SCIENCE FOUNDATION IRELAND ANNUAL REPORT 2015
CASE
STUDY
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Uncovering the role of Pellino proteins in innate
and adaptive immunity – promising new drug targets
for IBD
Researchers, led by Prof Paul Moynagh, in the Institute of Immunology
at NUI Maynooth are identifying new proteins in our bodies that play key
roles in controlling inflammatory diseases.
Prof Moynagh and his team have spent the last number of years
revealing the importance of a specific protein named Pellino 3. Through
examination of clinical samples from patients, the team have discovered
that the levels of Pellino 3 are greatly reduced in inflammatory diseases
like Crohn’s Disease and in obesity. The results suggest Pellino 3 has
a protective role in these conditions and presents an attractive target
for future therapeutics, a huge breakthrough in our understanding
of currently incurable conditions like Crohn’s disease and obesity-
associated diseases.
Prof Paul Moynagh.
Prof Moynagh is currently working with the drug delivery developers,
Sigmoid Pharma, to translate this research into the development of new
drugs for these diseases.
Building Partnerships
Science Foundation Ireland has been highly
successful at building strategic partnerships in 2015.
Science Foundation Ireland partnerships take two
broad forms; the partnerships where companies and
academic groups submit a joint proposal to Science
Foundation Ireland for funding (Strategic Partnership
Programme), and the Competitive Joint Partnership
Programme, where a company, in collaboration with
Science Foundation Ireland, puts out a call to the
scientific community to address specific problems.
Key achievements during 2015 included:
Pfizer and Science Foundation Ireland put out
a Competitive Joint Partnership call in 2015
and approved three awards across a number of
disease areas.
Science Foundation Ireland partnered with the
Irish Cancer Society to support the establishment
of a new national clinical research network,
called Blood Cancer Network Ireland, a virtual
clinical research network that will offer early stage
clinical trials to blood cancer patients in Ireland.
This exciting new collaborative cancer research
initiative will provide Irish blood cancer patients
with the opportunity to be among the first in the
world to test new, potentially life-changing, drugs
and treatments.
Four Strategic Partnership awards were approved:
– the Energy Systems Integration Partnership
programme (ESIPP) led by Prof Mark O’Malley
(UCD), was awarded €5.5 million from Science
Foundation Ireland, coupled with €5.5 million
from five industry partners - AIB, EirGrid,
Ervia, Glen Dimplex, ESB and a philanthropic
contribution from Mr David O’Reilly, former
Chairman and CEO of Chevron Corporation,
and current Chair of the UCD Energy Institute
Board. The consortium will work with 17
industry collaborators.
– Prof Shane O’Mara, (TCD), has been awarded
funding from Science Foundation Ireland to
collaborate with Alkermes.
– Prof Kingston Mills, (TCD), has been awarded
funding from Science Foundation Ireland
and Abbvie to work on biomarkers and drug
targets for autoimmune and other immune-
mediated diseases.
– Prof Orla Hardiman and Prof Daniel Bradley,
(TCD), were awarded funding in partnership
with the Trinity Foundation to examine
the entire genetic code of over 1,000 Irish
people, along with 21,000 samples from other
countries, to identify the genetic basis of
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a fatal
neurodegenerative disease.
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