Existing Collaborations/Current Research Group/Projects
As the National Cardio-Thoracic Surgery and Heart & Lung Transplantation Centre we are in a unique position to provide with informed consent access to patients and samples of patients suffering from severe cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. Scientific research work are already in progress in collaboration with scientists based at the Conway Institute, UCD. To date we have identified Neutrophil Adhesion Marker, CD11b, as a potential predictive marker for early heart transplant rejection. Proteomic research focused on heart failure and heart transplantation has recently obtained ethical approval and are currently in progress.
On the clinical side a database on various cardio-thoracic surgical procedures are being generated within the unit. This database serve as clinical audit of practice and also contribute to the global experience and results of certain procedures such as mitral valve reconstruction, infant co-arctation repair, arterial switch procedure and the ross procedure.
| Collaborator | School/Institution | Project |
R William G Watson |
School of Medicine & Medical Science, UCD & Conway Institute |
Individual variation of neutrophil migration potential as a predictive marker of heart transplant rejection. Neutrophil expression analysis in human cardiac transplant rejection: detection and pre-emption |
Mike J Dunn |
School of Medicine & Medical Science, UCD & Conway Institute |
Proteomics of heart failure & cardiomyopathy, proteomics of cardiac transplantation, the cardioprotective role of heat shock protein 27: a proteomic analysis. |
James J Egan |
Heart & Lung Transplant Programme, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital |
The Role of ADAM family gene in pulmonary fibrosis.
|
Brian Marsh |
Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital |
Systemic and myocardial manifestations of the inflammatory response to cardiopulmonary bypass and the extent of the heat shock response. |
Current Research Group
| David Healy | PhD clinician |
| Alan Soo | MD clinician |
| Rauf Ahsan | MD clinician |
| Rob Plant | MD clinician |
| Dominic Keating | MD clinician |
| Des Murphy | PhD clinician |
| Belinda Maher | PhD clinician |
| Derek Hennessy | Medical Student |
| Tara Ni Donnhchu | MD Intern |
Projects
| Young Investigator Symposium | Mater Misericordiae University Hospital | Poster Prize 2004 |
President's Prize Research Symposium |
Royal Academy of Medicine of Ireland | 2004 |
| Sylvester O Halloran Research Prize | 2007 | |
| Shortlisted Presidents Prize | Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland | 2005 |
| Shortlisted Presidents Prize Surgical Section | Royal Academy of Medicine of Ireland | 2007 |
