CRY Ireland in partnership with Trinity College Dublin are awarded Research Funding through the Irish Research Council’s New Foundations Program.
An estimated 10,000 people in Ireland carry gene mutations for inherited cardiac conditions, with one young person dying suddenly each week from such syndromes. This statistic is mirrored across most countries with research and advocacy related to this a strongly motivated activity. The overall aim of this project is to advance advocacy of SADS and those affected by it, while at the same time generating a national network of excellence to tackle the burden of this disease at an international level.
CRY Ireland will be directly involved with Prof Michael Monaghan at Trinity College Dublin. The focus of the Monaghan lab (www.monaghanlab.com) is the development of novel biomaterial design-based strategies to regenerate or repair damaged tissues and restore biomechanical function using informed and optimised design approaches. Their work has received national and international recognition over recent years, with competitive research and funding awards to support their research.
We are delighted to receive support from the Irish Research Council to build this network over 2023. The partner organisation (CRY Ireland) will be ideal to link together clinicians, biologists and patient advocacy groups together through this New Foundations Project to achieve a one-health interdisciplinary approach in deciphering newer mechanisms underlying long QT syndrome and collaborating with the best labs and researchers in the world. Ireland already has a strong and dynamic activity in this area which could be strengthened under the umbrella of a unified effort.
We will assemble an Irish cluster of excellence towards a shared goal of improving awareness of SADS; and a unified approach and international visibility in the field with the goal of building international research collaborations. As a team we will build both our shared capacity and our knowledge in this field. At the end of the project, we will be in a position to apply for internationally competitive funding at a large scale; while at the same time work closely with CRY Ireland with a clear vision and strategy developed through this program.
