President Mary McAleese presents research Fellowship and Scholarship awards to Ireland’s brightest young cancer researchers

Irish Cancer Society commits €1 million to supporting career development for the next generation of cancer researchers in Ireland

Update: watch a short video introducing the researchers and their exciting work below.

At a special awards ceremony held in the Irish Cancer Society headquarters today, (Tuesday, November 24th) President Mary McAleese presented six of Ireland’s most gifted young cancer researchers with inaugural Irish Cancer Society’s Research Scholarship Awards & Research Fellowship Awards.

This new Scholarship award scheme is part of the Society’s commitment to funding cancer research in Ireland, to cultivating the next generation of cancer researchers and rewarding exceptional people with outstanding research ideas in the area of cancer research.

In 2008, the Irish Cancer Society established the Research Fellowship programme to assist cancer researchers to develop their research ideas and offer them the support they need to direct their own research teams.

Following on from the success of this initiative, this year the Society established the Research Scholarship programme to fund young post graduate students starting out on a career in cancer research. The Scholarship programme aims to encourage the brightest and the best students in Ireland to complete PhDs in cancer research. 

Commenting on the Fellowship and Scholarship scheme, Professor Cliona O’Farrelly, Chairperson, Cancer Research Committee, Irish Cancer Society said, “We are delighted with this new scheme which has attracted huge numbers of applicants from dedicated and enthusiastic researchers who are keen to dedicate themselves to cancer research.”

“It was particularly challenging to select just six candidates to receive the awards, but we are optimistic that with additional funding we may be able to expand this scheme,” continued Professor O’Farrelly.

Each Scholarship application comprises the applicant's CV, their supervisor's CV, details of their proposed research project, and a personal statement explaining their reasons for pursuing a PhD in cancer research. The Fellowship and Scholarship scheme is open to all scientific, medical and paramedical disciplines that are committed to cancer research.  Each Fellowship award is up to the value of €75,000 per annum for up to three years and each Scholarship award is up to the value of €40,000 per annum for up to three years.

The Irish Cancer Society is the single largest voluntary supporter of cancer research in Ireland and is responsible for evaluating grant applications from scientists and doctors conducting this research. This research focuses on identifying risk factors for various cancers so that the disease may be prevented, identifying the cellular mechanisms of cancer in order to unravel the mystery of why some cells behave normally and some become cancerous and identifying the most effective combination of therapies in treating cancer.

The Health Research Board (HRB) through the Medical Research Charities Group (MRCG) and the Irish Research Council for Science Engineering and Technology (IRCSET) are acknowledged for their support in co-funding some of these research projects. 
The Irish Cancer Society is now inviting applications for the 2010 Fellowship and Scholarship Awards Scheme. Closing date for entries is Wednesday, 10th February 2010. Applications must be submitted online at www.cri.cancer.ie. Further details and guidelines are also available on this website.

Editor's Note

44 Fellowship applications were received for three Fellowships awards and 31 Scholarship applications were received for three Scholarships awards.

The three successful Fellowship applicants were as follows:

• Dr Patrick Kiely, BioSciences Institute, University College Cork - Dr Kiely’s research is concerned with investigating the ways in which cancer cells break away from a primary tumour and set up secondary tumours around the body. “Secondary tumours are what ultimately kills patients, and so I feel that the best way to improve patient survival is to try to prevent cancers from spreading.”
• Dr Antoinette Perry, Insitute of Molecular Medicine, Trinity Centre - Dr Perry is working on ways to harness abnormalities in our DNA as an early warning-system for the presence of aggressive prostate cancer. “The aim of my research is to better detect aggressive prostate cancer at an early stage while it is still curable and to distinguish between low-risk and high-risk disease.”
• Dr Eva Szegezdi, Department of Biochemistry, National University of Ireland, Galway - Dr Szegezdi is studying a new anti-cancer therapy, called TRAIL, which is currently in phase II clinical trials. “TRAIL is effective at treating ~50% of cancers, but does not work in the other 50%.  My research is trying to find ways to make TRAIL more effective in these resistant cancers.”

The three successful Scholarship applicants are:

• Dr Claire Donohoe, Trinity Health Sciences Centre, St James' Hospital - this research involves investigating the link between obesity and gastrointestinal cancers.  “I hope to find out the ways in which fat that is carried inside the belly (or visceral fat) influences cancers.”
• Ms Maria Pertl, School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin “The aim of my research is to explore the causes of cancer-related fatigue and to evaluate the effectiveness of a psychological intervention for cancer survivors with fatigue.” 
• Ms Christine White, Trinity College Dublin/Coombe Women’s and Infant's Hospital - This research is focussed on the role of the human papillomavirus and the effect of smoking in the development and progression of cervical pre-cancer and cancer. “I hope to find better ways of identifying women who have a high risk of developing cervical cancer.”

Meet the Researchers

Date: 24 Nov 2009