improve the outcomes in terms of mortality and morbidity for those who require critical care treatment and ensure that this is achieved in an efficient and effective way that allows access to this crucial resource to be maximised.
• The ICC-CRC will encourage and foster feasibility / pilot work and phase I /II studies to develop future interventions that can be tested for efficacy by our clinical trials group. This will encourage translational programs new investigators and facilitate the synergies between the laboratory and clinical trialists within the network.
• The ICC-CRC will strengthen its links with international intensive care clinical research centre’s and global collaborative umbrella groups, which aim to conduct clinical trials in the critically ill. This will allow us to ensure that new trials that will have a large impact on practice in Ireland and be generalisable to our healthcare system by ensuring Irish patients contribute to the data.
• The ICC-CRC will assist clinicians with the design, funding and execution of clinical trials in critically ill patients  in Ireland. Advice and assistance will be available from experienced critical care researchers, data management/bio-statistical consultants etc.
• The ICC-CRC will coordinate and conduct comprehensive research programs including observational studies; feasibility projects; and large multi-centered, interventional, randomised controlled trials.
• The ICC-CRC will also facilitate the expansion of the current program of educational, mentorship and training programs to ensure the studies conducted are of the highest quality and to encourage and retain a new generation of Irish clinical trialists, to sustain the network in the future.
• The ICC-CRC will act to facilitate and nurture units without established research infrastructure to become research capable. This will increase the coverage of our network and crucially expand the research capacity in Ireland.

These aims are designed to enhance the depth and breadth of expertise in research in the critically ill in Ireland and ensure the longevity and sustainability of the ICC-CTG.

Meet the Team

Professor Alistair Nichol, MB BCH BAO FCARCSI FCICM FCICMI PhD

Chair of Criticial Care Medicine in UCD

Chair of the Irish Critical Care Clinical Trials Group

UCD Professor of Critical Care Medicine

Consultant Intensivist / Anesthetist, St. Vincent’s University Hospital

Alistair has conducted trials in Australia and Ireland for the past 10 years. His areas of interest include traumatic brain injury (TBI), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and mechanical ventilation. Alistair has completed over 10 years of training in Anaesthesia, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine. He was awarded the Fellowship of the College of Anaesthetists, Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (FCARCSI) in 2002, and the Fellowship of the College of Intensive Care Medicine Australia and New Zealand (FCICM) in 2010. Alistair is also a Victorian Neurotrauma Initiative (VNI) Early Career Practitioner Fellow.

Dr. Ciara Fahey, BSc. (Hons) MSc. PhD

Ciara is the clinical research project manager for the ICC-CRC. Ciara obtained her MSc in Medical Molecular Genetics from The University of Aberdeen, followed by her PhD from Trinity College Dublin studying the genetics of neuropsychiatric disorders. Previously she has held positions in The Centre for Applied Genetics (TCAG) Toronto, the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Cambridge and the Institute of Molecular Medicine in Trinity College Dublin.