UL Medical School research paper wins at Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland Awards

A paper published by a research team from the Graduate Entry Medical School (GEMS), UL won the General Practice category at the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland (RAMI) Doctor Awards on 21st March. The winning paper, which examined ‘Psychosocial interventions to reduce alcohol consumption in concurrent problem alcohol and illicit drug users’, focused on the challenges associated with helping patients with alcohol dependency in Primary Care. The work involved collaboration with researchers based in UCD, NUIG and HSE. The authors were Jan Klimas, Catherine-Anne Field, Walter Cullen, Clodagh SM O'Gorman, Liam G Glynn, Eamon Keenan, Jean Saunders, Gerard Bury & Colum Dunne and the study was funded by the Irish Health Research Board (HRB). Senior author and Director of Research, Graduate Entry Medical School, Professor Colum Dunne, welcomed the award; “The RAMI awards recognise activities of Irish research groups in publishing their work in peer-reviewed journals globally. This study, supported by the Irish Health Research Board, provided evidence that interventions for alcohol dependency require focus. Our team has benefited from being interdisciplinary and the resulting diversity of perspectives allowed us to determine that there is a significant knowledge gap in this area internationally.” Professor Dunne added: “This research continues to receive support from the HRB with next stage funding of €300,000 announced recently.

The PINTA-LITE programme, led by Professor Walter Cullen & colleagues from the Centre for Interventions in Infection, Inflammation & Immunity (4i), is a sophisticated assessment of interventions across general practice in Ireland and reflectes the HRB’s strategy of supporting research identifying solutions to real-world health service problems.” Additional papers from the Graduate Entry Medical School were also nominated in two other categories at the RAMI awards: Psychiatry (Prof essor David Meagher and colleagues) and Best Paper published in the Irish Journal of Medicine (Professor Colum Dunne & colleagues). The Centre for Interventions in Infection, Inflammation & Immunity brings together a multidisciplinary team of researchers focused on developing studies that impact health outcomes. For further information about 4i go to: www.ul.ie/4i The winning paper, 'Psychosocial interventions to reduce alcohol consumption in concurrent problem alcohol and illicit drug users' is available to view here.