📣INFANT Research Centre attended the Irish Association of Allergy and Immunology (IAAI) Annual Meeting in Mullingar

🗣Dr Bailey Crowley gave the presentation:

💡’Observational Study: Sublingual Immunotherapy Compliance In The Paediatric Population’

🗣Caoimhe Cronin gave the presentation:

💡 ‘Education in AAI administration and anaphylaxis management in the paediatric allergy clinic: What we have learned so far’

📣Dr. Juan Enrique Trujillo Wurttele also took part in the meeting and is the Principal Investigator for the projects presented.

#Immunotherapy #UCCResearch #AllergyResearch

Last week the Pregnancy Loss Research Group at University College Cork and Cork University Maternity Hospital led by Prof Keelin O’Donoghue was awarded ‘Best Research Team of the year’ at the UCC Research awards.

This multidisciplinary team  is made up of doctors, midwvies, nurses, administrative staff, social workers, chaplains, health services/population health/ social science researchers, and parent advocates, and is funded by funders The Irish Research Council, The Health Research Board, Science Foundation Ireland, and the HSE.

What are the aims of the group?

• Examine lifestyles and psycho-social demographic factors associated with all types of pregnancy loss
• Calidate potential multiple risk factors and biomarkers that may be used to predict pregnancy loss.
• Develop a research-based approach to the introduction of new materials to improve the process of consent for autopsy
• Discover bereaved parents’ attitudes to autopsy and post-mortem investigations
• Explore the psychological and spiritual needs of bereaved parents
• Examine the lived experiences of men and women who have experienced early pregnancy loss, late miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal death
• Explore bereaved parents’ attitudes and experiences, and then to assess how this interacts with biological or socio-demographic causes of pregnancy loss.
• Improve understanding and increase awareness of the consequences of pregnancy loss amongst healthcare professionals
• Examine the impact and costs of pregnancy loss in the next pregnancy on parents and healthcare professionals

Learn more about the Pregnancy Loss Research Group Here

UCC to Lead Research on COVID-19 Infection and Vaccine Uptake During Pregnancy

University College Cork (UCC) and Ulster University (UU) researchers have been awarded €200,000 from the Irish government as part of the North-South “Shared Island” research funding programme to conduct research on COVID-19 infection and vaccine uptake in pregnancy, and the effects of infection and vaccine on the developing fetus.

The project aims to 1) establish the patterns of pregnancy exposure to COVID-19 infection and vaccine uptake in the North and South of Ireland and compare these to 19 European regions/countries; and 2) to examine whether there is an association between rates of COVID-19 infection and vaccine uptake and the prevalence of abnormalities of fetal development, in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Led by Dr Ali Khashan at UCC’s world renowned INFANT Research Centre, and in collaboration with Dr Paul Corcoran of the National Perinatal Epidemiology Centre in UCC, and Dr Maria Loane and Professor Helen Dolk at UU, the study will provide pregnant women, partners, healthcare providers and policy makers with quality information so that they can make informed decisions around COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy.

The project also collaborates with public health professionals in the North and South of Ireland including Dr Mary O’Mahony (Department of Public Health, HSE South and UCC), Prof Richard Greene (UCC); and Dr Heather Reid and Dr Alison Little (Norther Ireland Public Health Agency).

While there is a lot of data on the dangers posed by COVID-19 during late pregnancy, more research is needed relating to the safety of the infection, treatment and vaccination during the first trimester of pregnancy, according to Dr Khashan.

Dr Loane said “this research will provide evidence to inform women and healthcare providers about the balance of risks and benefits of COVID-19 infection and vaccines in the first trimester of pregnancy”.

A recent survey found that only 58% of new and expectant mothers in the Republic of Ireland had been vaccinated against COVID-19, and reports in Northern Ireland suggest that pregnant women are particularly likely to need intensive care.

The COVICAT research will use data from several open access data sources on COVID-19 infection and vaccine and the European Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies (EUROCAT) registry.

Ultimately, Dr Khashan and his team hope to create an island wide database based on weekly COVID-19 infection and vaccination data in pregnancy.

By making the data publicly available, the COVICAT team hope that they can alleviate some of the concerns pregnant women may have over COVID-19 vaccines.

In turn, Dr Khashan hopes that the study will help inform the decisions of women and clinicians when it comes to vaccination.

📣 The Biophotonics Congress: Biomedical Optics is one of the leading events that gathers international researchers engaged in optical methods to advance application of medical science to clinical practice.

🗣 27th April – Clinical research fellow Jurate Panaviene at INFANT is going to present the results of the Pilot trial investigating non-invasive, optical technology-based lung oxygen monitoring in healthy infants.

💡The preliminary results of a clinical study performed at Cork University Maternity Hospital in collaboration between researchers at the INFANT research centre and Tyndall Institute @Biophotonics group have shown that GAs in Scattering Material Absorption Spectroscopy (GASMAS) enables oxygen detection inside the newborn babies and is a strong message to share with the scientific community to stimulate further clinical investigations and development of the technology.

🔍Find out more about the congress here

📣INFANT is at the World Allergy Organization & BSACI 2022 UK Conference

📅25th-27th April 2022, Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC)

The joint conference is a fantastic opportunity for BSACI members to learn from colleagues from around the world as they present current practice, important clinical challenges and recent advances in allergy diagnostics and management in adults and children

🗣Dr Dhanis Lad PhD Student gave the presentation:

💡Discussing short term moisturization from birth significantly decreases the rate if AD at 12m in a high-risk cohort.

🗣 Caoimhe Cronin, Medical Student and Research Assistant made the following presentations:

💡’Brands of Adrenaline Auto Injector in Ireland: What brands do caregivers use and are they adequately trained in their administration.’

💡’The Effect of COVID-19 on Caregiver Education: What do caregivers know about anaphylaxis management and have they received adequate training?’

🗣 Dr Juan Trujillo made an oral presentation of the poster:

💡’Teaching Children with Food Allergy to Manage Anaphylaxis: Caregivers’ perspective’

🔍Learn more about BSACI here https://www.bsaci.org/education-and-events/meetings/

The INFANT Research Centre was delighted to host, together with CUMH, a visit with the First Lady of New Jersey Tammy Murphy at CUMH earlier today.

The First Lady and team met with members of the INFANT Research Centre and the clinical team at CUMH to discuss research and areas of potential collaboration.

In 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy initiated “Nurture NJ”, an initiative across the state of New Jersey which is dedicated to ensuring unbiassed care for women and children of all races and ethnicities and guaranteeing the reduction in maternal and infant mortality and morbidity

The mission and research work of the INFANT Centre aligns with the planned work of Nurture NJ, which like INFANT is dedicated to advancing the health of mothers and children.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed today between New Jersey Economic Development Authority and University College Cork which will provide a general framework for future collaboration between the Nurture NJ and INFANT.

This collaboration will facilitate the sharing of research findings, clinical work, and best practices that will significantly support the work of both INFANT and Nurture NJ and lead to new and innovative scientific medical research in the area of maternal and child health.

We are excited for the future of this INFANT and Nurture NJ collaboration.