Health & Medical

Launching the report are Dr Rod McLoughlin, IRFU Medical Director, Caithriona Yeomans, IRIS UL PhD researcher for club rugby, Therese Leahy, IRIS UL PhD researcher for schools rugby and Dr Ian Kenny, Senior Lecturer Biomechanics UL and IRIS Co-Principal Investigator

The Irish Rugby Football Union and University of Limerick have released the second year of findings from the Irish Rugby Injury Surveillance (IRIS) research project, which looks at injury incidence in the Men’s and Women’s All-Ireland League and schools rugby during the 2018/19 season.

Prof. Martin Curley, Chair of the Digital Academy Forum, Dr. Colm Henry, HSE’s Chief Clinical Officer, Prof Ann Ledwith, Dean of Graduate & Professional Studies at UL and Dr. Michael Harty, Chair of the Oireachtas Health Committee

University of Limerick is to lead a collaboration that will deliver a unique new Masters to train digital leaders in the health service.

The new MSc in Digital Health Transformation has been hailed as a “step forward for digital innovation in the Irish Healthcare system”.

Pat Macken, Chair, PMTC, Darren Whitaker, Perceptive Engineering Limited and Sarah Hayes, Director, PMTC at the Knowledge Day

The Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Technology Centre at University of Limerick’s Bernal Institute is embarking on a ‘new phase’ after securing €5m in funding.

One of the leading state funded, industry informed research centres providing advanced technology solutions for the pharma-sector, PMTC has appointed a new director and will expand its research focus to include data analytics as it launches ‘PMTC Phase 2’ following confirmation of funding from Enterprise Ireland, with support from IDA Ireland.

A University of Limerick researcher has received an emerging investigator award to explore how patients with hip and knee problems can participate in exercised based therapies.

Dr Clodagh Toomey among a group to receive funding from the Health Research Board (HRB), which is investing €8m in new health research.

The awards are designed to create a pipeline of researcher leaders who will improve health, influence clinical practice and inform health policy across a broad range of areas.

In a highly competitive process, a total of 11 awards were selected by an international panel from 45 eligible applications, addressing a broad range of health areas.

Dr Jason Power

A UNIQUE study by a lecturer at the University of Limerick has revealed that classic arcade game Pac-Man can provide insights into human behaviour and psychology.

The research by Dr Jason Power, a lecturer at UL’s School of Education, examined the impact of a person’s belief about their own capabilities and how this influences their performance by using the classic 1980s video game to look at daily behaviour.

Dr Power explains: “Pac-Man’s difficulty slowly ramps up to allow even the most casual players to experience success. This builds a person’s belief that they can succeed and encourages them to try again.”

Prof. Michael Walsh

Medical device company – Class Medical – a University of Limerick spinout company have secured seed funding of €550,000 from investors including iHPSU match funding from Enterprise Ireland. Class Medical was founded in 2016 by Dr. Rory Mooney (CEO), Prof. Michael Walsh, Dr Niall Davis and Dr Eoghan Cunnane. Class Medical’s initial product offering is a patent protected device that eliminates the risk and complications associated with the treatment of painful urinary problems.

Many people with acne are negatively impacted by perceived social stigma around the skin condition, a new study from UL has found.

A survey of 271 acne sufferers has revealed that their own negative perceptions of how society views their appearance is associated with higher psychological distress levels and further physical symptoms such as sleep disturbance, headaches and gastrointestinal problems.

Females in the study reported greater impairment of life quality and more symptoms than males. Acne severity was significantly correlated with health-related quality of life and psychological distress.

Everyone with a family history of colorectal cancer or polyps (abnormal tissue growths) should be screened for the disease, an international study involving researchers at nine institutions in the United States and Canada, co-led by University of Limerick (UL) has strongly recommended.

The research, available online and due to be published in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association and the highest impact journal in its field, makes a total of 19 evidence-based recommendations which will guide the choice of screening test and frequency of use among those who have close relatives with colon cancer or pre cancerous growths.

More than 250 people attended the fourth annual Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Technology Centre (PMTC) Knowledge Day for industry held in the Kemmy Business School, UL this week.

Ireland is renowned internationally for its expertise in pharmaceutical manufacturing: Research and Development is very important to developing and advancing pharmaceutical manufacturing.