Last November, Our PhD researcher, Sonia Lenehan, was voted the winner of Neon Zone’s I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here! Sonia won €500 to be used for a public engagement project of her choice. I’m a Scientist is an online STEM engagement event where students chatted and interacted with scientists through online chats and forums. The students then voted for their favourite scientist.

Keep reading for an update on what Sonia has been up to!

Pictured: Sonia and her workshop participants.

I have always loved science and am a firm believer that everyone should do science for a few years so that they have a basic understanding of how their body works and how the world around them works.

As I grew older, I realised that some people were not being given this chance simply because they had a disability. From personal experience, I know that children with sight loss were told that they were not able to do science because of their disability. Unfortunately, children with disabilities are often excluded from subjects in school because of their disability rather than their ability. I have always wanted to do something about this because I believe with a little imagination on our parts – and some funding – we can develop a school system that is inclusive of everyone and is a better learning environment for every child.

I loved competing in I’m A Scientist and was delighted to win the prize money allowing me the chance to create something I am very passionate about. I really want to change the way science is taught in schools so that every child, no matter their disability or ability, can access science. I believe that science is a subject everyone can do once it is taught in an accessible way.

Luckily the National Council for the Blind Ireland (NCBI) agreed with me and they have been incredibly supportive from day one. Once I knew that I had won and that the prize money was on the way, I began contacting colleges and businesses to tell them about my story and to ask them if they had any old anatomy models that they would like to donate. I knew the €500 would not get me too far as models are expensive but people were incredibly generous. Trinity College Dublin donated various skeletons, bones, knee and shoulder joints. HS Publications in Cork donated models of the heart, torso and the knee and the Muiriosa Foundation donated CPR dummies.

Pictured: Materials for Sonia’s workshop.

Once I secured the skeletons and models, I contacted Caroline Lane from NCBI and we chatted about our vision for this program. We both wanted to empower children and young adults with sight loss to make decisions about their own bodies. My background is in neuroscience, so as a result, the programme became very biology based.  With the prize money, I bought talking thermometers and talking blood pressure monitors as this equipment would make the sessions very relatable to real world situations. Then I spoke to the Public Engagement Officer at INFANT and I borrowed a number of resources to see if they would work for children with sight loss.

Next Caroline and I agreed that we should get a group of children and young adults with sight loss together and ask them their opinions. The idea was to try to provide a tactile workshop where a small group of students could learn a little about their bones, their joints and their brains, how scientists are trying to listen to your brain waves and a short introduction to coding.

On the 31^st of July I travelled to Maynooth University to give my session. There were eleven students in the group ranging in age between 11 and 19. This was a tester session and it went really well! The group were enthusiastic and interactive; they also asked amazing questions and gave great feedback.

I really enjoyed myself and can’t wait to expand this project. Hopefully in the future, alongside the NCBI, we can run science camps every year and have information days were teachers can come in and get ideas on how to make their classrooms and lessons inclusive to all children.

I plan to use the rest of the money to travel to meetings on accessibility and education so that I can understand what else is required and for anything else the NCBI focus group think is needed.

I would like to thank I’m A Scientist for providing me with this opportunity. I would also like to thank all the children who asked me questions and voted for me! To everyone who donated models to the project, thank you so much – you have allowed the prize money to stretch father than I ever thought it could. Thank you to my friend who gave up her time to help me run the session! And finally, to the NCBI and the children and young adults from the focus group, thank you for listening to my idea and for sitting through the first session. I can’t wait to do it again!

Christoph Schwarz has recently joined INFANT as a visiting clinical research fellow.

Get to know him a bit better!

Background

I’m a Paediatrician and Neonatologist from Tuebingen in Germany where  I did my training at the University of Tuebingen in Germany – in a very old nice university city like UCC and Cork, actually. I was an attending neonatologist at a large paediatric department there for the past year. My job there had quite a clinical focus with some research, but I felt that research should have a bigger role in my life.

I love neonatology as it incorporates the senses a lot in medicine such as feeling, hearing, seeing, touching. The baby is born with minimal medical history with decisions frequently made based on clinical examinations and experience.

I hope to return to clinical work again in the near future once I have gained further experience in research  and research techniques.

The road to INFANT

I decided that I wanted to focus on research for the next few years. With two small children now, myself and my wife decided that the time was right to gain experience in another country.  Moving to another country would be an interesting life experience while allowing us to improve our language skills. It will also help me professionally and ultimately become an independent researcher.

When I was researching, reading papers, attending conferences the INFANT centre kept popping up. I reached out to Gene Dempsey (INFANT PI) in November 2017 to ask him what I had to do to become a member of the INFANT team? Five minutes later he said, “send me your CV”.  Five minutes after that he said “OK, what do we have to do to get you here?”.

In February 2018 I travelled to Cork to visit the INFANT Research Centre. I was instantly impressed with the multidisciplinary skills within the centre and the teaching and team spirit. So, we decided to go for it!

Next, we designed an observational trial and applied for a scholarship from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG). I was awarded the scholarship which will allow me to stay here for 24 months. Additionally, we received support from Osypka Medical (Berlin, Germany) to use a non-invasive monitor called ICON to measure how the heart pumps continuously.

Tell us about your research

I’m going to work on the NOAH Study which is focused on Non-invasive Objective Assessment of Hemodynamics. It is common to focus on blood pressure alone which is measured via a central line or a “balloon” on the arm or the leg but this one measure doesn’t tell you the whole infant ‘story’. Over the years, I always questioned if blood pressure alone was the best way forward and did we really know what we were doing? I needed to get answers to my questions.

Prof Dempsey is doing research on this topic for 10+ years. He and our multidisciplinary team at INFANT are supporting me to compare different types of non-invasive monitoring and we will see if one of them (or a combination of them) will give us more information on how the blood is going through the body; how the heart is pumping, how the heart and lungs are working together to bring oxygen to the cells. I would like to find something that guides us on the developmental outcomes of these preemie babies when they are all grown up. First, of course, we have to see if it is feasible, if this complex data we collect is useful, in real-time. And then down the line, we will see if we can base clinical decisions on what we have learned.

In September, I hope to enrol the first baby. I have got so much support from everyone, with all their knowledge and experience. It has gone beyond work, the team have helped me personally too, from finding a house to live to finding a crèche for my kids! The kindness of the people here is awesome.

INFANT research finds pre-eclampsia increases risk of kidney disease.

Women with pre-eclampsia during pregnancy have a five-fold increased risk of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) later in life compared to women who don’t develop pre-eclampsia during pregnancy, according to a new study.

Pre-eclampsia is a pregnancy complication that causes high blood pressure and protein in the urine.

The study by INFANT Investigator Dr Ali Khashan and colleagues at the Karolinska Institute, Sweden and Liverpool University, UK, was published this week in PLOS Medicine. 

“This research demonstrates that again, complicated pregnancies may have long-standing adverse effects on maternal health. Pre-eclampsia increases the risk of end-stage kidney disease in mothers, however, the risk remains small. Future research needs to focus on modifiable risk factors and how we may monitor and screen women after complicated pregnancies to reduce these long term risks and improve long term health,” said Dr Khashan.

As the prevalence of kidney disease has risen over recent years, it has become clear that more women have pre-dialysis kidney disease than men. Reproductive history, including the development of pre-eclampsia during pregnancy, has been hypothesized to play a role. In the new study, researchers analysed data from the Swedish Medical Birth Register.

The data revealed that women who had pre-eclampsia in at least one pregnancy were nearly five times more likely to have ESKD than women who had never had pre-eclampsia. The incidence rate of ESKD per 100,000 person-years was 1.85 among women with no history of pre-eclampsia and 12.35 among women with a history of pre-eclampsia.

Moreover, the association was independent of other factors including maternal age and education, and diagnoses of renal disease or cardiovascular disease before pregnancy.

The new paper “shows that pre-eclampsia is a sex-specific, independent risk factor for the subsequent development of ESKD,” the authors say. “However, it should be noted that the overall ESKD risk remains small. Whether screening or preventative strategies will reduce the risk of ESKD in women with adverse pregnancy outcomes is worthy of further investigation.”

The study was partly funded by INFANT, the Strategic Research Programme in Diabetes at Karolinska Institutet, the Stockholm County Council and the Swedish Kidney Foundation.

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.

Newborn babies in Tanzania die at a rate of 40 per 1000, a shocking 4% of all births.

INFANT PI, Dr Deirdre Murray is raising money to send experienced nurses and doctors from Cork University Hospital to spend time with the staff in Kilimanjaro and to work with them to provide basic equipment for newborn care.

We are looking for donations, no matter how large or small to help us achieve this goal!

Visit the Go Fund Me page

Almost €40,000 has already been raised for bubble CPAP machines, oxygen monitors, and resuscitation training for staff in Kilimanjaro.

With your help we can raise money for phototherapy to treat jaundice and arrange further nursing staff to work with local midwives in helping to look after babies at birth.

Recently a team from INFANT travelled to the Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute in Moshi, Northern Tanzania.

Our centre’s Global Health Program is committed to translating the centre’s innovations into affordable, accessible interventions in countries where the clinical need is greatest and will have the highest impact.

In 2016, INFANT signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute (KCRI), the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC), and the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College (KCMUC) establishing a collaborative research partnership in a number of scientific and clinical areas. This partnership is currently working on a project to enhance the KCMC birth registry – a vital source of information for healthcare providers, funders and policymakers.

Eventually, we want to work with them to build a Kangaroo Care Unit where mothers can stay with their preterm infants; something which has been shown to greatly increase a small baby’s chance of survival.

Launched today pregnancyandinfantloss.ie is a first-of-its-kind website for Ireland.

A valuable resource for parents who experience pregnancy loss or perinatal death, the website provides accurate and accessible information on a sensitive and often stigmatised subject, shares the latest research into the causes of baby loss, promotes emotional well-being, and offers details on how to access the appropriate support services.

“The website is a step forward in our commitment to consistent quality care for parents, as well as education and support for maternity staff while raising awareness of pregnancy loss and recognising its wide impact,” said Dr Keelin O’Donoghue, Consultant Obstetrician at Cork University Maternity Hospital and Principal Investigator at INFANT, Ireland’s only dedicated perinatal research centre.

Dr O’Donoghue and her team at INFANT, UCC, are leading investigations into the causes of pregnancy loss and perinatal death.

Pictured: Riona Cotter and Dr Keelin O’Donoghue

Supported by funding from the Irish Hospice Foundation, the website is an initiative of the Implementation Group for the National Standards for Bereavement Care Following Pregnancy Loss and Perinatal Death. The programme of implementation of the Standards was led by Dr O’Donoghue and HSE Programme Manager Riona Cotter.

The Standards, launched in August 2016, defined the care parents and families should receive following a pregnancy loss or perinatal death in all Irish maternity hospitals.

“This is an example of the excellent resources available through the INFANT centre at UCC that have a real-world impact and will make a difference to grieving parents and families,” commented INFANT Director, Professor Geraldine Boylan.

Irish Hospice Foundation CEO Sharon Foley acknowledged the impact that pregnancy loss and infant death has on families in Ireland.

“The IHF is very proud to support the new national pregnancy loss website. The loss of a child is devastating to any parent. Grieving parents should be able to access sensitive and consistent bereavement care at every stage of their journey and in every location throughout Ireland. Maternity hospitals play a vital role in supporting parents whose child dies following pregnancy and post birth. It is vital we support staff with tools and information which will equip them to give this bereavement care to parents. This new website will play a major role, I believe, in providing vital information to parents and staff following pregnancy and perinatal death in our hospitals.”

Pregnancy loss is the most common complication of pregnancy. The end of a pregnancy or the death of a baby through miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal and infant death can have a devastating and long-lasting impact on the woman, her partner, her other children and her extended family.

The British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) has announced the recipients of the 2019 BNF Drummond Early Career Scientist Award – recognising early career excellence in nutrition science.

Our postdoctoral researcher Dr Elaine McCarthy received the runner-up title. Elaine has been recognised for her work in the field of paediatric and neonatal nutrition, with iron nutrition in young children being the focus of much of her research.

The BNF Drummond Early Career Scientist Award is an annual scheme run by the BNF. Applicants are judged on their contributions to nutrition science to date, their potential to become future leaders in the field, and the scientific merit and clarity of communication in their work.

Well done Elaine!

Congratulations to our PhD researcher Gillian Maher who was selected for the Pfizer-SRI President’s Presenter’s Award.

She received the award at the Society for Reproductive Investigation (SRI) 66th Annual Scientific Meeting in Paris, last week.

Gillian’s presentation at the meeting was titled ‘Association between Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Population-Based Study’.

The award was established to recognize the 25 most exemplary oral abstracts submitted by individuals still in training.

INFANT was well represented at the conference. INFANT investigators Dr Fergus McCarthy and Dr Ali Khashan, along with PhD students were also in attendance; presenting an impressive seven posters and two oral presentations.