Health service research gets €4m boost
Postgraduate research in the health services was given a major boost today with €4 set aside for two new training sites.
The multi-million euro funding was granted to develop two new Health Research Board (HRB) sites for PhD training following the success of a site established at Trinity College Institute of Neurosciences last year.
“A high standard of quality training is essential to ensure the calibre of the Irish PhD graduate is competitive. This is why we piloted the HRB Scholar Scheme, which allows PhD students to access a wide range of training and first rate research skills, under the direction of an established team of investigators,” Professor Desmond Fitzgerald, chairman of the HRB Board, said.
“This commitment comes on top of government and EU stipulations for the need to substantially increase the number of researchers in Ireland by 2010 in order to underpin a national system of innovation.”
Finance Minister Brian Cowen said the importance of PhD training had been acknowledged through funds set aside in the Budget.
He said: “The basis for future growth and prosperity is investment in the knowledge, skills and innovation capacity that will drive economic and social development in an increasingly competitive global environment.”
The scholar site at Trinity College Institute for Neurosciences was established last year – with research into the underlying causes of several central nervous system disorders, including multiple sclerosis, depression, autism and blindness.
Scholars at the site at St James’s Hospital and Trinity College Dublin are focusing on how to benefit fully from the completion of the human genome project, which was a major step forward in researchers ability to study the impact of genetic factors on human disease.
The research is expected to increase understanding of the ways genes interact with environmental factors like diet, infections and toxin exposure, to cause common diseases.
Applications will be invited from institutions during 2006 to establish the two new sites which will focus on biomedical and clinical sciences, health services research or epidemiology and public health.
The HRB said the scholar sites would improve the quality of PhD training in health research by ensuring collaboration between students in different groups through the scholar sites.
Practical skills, including project management, communications and teamwork, are part of the training at the scholar sites.
Two HRB scholar sites have been established so far and 19 scholars are working to successfully complete their PhD training.
“Admission to the scheme is highly competitive,” Dr Ruth Barrington, chief executive of the HRB, said.
“The existing scholars in the scheme will receive a plaque today to mark their achievement and to establish a tradition of acknowledging excellence in health research as part of the course.”
