One of INFANTs biggest supporters was among those conferred with an honorary doctorate at UCC earlier this month. The conferment of an honorary degree is one of the highest honours bestowed on and received by a person in Ireland. Honorary graduates are selected carefully to recognise outstanding distinction in their chosen field including the arts, business, science, technology, sport and service to society.

UCC alumnus Daragh Horgan, a financier, explorer and philanthropist, was conferred with a degree of Doctor of Laws. Daragh, together with his wife Anne, has a long history of giving to UCC across a range of disciplines all governed by their philosophy of enabling through education and research.

In recognition of the work being conducted by INFANT and the difference it is making to people’s lives, they have recently facilitated the establishment of a Chair in Neonatology and the construction of the new paediatric academic unit at the INFANT Centre in Cork University Hospital.

Daragh’s impactful philanthropic intervention has enabled INFANT to continue to tackle the many challenges and complications of pregnancy, early life, and childhood and is playing a key role in leveraging additional investment.

Philanthropic support such as this is critical to retain excellence in research and teaching and to advance the frontiers of knowledge to improve outcomes for patients.

For further details please contact Ms Eimear Keohane via email eimear.keohane@ucc.ie or by phone +353 21 4205409.

The Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Niall Burgess and Chargé d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Ireland, Mr Reece Smyth, are pleased to announce 36 Fulbright Irish Awardees for 2019-2020.

Recipients were presented with Awards at a ceremony in Dublin Castle on Friday.

Academics, professionals and students from 13 HEIs and organisations in Ireland will go to 30 leading U.S. institutions to study and collaborate with experts in their fields. This year’s Fulbright recipients are from disciplines spanning technology, science, language, medicine and the arts. The Fulbright Awards celebrate diversity across topics, geography and backgrounds. Increased funding from both the Irish and U.S. Governments has allowed the Fulbright Commission in Ireland to support a wider range and number of exciting study and research awardees than ever before.

INFANT Principal Investigator Professor Jonathan Hourihane was the only Fulbright Awardee from UCC. Jonathan’s primary area of clinical and research interest is in paediatric food allergy and anaphylaxis. He is co-Principal Investigator of the BASELINE, Ireland’s only birth cohort study (www.baselinestudy.net.), a board member of the National Children’s Research Centre and a founding Board member of the Clemens von Pirquet Foundation and of the Irish Food Allergy Network (www.ifan.ie). He is current President of the Irish Association of Allergy and Immunology.

Jonathan will undertake his Fulbright-HRB Health Impact Scholar Award at the University of Colorado, Denver.

Congratulations Jonathan from all the INFANT team!

Guest post by Beth Corcoran

INFANT was host to HRB NEPTuNE’s third Study Day last Thursday June 6th. Scholars, Tim Hurley, Megan Dibble and Chelo del Rosario travelled to Cork to participate in the day’s workshops and presentations.

As always, our Study Day schedule aspires to provide our scholars with an exciting and challenging series of workshops; to give them insight into each other’s disciplines, and to provide them with additional skills, both technical and transferable, that will support and enhance their research.

The day began with a CASTOR Software training workshop hosted by Mike Cunneen and Mairead Murray. This workshop was timely for the scholars as they are beginning to collate and organise their research data. All scholars had been sent ‘prep work’ in advance of the Study Day which enabled them to get the most out of the day. Mike’s workshop provided them with excellent examples and support resources, and he will provide answers to future questions when necessary!

After a quick lunch, our scholars gave their individual project presentations. Fiona Quirke dialled in from Galway to join this session and to make her own project presentation. Each scholar provided an insight into the progress of their research. Professors Geraldine Boylan, Eleanor Molloy and Declan Devane had questions and feedback for each of the scholars. We were also very grateful to our PPI, Paul Ryan who joined us again for the afternoon session. His contributions, observations and questions continue to provide excellent support to the scholars.

Finally, Dr Sean Mathieson, hosted an introductory workshop on EEG and aEEG. This workshop gave scholars an insight into how to read and interpret EEG and aEEG graphs.

The sunny day in Cork made for intensive but exciting learning! It was great to visit our UCC partner and to meet its staff who make such positive contributions to this centre of excellence.