€1m grant awarded for research of stem cell alternative to artificial joints

A YOUNG Irish researcher has been given almost €1m to develop an alternative to artificial joint replacement surgery using stem cell technology.

Dr Daniel Kelly, a lecturer in biomechanical engineering at Trinity College Dublin, received the funding when he won the 2008 Science Foundation Ireland President of Ireland Young Researcher Award (PIYRA).

Dr Kelly, 30, from Stillorgan, Dublin, is hoping to make a breakthrough in producing new cartilage tissue from adult stem cells found in bone marrow that can be used to repair joints damaged by osteoarthritis.