Trinity’s child health research excellence captured in new report

Posted on: 04 May 2023

A new report on child health research at Trinity College Dublin was launched today at the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute (TBSI). The ‘Child Health Research Excellence Report 2023’  reveals the strength of child health research across Trinity which covers a diverse expanse of research topics spanning 11 schools, 3 faculties and over 80 principal investigators. It represents the first time that a mapping exercise of child health research has been undertaken in Trinity.

It will foster further collaboration and awareness of important issues in child health both within the university, and to the international community of patients, families and researchers. It offers a comprehensive overview of areas of research expertise in cancer, genomics, immunology, infectious disease, neurology, neonatology, dermatology, mental health, and child health policy.

Eleanor Molloy, Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health, Trinity College and Trinity Translational Medicine Institute (TTMI), said:

“This report highlights the extensive and broad-ranging research themes and expertise in Child Health in Trinity college. This will allow researchers to collaborate within the university, nationally and internationally more effectively to improve child health in partnership with children and their families.”

Trinity aims to ensure interdisciplinary integration and promote research in all aspects of childhood and children’s biological, psychological, cognitive and socio-emotional development and well-being.  The advancement of novel and impactful research to improve children’s health in partnership with Trinity’s international collaborators is of paramount importance.

The report will engage staff and students in dynamic conversations and provide a strong framework to build this research for the future.

Professor Sinéad Ryan, Dean and Vice President for Research, Trinity College, said:

“I am very pleased to welcome the publication of this report. It captures the wide range of research relating to child health that is happening in Trinity across schools, disciplines, and institutes, and shows how researchers are harnessing their collective expertise for the greater good, which is one of the principles of Trinity’s Research Charter.”

The report was launched as part of a wider panel discussion today - with key Trinity experts - as a first step to explore the university’s vision for child health for 2040.

Looking ahead to future advances in this field of research which will continue to transform lives, Owen Smith, Professor of Child, Adolescent & Young Adult Oncology, Trinity College, said:

“Child & adolescent heath will lead the healthcare transformation – for example the ‘medical home’ is a paediatric concept.  We need to train leaders to think not only about children but also their transition from childhood to adulthood. We need to shift from a focus of disease and disease management to health and health preservation.

We will have the ability to predict the health risk of children as children and those who will become adults by utilising the exponential technologies that are converging, namely, our ability to rapidly sequence human genomes and interpret the sequence by AI/machine learning. To do this optimally we will need to train the next generation of healthcare professionals in the ethical, moral and legal aspects of this new endevour.”

READ: The report: ‘Child Health Research Excellence Report 2023’   is available as an interactive pdf at this link:  https://www.tcd.ie/medicine/research/child-health/

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