RCSI Research Strategy (2009-2 PDF

RCSI Research Strategy 2009 2014
Translational Research
RCSIs Noble Purpose
Building on our heritage in surgery, we will enhance human health through endeavour,
innovation and collaboration in education, research and service
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) incorporates the Schools of Medicine,
Physiotherapy, Pharmacy and Nursing. The RCSI Research Institute specializes in
Translational Health and Medical Research linking clinicians and scientists between its city
centre campus and its Education and Research Centre at Beaumont Hospital. The RCSI has
played a leadership role in Irish surgical and medical education and research since the
Colleges inception in 1784.
The Medical School dates from the 19th century with various postgraduate faculties
added in the 20th century. More recently the College has become active in leading national
agenda in medical research and education. The College is a truly international institution in
the provision of medical and surgical education, research, training and hospital and health
care management in Africa, and the Middle and Far East. Today more than 60 countries are
represented on its international student body and the RCSI also has a strong international
presence with Medical Schools in both Malaysia and Bahrain. The Royal College of Surgeons
in Ireland is independent, international and progressive - a unique medical institution.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
RCSI Strategic Plan 2009-2014: Executive Summary
1. Promotion of Translational Research
1.1 Mission statement of the RCSI Research Institute in Translational Health and
Medicine
1.2 Evolution of the RCSI Research Institute
1.3 Development and Sustainability of Translational Research (2009-2014)
1.4 Alignment with existing national activities and with future regional and/or
national goals and objectives
1.5 Rising to the challenge of Translational Health and Medicine
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2. Creating a Translational Research Infrastructure

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2.1 The development of a Translational Hub in the Greater North Dublin Region
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2.2 Filling Gaps in the Translational & Disease Research Infrastructure The Page 14
National Biophotonics and Imaging Platform Ireland
3. RCSI Research Institute - Management, Structure and Strategy
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3.1 Management Structure

3.2 Research Funding
3.3 Disease Research Clusters
3.4 Clinical Research Centre
3.5 The Colles Institute
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4. Fostering Population and International Health Research at RCSI: 2009-14
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4.1 Irish research focus

4.2 Developing country research focus
4.3 Research partnerships
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5. Strengthening of RCSIs Research Management and Support

The Research Office
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6. Knowledge Transfer Strategy (2009 2014)
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6.1 Commercialization Strategy

6.2 IP Training/Awareness Strategy
6.3 Institutional Support for TT Office and IP
6.4 Management Structure of Technology Transfer Function
6.5 Commercialisation Committee (PCC)
6.6 Outreach
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7. The School of Postgraduate Studies Strategy (2007 2012)

7.1 Management of the School
7.2 Structured PhD Education in RCSI
7.3 Funding Postgraduate Education
7.4 Meeting National and European Objectives for Postgraduate Education
7.5 Co-tutelle PhD Programmes
7.6 Postdoctoral Training and Career Development
7.7 Future Plans for Structured PhD Education in RCSI
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________________________________________________________________________________________
Prtli5 Volume 1b RCSI Research Strategy
The RCSI Strategic Plan for Translational Research 20092014

Executive Summary
The The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) has played a leadership role in Irish
surgical and medical education and research since the foundation of the College in 1784. The
RCSI incorporates the Schools of Medicine, Physiotherapy, Pharmacy, Nursing, Postgraduate
Studies and International Healthcare Management. The RCSI is a private, self-financing, notfor-profit medical and surgical college based in Dublin, Ireland. The RCSI has a global reach
in medical education and research through its overseas medical universities and health care
centres in the Middle east, Far East and Africa. The RCSI Research Institute specialises in
Translational Research linking clinicians and scientists between the city centre campus and the
Education and Research Centre at Beaumont Hospital.
The RCSI has achieved a major development of research infrastructure and activity over the
past decade which has enhanced the international standing of the College. The RCSI was
successful in securing funding under the HEA Programme for Research in Third Level
Institutions (PRTLI) to develop the Institute of Biopharmaceutical Sciences (PRTLI Cycle 1),
the Biopharmaceutical Sciences Network (Cycle 2) and the Programme for Human Genomics
(Cycle 3). These PRTLI Cycles also funded the building and equipping of the new research
centres in the city centre campus and the Education and Research Centre (ERC) at Beaumont
Hospital, providing a state-of-the-art infrastructure for translational clinician-scientist research
programmes. In 2006, the city centre and hospital research facilities were joined into a single
Research Institute which all the core technology platforms.
The RCSIs research activity has greatly increased over the past 5 years, with annual research
awards growing from 7M in 2004 to 52M in 2007. The quality of RCSI research is wellrecognised nationally and internationally with high-impact publications. The SFI research
award success rate for RCSI researchers is running at twice the average of the universities. The
RCSI Research Institute plays a leadership role nationally through the co-ordination of the
National Biophotonics Imaging Platform funded under PRTLI Cycle 4 (30M) and
internationally through co-ordination of the EU FP7 Marie-Curie Career Enhancement
Mobility Programme for post-doctoral scientists.
The RCSI Strategic Plan for Research has a single objective to enhance and sustain world-class
Translational Research and Training. The College aspires to this noble purpose through the
development of a Translational Hub across the RCSI Research Institute, the RCSI-associated
hospitals and through key alliances and integration of research infrastructures with the largest
non-medical universities, in the State, DCU and NUIM. This strategy will have a major
influence on the Colleges campus development programmes and research collaborations.
Over the period of the current Strategic Plan for Research 2009-2014, the RCSI will aspire to
play a leading national and international role in Translational Medicine and Surgical Research
and Training. This goal will be achieved through the development of the Colles Institute for
Surgical Research, Training and Development and a Translational Research Hub. The RCSI
has embraced innovative actions to harness the potential for translational research through the
development of an Academic Health Centre (AHC) with Beaumont and Connolly Hospitals
and the co-location of laboratory-based and clinical research centres within the AHC.
The RCSI, in collaboration with Dublin City University, NUI Maynooth and Dundalk IT,
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proposes an innovative programme to build capacity and excellence in translational research

through the establishment of a Translational Research Hub (TRH) linked to the AHC and
underpinned by new and established complementary research centres, technology platforms, a
common Graduate Training Programme in Bioanalysis & Therapeutics and biotechnology
innovation ventures with industry.
The TRH is founded on a solid basis of peer-reviewed ongoing collaborative research

programmes between the partners (HRB, SFI, PRTLI4, FP7), between the partners and
industry (incl., Siemens, Analog Devices, Becton Dickinson, GSK) and with EU FP7 partners
(incl., CNRS, Inserm France, and CNR Italy). The TRH will have at its core, four new research
centres; the RCSI Translational Research Centre , the DCU Nano-Bioanalytical Research
Facility, the NUIM Biosciences Research Centre, and the DkIT Ion Channel Biotechnology
Centre. Through the TRH, these new and existing research laboratories will be linked to the
clinical research centres in the RCSI Academic Health Centre and the Childrens Research
Centre at Crumlin Hospital.
The TRH will deliver quality access for the non-medical partners to the translational research
facilities and clinical expertise of the RCSI Schools of Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy, the
hospital clinical research centres and the RCSI Colles Institute for Surgical Research, Training
& Development. In return, the RCSI will benefit from access to advanced technology platforms
and expertise in physics, chemical biology and bio-engineering. Thus, critical mass, economy
of scale and excellence in multidisciplinary translational research will be enabled by the
integration of clinical and basic science laboratories with advanced technology cores in
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imaging, nanomedicine, molecular medicine, chemical biology, and bioanalysis. This resource
will be brought to bear on advancing knowledge of disease mechanisms and the development
and commercialization of novel therapeutics in Cancer, Neurodegenerative and Psychiatric
Disorders, Respiratory and Cardiovascular Diseases.
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1 Promotion of Translational Research

The informing principle of RCSIs research strategy is the promotion of Translational Health
and Medical Research - Bench research informed by bedside problems, translated into
diagnosis and treatment and into the community.
The Research Strategic Plan informs policy management and development of RCSI Research
Institute activities. It informs the formation of Research Clusters in prioritised research themes
in disease areas and technology platforms, leadership and internal structure, collaborative
partnerships and enables technology transfer and commercialisation of research.
1.1 Mission statement
To support and carry out world-class translational medical research and to integrate basic and
clinical research, so that advances in medical science are translated as quickly as possible into
patient treatments, diagnostics and therapeutics.
- To train postgraduate scientists and clinicians for internationally competitive careers in
basic, clinical and population health research
- To acquire and develop advanced technologies to support its translational research
programmes.
- To generate novel Intellectual Property and support its commercialisation for the benefit of
the College and the Nations Health Gain.
- To evaluate and inform population and health services policy and practice, nationally and
internationally
1.2 Evolution of the RCSI Research Institute
The Institute of Biopharmaceutical Sciences (IBS) at The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
(RCSI) was funded under the Irish Governments Programme for Research in Third Level
Institutions (PRTLI) HEA cycle 1. Through further funding in HEA PRTLI Cycles 2 and 3, the
Institute expanded its research programmes and formed collaborations, with major Irish
Universities, to establish the Biopharmaceutical Sciences Network (BSN) and The Programme
for Human Genomics (PHG). The IBS was the lead partner with its sister research institutes at
UCD (Conway Institute) and TCD (Institute of Molecular Medicine) in the PHG which is the
major research programme (44.7M under Cycle 3) of the Dublin Molecular Medicine Centre
DMMC.
On the Beaumont Hospital campus, the College has developed clinician-scientist research
programmes in its Education and Research Centre (ERC). The ERC was built and equipped
over the period 1998-2002 through funding from HEA PRTLI, Wellcome Trust and Private
Donors. The ERC houses the RCSI Clinical Research Centre established under PRTLI Cycles
1&3 and the research laboratories of Medicine, Surgery, Pathology, Microbiology and
Molecular Medicine.
In 2005, the RCSI Research Committee approved a plan to join the IBS and ERC into a single
research infrastructure with a common governance and administrative support. By 2006, the
RCSI Research Institute included the Centre for Human Proteomics and all the research
infrastructure support facilities of the College in proteomics, bioinformatics, bio-collections,
mass-spectrometry, peptide synthesis, transgenic animal resource and imaging platforms.
In 2006, the Division of Population Health Sciences was established, comprising the
departments of Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine, General Practice and Psychology.
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The Division, with support from the RCSI Research Institute, has secured several large
programme grants for research and doctoral training in national and global population health
research, collaborating on the latter with the Department of International Health and Tropical
Medicine.
Over the period 2009-2014, the College will continue the development of the RCSI Research
Institute to encompass its city centre campus and ERC Beaumont Hospital campus to deliver
on its translational research strategy in specific Disease Clusters. The Education Research
Centre and Clinical Research Centre at Beaumont Hospital, housing the Academic Consultant
Professorial Departments and the Molecular Medicine Laboratories represent a unique site for
clinician-scientist-patient oriented research. The ERC will be developed under Phase 2 of its
building programme to become the Translational Research Centre with double the research
space dedicated to translational science and clinical research. The city centre campus will build
a new national surgical research and development infrastructure under the Colles Institute for
surgical research and training. The Research Institute will also develop an Academic Health
Centre in translational research, clinical service and training in partnership with the Colleges
leading hospitals (Beaumont Hospital and Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown). The RCSI
Research Institute will build on its strategic alliances with the major non-medical universities
(DCU and NUIM) to form a Translational Research Hub in the Greater North Dublin City
and Region through the sharing and integration of complementary research resources
including shared laboratories, clinical and surgical research centres, technology transfer and
advanced technology platforms. The Translational Research Hub will include associated
partners in industry, the ITs (Dundalk and Tallaght) and the Childrens Research Centre,
Crumlin Hospital. The Translational Research Hub mission is two-fold - to translate basic
research knowledge into applied diagnostics and therapeutics and to translate this intellectual
property into commercialization and improved patient care. The RCSI will continue to develop
its international standing as a leader in translational research with its major overseas partners
with whom strong EUFP7 programmes are in place and further build on collaborative
agreements in translational research collaboration signed in 2008 and 2009 with the French
national science council, the CNRS, the French national medical research agency Inserm, and
the University of Massachussetts Medical School . The name of RCSI will be synonymous
with excellence in translational medical research , training and technology transfer.
The RCSI Research Institute has provided the RCSI research infrastructure to deliver the
DMMC Programme for Human Genomics PRTLI Cycle 3. During this period, the Research
Institute became host to all the major funded research programmes in RCSI. Under PRTLI4,
the RCSI co-ordinates the National Biophotonics Imaging Platform, a 30M programme in
research and training in advanced imaging across 6 universities and two Institutes of
Technology (www.nbipireland.ie) .
The College completed the building of the new Research Institute laboratories on York Street
in mid 2006 and began building work on the Surgical Research and Development Institute
the Colles Institute (see appendix Colles Institute) in York street in Summer 2007 (due for
completion in early 2010). The RCSI Research Institute aspires to become Irelands premier
Research Institute in Translational Health and Medical Research, encompassing the research
activities of the main College and Beaumont Hospital ERC sites along with other hospitalbased research centres affiliated with RCSI. Over the period of the strategic plan 2009-2014,
the Research Institute will provide the infrastructure through a network of labs, core
technology platforms and staff to facilitate and develop interdisciplinary Clusters in prioritised
areas of research within the College. The research clusters are centred on five disease-specific
areas in CANCER - breast and colorectal cancer, neuroblastoma, NEUROLOGICAL ________________________________________________________________________________________ 6
neurodegenerative diseases, epilepsy and behaviour. RESPIRATORY - respiratory cystic

fibrosis and asthma, INFLAMMATION & INFECTION - regenerative medicine rheumatoid
arthritis and bone remodelling, CARDIOVASCULAR, hypertension, thrombosis and stroke.
The rapid growth in Population and International Health research at RCSI, will be supported
and consolidated to enable RCSI to become national and international leaders in niche areas in
POPULATION HEALTH AND EPIDEMIOLOGY.
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1.3 Development and Sustainability of Translational Research (20092014)

The informing principle of RCSIs research strategy is the promotion of Translational Health
and Medical Research - Bench research informed by bedside problems, translated into
diagnosis and treatment of disease and into the community. Traditionally, clinical and
scientific research are rarely intertwined and protocols in basic and clinical research have not
usually been informed by each other. There are complex obstacles to Translational & Disease
Research besides the current funding patterns and lack of clinician-scientist career structures
which exacerbate the separation of hospital and research labs. The RCSI has identified major
challenges and opportunities to address in its strategic research plan 2009-2014. These
challenges in developing and sustaining translational research are summarised below:
Challenges facing Translational Research
Translation is not straightforward and requires a long-haul commitment.
Translation is hindered by insufficient targeted funding.
Shortage of qualified basic science researchers in the Translational space and
practically non-existence of career clinician-scientists.
Academic and hospital appointments and segregated funding culture hinders quality
clinician-scientist collaboration.
Departmental-based research does not favour interdisciplinarity.
Legal and ethical burden.
Opportunities for Translational Research
In clearly articulating and debating these obstacles to translation, the RCSI Council, Medical
Faculty, the Research Committee and Senior Management have embraced specific
opportunities and innovative actions to harness the potential for translational & disease
research in its laboratory-based research centres, the Clinical Research Centre at Beaumont
Hospital and in the Colleges allied hospitals. The RCSI will develop this potential through
disease-centred and clinician-scientist research partnerships at national and international levels.
Central to its Strategic Plan for Research 2009-2014, the RCSI has appointed Irelands first
Chair in Translational Medicine and expanded the Research Institute to embrace Beaumont and
Connolly Hospitals clinical research specialities.
In partnership with the Childrens Research Centre (ChRC) at Crumlin Hospital, RCSI has
embarked on a research programme in childhood cancer genetics and has appointed Irelands
first Chair in Paediatric Cancer Genetics in March 2007.. The Professor of Cancer Genetics is a
world-leader in the area of neuroblastoma and leads an SFI -funded research team at the RCSI
and ChRC and has established a core facility in high-throughput genetic screening of childhood
cancers.
Some of the obstacles and opportunities to effective translational & disease research have been
identified in various government and EU reports with specific recommendations to realise
Irelands potential for this research. Although many of these recommendations are laudatory,
not all are practical or feasible for Ireland in the short-term of most funding cycles of 3 to 5
years. This is so because of the research infrastructure deficits that still exist in the Biomedical
Life Sciences space and the dearth of career paths for clinician-scientists. For these reasons, the
RCSI will focus on practical actions in its Strategic Plan for Research 2009-2014 to build the
foundations for Translational Health and Medicine Research. The College is committed to the
long-haul in targeting its research activities, infrastructure and funding resources specifically
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into Translational Medicine over several decades and well beyond the current National
Development Plan (NDP2 2008-2013).
1.4 Alignment with existing national activities and with future regional and/or national
goals and objectives
The development of Ireland as one of the most competitive knowledge based societies and
economies in the world underpins Government policy statements and strategies as most
recently outlined in Building Irelands Smart Economy 2009 and earlier in the Strategy for
Science, Technology and Innovation (SSTI) and the National Development Programme (NDP).
RCSI is a significant contributor to the development of the knowledge society in Ireland
through its national and international education and research activities. Under the RCSI
Translational Research Centre outlined in this proposal, the RCSI intends to double the size of
its translational research laboratories at Beaumont and Connolly Hospitals and link these
facilities into a Translational Research Hub (TRH) with DCU and NUIM over the period 20102014. This will significantly enhance national capacity for knowledge transfer and
development The window of opportunity is limited and Ireland needs to act quickly in order to
maximise the potential opportunity in the translational research field. The RCSI-DCU-NUIM
Translational Research Hub will have strong foundations in academia and industry
partnerships and the health services, and will act as a magnet to the pharmaceutical and
medical devices industry, nationally and internationally.
Responding to the National Agenda in Translational Research
The RCSI will promote Translational Research through the development of an Academic
Health Centre of Beaumont and Connolly Hospitals linked to a new Translational Research
Centre within the RCSI Research Institute. The training of clinican-scientists to PhD level
through joint Consultant-Scientist supervised research programmes is central to RCSI strategy
in developing a new generation of clinician scientists in Translational Medicine. The RCSI
Research Institute will develop a Translational Research Hub in collaboration with its
Academic Health Centre and partner Universities.
The development of Ireland as one of the most competitive knowledge based societies and
economies in the world underpins Government policy statements and strategies as most
recently outlined in Building Irelands Smart Economy 2009 and earlier in the Strategy for
Science, Technology and Innovation (SSTI) and the National Development Programme (NDP).
The RCSI is a significant contributor to the development of the knowledge society in Ireland
through its national and international education and research activities. Under the RCSI
Translational Research Centre outlined, the RCSI will double the size of its translational
research laboratories at Beaumont and Connolly Hospitals. Since 2007, the RCSI with DCU
and NUI Maynooth has engaged in a planning process to establish a Translational Research
Hub (TRH) to integrate basic and clinical science research centres and technology platforms
across the three institutions over the period 2010-2014. This will significantly enhance national
capacity and coherence for knowledge transfer and development in diagnostics and
therapeutics. The window of opportunity is limited and Ireland needs to act quickly in order to
maximise the potential opportunity in the translational research field. The RCSI-DCU-NUIM
Translational Research Hub will have strong foundations in academia and industry
partnerships and the health services, and will act as a magnet to the pharmaceutical and
medical devices industry, nationally and internationally.
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1.5 Rising to the challenge of Translational Health and Medicine

Key appointments at RCSI
The time for aspiration and visionary statements is over and the RCSI Strategic Plan 20092014 has already actioned the appointment of key personnel in Translational and Disease
Medicine ahead of PRTLI5. The College prioritised clinician-scientist led research teams
solely for inclusion in its participation in the successfully funded PRTLI4 MMI Network and
the National Biophotonics Imaging Platform consortium. The College will continue to
prioritise disease-specific research among clinician-scientist led research teams in the PRTLI5
and EU FP7 programmes.
The Research Strategy will allow for the targeted appointments into Disease Clusters to
strengthen these areas with critical mass & high-calibre internationally competitive scientists
and clinician scientists.
To grow and sustain RCSIs Translational Research capability, key research appointments at
professorial and lecturer level have been approved by the RCSI Council which include:
Research Professor in Translational Medicine
The RCSI appointed Irelands first Chair in Translational Medicine in 2008. The Professor of
Translational Medicine will have 8 protected sessions for research and 3 clinical sessions in
Beaumont Hospital. The appointee will be of the caliber to lead an SFI or Wellcome Trust
funded research programme in one of the Colleges niche areas of Cardiovascular, Respiratory,
Cancer, Neuroscience medical research. The Professor of Translational Medicine and research
team will play a leadership role in developing clinical research and promoting clinical trials in
the RCSI Clinical Research Centre at Beaumont Hospital, in developing the biomarker
discovery programme in the Centre of Human Proteomics and promoting commercial
partnerships with industry.
Research Professor in Cancer Genetics
In partnership with the National Childrens Research Centre, the RCSI has embarked on a 5M
research programme in childhood cancer genetics and has appointed Irelands first Chair in
Paediatric Cancer Genetics in March 2007. The Professor of Cancer Genetics is a world-leader
in the area of neuroblastoma and leads an SFI -funded research team at the RCSI and CRC and
will develop a national access facility in high-throughput genetic screening of childhood
cancers.
Research Professor in Neurodegeneration
The RCSI strengthened its Translational Research programmes in Neuroscience (in addition to
its current SFI and Wellcome funded three professors in neuroscience) through the
appointment of a clinician-scientist SFI Stokes Research Professor in Neurodegeneration,. His
research focuses on the the pathophysiology of traumatic brain injury, cerebral ischemia, and
subarachnoid hemorrhage with special emphasis on cerebral contusions, molecular
mechanisms of cytotoxic brain edema, intracellular apoptotic signaling, neurovascular biology
and small animal surgery and imaging.
Research Professor in Cardiovascular Science
The RCSI strengths in cardiovascular research are in thrombosis and stroke. In 2007 and 2009,
RCSI strengthened its research activity in platelet cell biology through two SFI Walton awards
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in cardiovascular biology. In 2008, the college appointed a full-time clinician-scientist

Research Professor of Cardiovascular Science in the area of platelet biology who will lead
translational research in the development and clinical trials of advanced devices and
diagnostics in the early detection of thrombosis.
Biomedical Research Lectureships
To address the long-term career deficit for young biomedical researchers and to build capacity
in basic science underpinning translational and disease research, the RCSI has appointed
Irelands first Biomedical Research Lecturers. The appointments of the first two research
lectureships were made in March 2007 and a further complement of two appointments were
made in 2008. These appointments are in disease-specific niche research areas of the College
with a clinician and scientist acting as the sponsors to oversee the career development of the
early-stage research-lecturer. These posts will carry significant start-up funding over the first 3
years. The research lecturer will have protected time for research with no more than 26 hours
yearly direct teaching load in the first three years of appointment. The Biomedical Research
Lectureship will become the major route for appointment in RCSI of tenured early-stage
researchers following their post-doctoral experience. In addition to building capacity of the
next generation of Translational researchers, these posts will strengthen research-led teaching
and avoid the dangers inherent in the growing dichotomy in research and teaching
characteristic of other institutions.
Training of clinician-scientists
The ACSTI report Towards Better Health 2006 highlights the lack of training and career
structure of clinician scientists as a key challenge in stepping up Translational and Disease
research. No single institution in Ireland can meet this challenge on its own. The RCSI will
partner with its sister Medical Schools through the MMI consortium to develop clinicianscientist structured MB PhD training programmes in translational research. In addition, RCSI
and TCD have signed a partnership agreement to develop common postgraduate courses in
molecular medicine and translational research.
Research Engineers
The College has paid particular attention to a key recommendation in the HEA infrastructure
review (2007) regarding the lack of dedicated research technical support and career track for
such essential staff which are uncommon in the HEI sector. The RCSI supports several Core
facilities which it considers essential to underpin Translational and Disease Research. The
College has appointed Research Engineers to the Core facilities in Peptide Synthesis, Cell &
Molecular Imaging, Small Animal Imaging and Human Ultrasound Imaging
Academic Consultant Translational Research Professorships
The College will continue its appointment of hospital consultants to joint academic positions at
professorial level in the specific areas it seeks to develop Translational and Disease Research.
Two such joint academic-hospital professorial consultant appointments have been made in
2007 in the areas of neuroscience (neuroendocrinology) and infectious diseases with further
appointments planned in cardiovascular pharmacology, gastroenterology, neurology, cancer
and respiratory medicine over the period of this strategic plan.
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2 Creating a Translational Research Infrastructure

STI Key recommendation: Develop a number of centres of world significance in
translational health research, each of which has strong foundations in both academia and
the health services and which will act as a magnet to the pharmaceutical and medical
devices industry, nationally and internationally. Build these centres through strategic
investment in research infrastructure, people and programmes by competitive, peer reviewed
awards through the HRB and other funding agencies;
2.1 The development of a Translational Hub in the Greater North Dublin Region
Over the period 2004-2007, the RCSI brought all its research centres and core facilities under
a single Translational Research Institute which constitutes Irelands first Research Institute
with a focus on Translational Health and Medicine. The RCSI Research Institute will double its
translational research laboratory facilities at Beaumont and Connolly Hospitals and link these
facilities into a single Translational Hub with DCU and NUIM over the period 2009-2014.
The RCSI Council endorsed a Translational Research strategy for PRTLI Cycle 4 and Cycle 5
and other NDP2 and EU FP7 Funding Programmes to establish a Translational Hub in the
Greater North Dublin Region. This concept was articulated and acted upon in over periods of
previous Institutional Strategic Plan 2002-2008 and developed further in the research strategy
2009-2014
Under PRTLI5 and other funding sources such as SFI, EU FP7, the RCSI will develop a
Translational Hub Capital Programme to build a 4,200 sq.m Translational Research Centre
(TRC) which will include the Phase 2 build of the Education and Research Centre at Beaumont
Hospital and new research laboratories at Connolly Hospital to complement the newly built
Asthma Clinical Centre (funded by the HSE and EU). This capital building development will
be linked to the new RCSI surgical research and training laboratories (Colles Institute) in York
Street (1,000 sq.m. built from private funds and due for completion Oct 2010) and to the
existing translational research laboratories in the adjoining ERC at Beaumont Hospital (1,200
sq.m. completed in 2003 from PRTLI Cycles 2&3 and private funds) and the new RCSI
Biomedical Research Institute (3,000 sq.m. completed in 2007 from PRTLI Cycles 3 & 4 and
private funds). The RCSI is acutely conscious of the hurdles to translational research in our
non-medical university partners NUIM and DCU through the lack of access to a medical
school and clinical research centres. Likewise, the RCSI would greatly benefit both in research
and postgraduate training from access to complementary university science facilities,
technological and research expertise. The presidents of NUIM, DCU and RCSI have endorsed
a bold plan to develop a Translational Hub along the corridor of RCSI-ERC, Beaumont and
Connolly Hospitals, DCU and NUI Maynooth. The Translational Hub running through the
Greater Dublin Region will develop from an alliance of research building infrastructure,
academic health centre, common degree post-graduate programmes, a single graduate school
and shared Translational Technology Labs between the academic partners and industry
(chemical biology, bioanalytical medical devices and diagnostics). Our major partners are
DCU and NUIM, bringing together, inter alia, the BDI CSET, NICB, NBIP the Hamilton
Institute and private partners from the medical devices industry. Under PRTLI Cycle 5, DCU,
NUIM and RCSI will propose complementary new research buildings to include a new DCU
Bioanalytical Nanomedicine Research Centre (3,500 sq.m), a new NUIM Chemical Biology
and Immunology Research Centre (2,000 sq.m). These new research laboratories together with
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the RCSI ERC Phase 2 building will add an additional 9,200 sq.m. of advanced translational
research and development laboratories into the Translational Hub. It is agreed that scientists
from the two non-medical universities, DCU and NUIM, working on collaborative
programmes with RCSI clinicians and scientist will have allocated laboratory space in the
RCSI Translational Research Centre at Beaumont Hospital.
The Translational Hub will bring in associated partners to include new research laboratories at
the Childrens Research Centre Crumlin Hospital. (800 sq.m) and at Tallaght and Dundalk IT.
The Translational Hub of universities, medical school, institutes of technology and hospitals
will be a truly national and international resource in translational research and training, with
close links to cognate research programmes in cancer, immunology and neuroscience at TCD,
UCD, UCC, QUB, UUU and to regenerative medicine research programmes at NUI Galway
(and post-graduate training programmes in Molecular Medicine Ireland). The Translational
Hub will also be linked into the Dublin Centre for Clinical Research (TCD-UCD-RCSI)
through a joint HRB-Wellcome Trust funded programme.
International Translational research programmes which already exist between RCSI and the
French national science and medical research councils (CNRS INSERM) the Italian science
council (CNR), the University of Massachussetts Medical School and the NIH Blood Institute
at Wisconsin will be developed as the international arm of Translational Hub in particular to
enhance the RCSI co-ordinator role in EU FP7 Health, People and Capacities Programmes
Biophotonics and Imaging are tools of translational research. In its capacity as co-ordinator of
the PRTLI4 funded National Biophotonics Imaging Platform (www.nbipireland.ie) , RCSI will
link the Translational Hub with its NBIP partners from the molecular, cell, animal and human
imaging cores in Cork, Limerick, Galway and Dublin.
The RCSI Research Institute will promote the participation of the Translational Research Hub
in EATRIS (European Advanced Translational Research Infrastructure in Medicine) which
will first establish a small number of research facilities distributed in Europe, with the task of
translating basic discoveries into clinical practice. Each node of the network will include
cutting-edge technologies for translational and disease research and will cover one of the major
disease fields: cardiovascular diseases, cancer, metabolic syndrome, brain disorders and
infectious disorders.
The development of a Translational Research Hub is a quantum leap for RCSI and delivers on
the STI recommendation to develop translational health centres of world-class significance.
The RCSI will engage with its core partners DCU and NUIM and the other medical
universities and with industry in developing and sustaining the Translational Hub. Over the
period of development of the Translational Hub 2010-2014, the RCSI envisages the
progressive transfer of all its translational research activity from its city centre campus on to
the Beaumont Hospital site to establish a Translational Research Centre. In partnership with
DCU, NUIM and the Academic Health Centre, the College will create a translational research
and development corridor in the Greater North Dublin region with a strong North-South Axis
in this development linking up with Dundalk IT, QUB and UU.
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13
The TRH will promote a single graduate school n Bioanalytics and Therapeutics with a focus
on translational research, development and commericalization of new medical devices,
sensors and therapeutics.
2.2 Filling Gaps in the Translational & Disease Research Infrastructure The National
Biophotonics Imaging Platform Ireland
RCSI Key Funding and Resource Actions to foster Translational Research
The STI council recommends that the required additional investment needed to fill the physical
infrastructure gaps in translational and clinical research including further
clinical/translational research centres in major academic hospitals, bio-banking facilities, a
gene-library and imaging and animal testing facilities be prioritised.
The National Biophotonics Imaging Platform Ireland (NBIP www.nbipireland.ie ) was
established under PRTLI Cycle 4 (30M funding award) and provides an integrated
infrastructure in research, education, technology development and industry collaboration for
the States investment in Biophotonics and Imaging. The NBIP was established by RCSI and
has been in development since December 2004. The Imaging Platform brings together all the
major Biophotonics and Imaging research centres in Irish Universities, Medical Schools and
Institutes of Technology in a single unique Research, Educational and Outreach consortium.
The NBIP includes a network of core facilities in molecular, cellular, animal and human
research imaging across 6 Universities (UCC, UL, NUIG, NUIM, DCU), 2 Institutes of
Technology (Dublin and Dundalk) and the RCSI which also acts as the National co-ordinator.
The NBIP has 3 major EU Imaging Platform partners the CNRS Montpellier, France,
Nordforsk Scandinavia and the CNR Naples, Italy.
Major objectives of the NBIP Consortium:
To provide a structured research and training framework for Ireland's investment in
advanced imaging applied to the Life Sciences
To establish Graduate Training Programmes in Biophotonics and Imaging
To bridge the Physical and Life Sciences interface and, through partnership with
Industry, to enhance technology developments in BioPhotonics and Imaging
To provide a national access to Core Facilities in Molecular, Cellular, Animal and
Human Research Imaging.
To develop inter-institutional and international research programmes building on the
expertise of Principal Investigators
To provide a Biophotonics and Imaging infrastructure for Ireland's participation in
large-scale international research programmes
The NBIP consortium addresses major infrastructural challenges highlighted in recent Forfas,
HEA and HRB reports for developing and sustaining world-class research competiveness and
critical mass in Irelands Third-level sector. Specifically, the NBIP bridges the Physical and
Life Sciences interface linking cognate research groups in the Mathematical, Physical,
Chemical, Computational and Life Sciences to develop new research paradigms and advanced
tools in Photonics and Imaging. The interdisciplinary consortium will create numerous
opportunities for innovation and commercialisation and through partnership with Industry will
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enhance technology developments in Biophotonics and Molecular Imaging. The NBIP has no
competing national network and represents Irelands node for biophotonics and imaging
research expertise and access to core facilities. Over the past two years, the NBIP partners have
identified and agreed the location of institutional centres of excellence for the development,
access and sustainability of Molecular, Cellular, Animal and Human Imaging Research Core
Facilities. The consortium under the current and successor PRTLI cycles will target investment
in these Core Facilities for advanced equipment upgrades/service and dedicated long-term
research technician/engineer support two key infrastructural deficits identified as severely
limiting Irelands international competiveness in the 2006 HEA review on Research
Infrastructures. The BioPhotonics Imaging Platform has its own specific Research Programmes
building on the expertise of Principal Investigators. The Platform will provide the
infrastructure for Ireland's participation in large-scale international research programmes in
FP7 and the development of the ESFRI roadmap in Structural Biology in which advanced
imaging facilities are a key component. The NBIP will also play a key role for Ireland in the
ESFRI Emerging Proposal- European Infrastructure for Research in Biomedical Imaging
(EIRBI).
The NBIP potential in the European roadmap for research infrastructures
The National Biophotonics Imaging Platform addresses key infrastructure deficits in Europe
and can underpin Irelands participation in the ESFRI Roadmap in Euro Bio-Imaging:
European Emerging Areas:
Advanced Light Microscopy for Europe
The goal of this initiative is to establish advanced light microscopy imaging centres in Europe
to generate and apply novel advanced technology for non-invasive imaging of biomolecular
function in living systems ranging from single cells to model animals. With the explosion in
the use of digital imaging techniques in basic research, the funding necessary to establish the
required infrastructure and human expertise exceeds considerably both the financial and
scientific capabilities of individual laboratories or even of institutions.
European Infrastructure for Research in Biomedical Imaging (EIRBI)

A number of in vitro techniques are now available to biologists for assessing, at the molecular
level, the occurrence of abnormal gene expression that accompanies the development of a
pathological state. The field of biomedical imaging is challenged to translate these tremendous
achievements into early diagnosis and efficient follow-up
of therapeutic treatments as well as developing novel, imaging-guided, drug-delivery and
minimally invasive treatments. The establishment of EIRBI is essential to this challenge, and
will further maintain the competitiveness of European industries and academic institutions in
the field of imaging.
The ESFRI roadmap - Interaction between Biological and Medical Sciences (BMS) and
the other Sciences:
The ESFRI roadmap discusses the value of interdisciplinary approaches to generate ideas that
will open up new and unexpected areas of knowledge. Biological and functional imaging at
various scales is benefiting enormously from interaction with the physical, chemical,
computational and mathematical sciences.
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15
The National Biophotonics Imaging Platform will stimulate these interactions between the
physical and life sciences in specific areas to develop new ideas and technologies. The RCSI is
specifically involved in this interface in the development of novel fluorescence sensors and
nanobiophotonics (RCSI-DCU-Tyndall), adaptive optics (NUIG), Mathematical modeling
(RCSI-NUIM-UCC) and imaging software (RCSI-NUIG, UCC).
Stepping outside the box: New biological imaging paradigms from other disciplines:
The RCSI will seek interdisciplinary partnerships to stimulate innovative research and device
development in imaging. Two partnerships are particularly compelling in the physical and
mathematical sciences which will be promoted by RCSI in the NBIP.
The Image to Mathematical Modelling Transition (IMMT) core is coordinated by the
Hamilton Institute NUIM. The partners are the Boole Centre for Research in Informatics
(UCC), the Hamilton Institute (NUIM) and the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland. The
purpose of the core is to develop, supply and maintain the mathematical methods and
algorithms that allow mathematical models of biological phenomena to be abstracted from the
images generated by the imaging modalities contained in the NBIP.
Specifically, the IMMT core will:
(a) Develop new algorithmic methods that perform the transition from temporal/spatial
information in bio-images to a quantitative mathematical representation or model of the
corresponding dynamical and spatial variations.
(b) Implement the algorithms and model methods in software and test them on exemplar
problems.
(c) Distribute the algorithms throughout the platform by means of a software workbench
containing the methods developed by the core and for use by the NBIP.
(d) Develop and operate a database for image data associated with the NBIP.
Astronomical Imaging applied to the Biomedical Sciences
Many novel paradigms in biology have arisen from unexpected applications and developments
from other disciplines. A key element of the NBIP is the breaking down of barriers for
interaction between the Physical and Life Sciences to generate novel ideas and technologies in
biophotonics and imaging. Advanced Imaging analysis is a particular strength of the
Astronomy groups at NUIG & UCC whereas advanced optics and cameras are strengths of the
Adaptive Optics group at NUIG, the Tyndall Institute and Astrophysics group at UCC. The
NBIP will use powerful astronomical imaging techniques and software applied to biological
imaging, in both the temporal and spatial domain. The NBIO will fund Ph.D.s in the
Astrophysics groups in NUIG & UCC to develop novel imaging modalities with applications
in biomedical imaging.
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RCSI Research Institute - Management and Strategy

3.1 Management Structure
Overall responsibility for the running of the RCSI Research Institute will reside with the
Director of Research and a Research Institute Executive Committee, supported by the
Associate Directors of Research and Technology Transfer, and an administrative team
including a Research Projects Officer, Operation administrator and Assistant. The reporting
line for the Director is to the CEO and ultimately to Council.
The RIEB has the overall responsibility in decision-making on every aspect of the day-to-day
Research Institute activities and is supported by the Associate Directors of Research and
Technology Transfer, RCSI Research Accountant and an administrative team including a
Research Executives and Operation Assistant. The reporting line for the Director is to the CEO
and ultimately to Council. Membership of the RIEB comprises the heads of the five Disease
and the Population Health Cluster, the RCSI Director of Research and the Deputy CEO. The
Research Executive Committee is chaired by the Director of Research who has overall
responsibility for all decisions taken concerning budget, scientific direction and strategy of the
Research Institute. The Executive Committee may co-opt members from other Research
Institute researchers and support staff if required. The Executive Committee is re-constituted
every 5 years. It is planned that from time to time the RIEB will establish a panel of ad hoc
scientific advisors external to RCSI from Research Institutes abroad. The Executive Committee
will call on the advice of its external advisors to review Research Institute activities in the
context of best competitive International practice. Reports are made regularly to the Research
Committee and the Medical Faculty Board on Research Institute activities.
The Research Committee is the principal College Committee with responsibility to formulate
and develop the Research Strategy of the College and to ensure the operations of the Research
Office and the activities of the Research Institute are coherent with this strategy and with the
best international practice in the conduct and support of research. The Research Committee
carries out reviews on Research Institute activities, strategic direction, outputs and performance
and establishes sub-committees where necessary for such reviews and reports. The College
Council or Senior Management may instruct the Research Committee to carry out reviews as
________________________________________________________________________________________ 17
appropriate. The Research Committee membership is limited to a maximum of 14 members

representing as broadly as possible the various constituencies of research, teaching and College
service which impact on RCSIs research reputation and endeavour. The Research Committee
includes representatives from: CEO's nominee; School of Nursing; Dean's nominee; Director
of Research; Surgical R&D Colles Institute; School of Pharmacy - staff elected; Research
Institute SSG- Staff elected; Research Institute ERC- Staff elected; Head of School of
Postgraduate Studies; Director of Finance or nominee; Presidents nominee (Chair); Beaumont
Hospital Consultant; Senior Management Team; Population Health The Research Committee
is reconstituted every 3 years with 7 members rotating off in the last year of their term. No
voted member may serve longer than 6 years.
The Research Institute will be supported by its funded Principal Investigators and researchers
whose activity supports the Colleges strategy in Translational Research from bench to
bedside to population
In addition, the Research Institute will develop research and training partnerships nationally
and internationally with its overseas medical schools, research institutes and industrial partners.
Ideally these collaborative partnerships should be in the form of a signed Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) or Research Collaborative Contract. Current examples of formal
Research Partnerships include, nationally, the Crumlin Hospital Childrens Research Centre,
DCU-BDI CSET, the NBIP and internationally, The Howard Florey Institute, Melbourne,
Australia, The Blood Institute, Wisconsin, USA, The Institute of Functional Genomics,
Montpellier, France, the Institute of Biostructure and Bioimaging at the Italian National
Research Council (IBB-CNR, Naples), the Institute for Translational Medicine & Therapeutics,
University of Pennsylvania, USA and the University of Massachusetts Medical School USA .
These collaborations will be developed further particularly for Ph.D. electives, senior
researcher exchange programmes and knowledge transfer.
The National Institute of Health, which invests more than $28 billion annually in medical
research, is moving beyond the model of clinical research centres to large-scale, translational
research facilities. The NIH recently issued a call for the establishment of translational research
facilities, with a typical budget of $100 million per centre. The University of Pennsylvania was
successful in the NIH Translational Centre Call and its programme director Prof Garret
Fitzgerald has strong links with RCSI under PRTLI Cycle 3 and PRTLI Cycle 4 providing PhD
training mobility programmes for RCSI researchers.
In May 2008, the RCSI signed a MoU with the University of Massachussetts to develop joint
ventures in research, education and overseas development . The UMass Medical School and
RCSI will engage in partnership to develop a RNAi research and therapeutics programmes in
collaboration with the DCU Nano-bioanalytical Research Facility, which will have a focus on
translational nanomedicine.
3.2 Research Funding
The Research Institute development builds on the Cycle 3 Programme for Human Genomics
(RCSI budget 22M). The major source of Research Institute funding over the strategic plan
2009-2014 will come from peer-reviewed awards from HEA PRTLI, SFI, HRB, Wellcome
Trust and EU FP7, Industry partnerships, commercialization and from the RCSI private
resources and charitable donations. The Research Institute has already secured PRTLI4 funding
(NBIP & MMI Clinical Science training fellowships 13M) for the period 2008-2013. The
Research Institute will enter PRTLI5 with a single programme in Translational Research to
establish a Translational Research Hub with DCU and NUIM in the Greater North Dublin
region. RCSI will seek capital funding for a Translational Research Centre , ERC Phase II
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building, at Beaumont Hospital. The Translational Hub will support a PhD programme in
Bioanalytical Therapeutics centered around the five RCSI-prioritised Disease Clusters and
supported by clinician-scientist co-supervised research programmes.
3.3 Disease Research Clusters
The College has established strategic Disease Clusters within the Research Institute to aid in its
translational research goals and strategy. These Clusters will be comprised of a consortium or
network of laboratories in the Research Institute and at Beaumont & Connolly Hospitals as an
enhanced mechanism for collaborative research interaction between clinicians and scientists.
Each Disease Cluster will represent a major area of current RCSI and Hospital research.
Specifically, RCSI will aspire to world-class research in a small number of Disease areas to
include, breast, prostate, colorectal & skin cancers, respiratory inflammation,
neurodegeneration & behaviour, thrombosis & stroke.
The College has significant and growing strengths in Population Health & Health Care
Management which cut across many disease clusters and the Population Health Cluster will be
supported by the College as key to delivering Translational Research benefits out into the
community.
A key element in delivering true Translational research will be effective communication and
research partnerships between hospital consultants and Research Institute scientists. For this to
work, an Academic Health Centre (AHC) will be developed between RCSI, Beaumont and
Connolly Hospitals and possibly a new private-partnership RCSI hospital in the same HSE
area. An alignment of the research strategy between RCSI and the hospitals under an AHC will
be key to deliver effective Translational Research, particularly in areas of designated Centres
of Excellence within these hospitals. The AHC should ideally become the vehicle for
developing associated hospital involvement in the Translational Hub.
Current clinical expertise and national speciality referrals in the RCSI-AHC (Academic Health
Centre) include renal transplantation, neurology (epilepsy, schizophrenia, Traumatic Brain
________________________________________________________________________________________ 19
Injury (TBI)), endocrinology (diabetes, pituitary dysfunction), respiratory inflammatory

diseases (Cystic Fibrosis, Asthma, Alpha-1 anti trypsin) and breast, and colorectal cancer. The
RCSI-AHC will promote the incorporation of these clinical areas of expertise into a common
Translational Research Strategy and an alignment of Hospital and RCSI strategic plans for
research and clinician scientists training.
Disease Research Clusters internal structure
The leadership of the Clusters will be agreed by the PIs within each Cluster. The Cluster Heads
will form the Research Executive Committee and remain in place for the duration of the
strategic plan. The Cluster structure will provide focus and critical mass in research areas of
evident international strength and expertise. The Cluster structure will be adaptable in regard to
inclusion of new research groups or research groups winding-down. It will improve RCSIs
competitiveness in getting large grant applications. It is expected that the Cluster structures
will assist in the targeted hiring of biomedical lecturers for specific Cluster enhancement in a
given direction decided by the Research Executive Committee.
The Disease Clusters are supported by translational platforms including discipline specific
sciences and Core Technologies. Translational platforms will interact with multiple Disease
Clusters and act as enabling and support platforms for these Disease Clusters. The main
enabling technologies for RCSI in the translational space are proteomics (via the RCSI Centre
for Human Proteomics), Biomedical Research Facility (BRF), imaging (via the National
BioPhotonics Imaging Platform coordinated by RCSI), Drug Delivery (via PRTLI3-funded
Advanced Drug Delivery Facility at RCSI School of Pharmacy) and medicinal chemistry. Key
inter-disciplinary scientific expertise lie in the areas of Bio-engineering, Tissue Engineering,
Infection & Immunity and Molecular Medicine. The College is supporting other translational
enabling activities in its Clinical Research Centre, particularly for the training of clinician
scientists in clinical trial protocols and ethical and legal procedures as well as advanced
training for research nurses.
3.4 Clinical Research Centre
The department of health and children's 2001 strategy document, Making Knowledge Work for
health identified clinical research centres (CRCs) as a key infrastructure need. there are now
four such centres either operational or planned with Beaumont/RCSI and St. Jamess having
capacity to do clinical trials
The RCSI has led the development of clinical trials and close collaborations between its major
teaching hospital and the Education and Research Centre at Beaumont in founding Irelands
first Clinical Research Centre. Over the period 2008-2013, the CRC will provide the
infrastructure for research nurse training and electronic database management for the
HRB/Wellcome Trust 20M investment in a Dublin-wide Clinical Research Facility. Through
its executive management role in the MMI, the RCSI will collaborate with UCD and TCD in
broadening the Dublin CRF to include the medical schools of Cork and Galway in an Irish
Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (ICRIN). The ICRIN will serve as Irelands platform
to join the European equivalent ECRIN in FP7.
The management and direction of the Clinical Research Center will devolve to a new CRC
Research Executive, chaired by the Professor of Translational Medicine to include membership
of Professors in Medicine, Surgery, Pathology, Cardiovascular Science plus 2 consultant
members nominated by the Beaumont Hospital Medical Executive. The CRC will promote
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clinical trials in the niche Disease Clusters & the training of clinician-scientists and research
nurses.
3.5 The Colles Institute
This Institute will endeavour to advance the care of the surgical patient by extending the
frontiers of clinical standards (therapeutic strategies and technologies) and by providing
education and training to enable the rapid transfer of these standards into practice. As well as
meeting the lifelong education and training needs of trainees, surgeons, other members of the
surgical team and other specialties, the Colles Institute will also offer a full suite of surgical
clinical research and technology development services to clinicians, researchers, and industry
in Ireland and abroad.
The Institute is named after Abraham Colles (1773 1843) of the famed fracture, who was an
RCSI President and who quite extraordinarily held three RCSI Professorships in Anatomy,
Surgery and Physiology. The Colles Institute will be formally launched to the public in 2010.
This Institute will build on our colleges existing reputation as an innovator in surgical
education and training. We were first in the world to develop and deliver a national structured
training programme to augment the traditional apprenticeship model, and first in the world to
develop and deliver a mobile surgical skills unit, innovative online surgical education tools
(BeST and School for Surgeons), and a methodology for surgical skills assessment for
selection into higher surgical training.
However, the college and surgical education and training are facing further challenges on a
number of fronts. The introduction of the European Time Working Directive will further
reduce in-hospital training opportunities and governments throughout the world are seeking for
a reduction in the time to train surgeons. The challenge to our College now is to make
education and training more accessible and efficient. This challenge is amplified by the
increasing advances in new technologies and drug therapies, with more than 150 new surgical
procedures introduced over the last decade. Finally, the move towards re-licensing and recertification for surgeons and lifelong learning for all the surgical team will increase the need
for continuous professional skills training programmes. The Colles Institute will endeavour to
extend the frontiers of surgical knowledge through the teaching of surgical skills and the
advancement of clinical and teaching knowledge.
The Colles Institute currently consists of three centres: First, the existing National Surgical
Training Centre (NSTC), a world leader in the development and delivery of procedural based
education, training and assessment. Second, the Centre for Innovation in Surgical Technology
(CIST), to provide a range of services to surgeons, researchers and industry to facilitate the
development and rapid transfer of new technologies into practice. CIST key goals are to
develop, assess, acquire, and commercialise surgical technology products and companies.
Finally, the Centre for Clinical Research and Development (CCR&D), which was awarded
RCSI Synergy seed funding in 2009, and provides the full suite of clinical research services to
support surgical research. The services of CCR&D will help to support and further facilitate
clinical research by surgeons in Ireland or internationally, by the colleges NSTC or CIST, or
by industry.
The Institute is currently located on St. Stephens Green in RCSI House, however in 2011 it
will be relocated to a custom built, state-of-the-art facility that will support research into and
teaching of the latest techniques and procedures. The new facility will occupy 2600m 2 across
three floors of the new building that the college is currently constructing on York Street.
Fundraising for this new facility which will cost over 15M (10M for land and building and
5M for equipment) will commence in 2009. The design of this new facility builds on the
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colleges experiences in their existing training and research centres and incorporates a wide
range of features from the worlds leading training and research centres.
The ground floor will contain a state of the art conference centre with auditorium and
amphitheatre. The first floor will contain small conference rooms and office space for faculty
and staff. Finally the lower ground floor will consist of 20 work stations, with each station
equipped with all the required equipment and services to carry out a wide range surgical
procedures from open to laparoscopic using either wet or dry models. In addition to training
and assessment, the facility will also be used for CCR&D research activities.
The rooms throughout this new facility will be linked audio-visually to each other or to any
Irish or global location or operating theatre using videoconferencing. This connectivity will
enable Surgery to further extend their current philanthropic education and training activities in
Africa. Although this facility has been primarily designed to facilitate the teaching of surgical
skills, its flexible design ensures that it will be suitable for a variety of specialties and
audiences with a multitude of educational, conference, and meeting needs.
After almost 250 years of leadership in surgery, RCSI, by creating the Colles Institute will
endeavour to ensure that our College continues to best meet the needs of todays and
tomorrows surgical patients and surgeons.
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4.Fostering Population and International Health Research at RCSI: 2009-2014

During the period 2009 2014 we plan to build on the critical mass of research expertise,
which has been achieved through the establishment of the Division of Population Health
Sciences (comprising Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine, General Practice and
Psychology); the close research links the Division has with the Dept of International Health
and Tropical Medicine; and other research links across College as appropriate. We will expand
our collective health systems research activities, building on recent successes in: (i) attracting
national population based studies such as SLAN-06, (ii) doctoral research programmes the
HRB Scholars Programme in Health Services Research and the Irish Aid HEA Ireland Africa
Partnership, and (iii) Health Research Centres such as the HRB Health Research Centre in
Primary Care. These successes in competitive research awards have already resulted in a
doubling of research staff numbers in Population Health Sciences in two years.
Further growth will firstly be based on addressing the priorities, strengthening our links and
delivering on the knowledge needs of Irish government and related research funding agencies,
especially HRB and HEA, in the areas of national and international health research. Other
strategic research funding opportunities will be pursued, e.g. within the EU Framework 7
Programme, and from the Wellcome Trust and other UK-based funding agencies. Secondly,
we will work with RCSI Senior Management to identify strategic opportunities to strengthen
link College links with the HSE and the Dept of Health and Children, which may include
College-funded and co-funded link posts. Such College commitments have already been made
in the area of International Health to strengthen research and training links with sub-Saharan
Africa.
RCSI is now in a position to become a stronger centre of excellence nationally and
internationally in research that contributes to policies and programmes that improve health;
through rigorous evaluations of Population Health and Health Services interventions; through
building research capacity and the next generation of trained researchers, both nationally (in
Ireland) and internationally (especially in Africa); and in ensuring that research findings are
translated into policy and practice. International Health research will continue to develop as a
collaborative inter-departmental cluster within RCSI, bringing together complementary skills
and diverse backgrounds, and thereby strengthening synergistic links between academic RCSI
departments.
4.1 Irish research focus
The research focus will be on addressing the major health challenges in Ireland through
patient and service evaluation and problem identification; through evaluation of novel
interventions; through development of ICT systems to improve service delivery and quality
assurance; through health services outcomes research and in particular how to undertake
interdisciplinary assessments of health services impact on patient care and outcomes; and in
researching the processes and strategies for getting research into policy and practice. We will
focus on research-capacity strengthening, through the production of HSR-trained and
embedded PhD Scholars and further initiatives of this kind; and through the further
development of postdoctoral research staff in Leadership and Management Skills.
4.2 Developing country research focus
The research focus will be on addressing the major health problems of developing countries,
with a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa, including: HIV1, malaria, health worker training
________________________________________________________________________________________ 23
and retention, HBV, health systems, maternal health, and equity and access to services.
Research will aim to promote transparent public ownership, sustainable solutions, and to
operate in a way that empowers women and the poor. Research will contribute to new
knowledge on preventative interventions including clean water, vaccine development, safe
motherhood, strengthening national level policies and programmes, and operational research
integrated with health practice. The focus of the new RCSI-led Ireland Africa Partnership will
be on research-capacity strengthening, both in Ireland and among the African partners.
4.3 Research partnerships
Research in the Division of Population Health Sciences will build on the strong collaborative
research partnerships that already exist between RCSI researchers and research groups in other
Irish and selected UK third-level institutions, and with key stakeholders and knowledge users
in Irish agencies such as the HSE, HIQA and the Department of Health and Children. In
International Health, we will build on the strong collaborative research partnerships that
already exist between RCSI Faculty members across several departments and more than 20
research groups in resource-poor countries, especially in Africa; with researchers in other Irish
and UK third-level institutions; as well as with global stakeholders within the UN multilateral
and bilateral agency systems.
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5 Strengthening of RCSIs Research Management and Support

The Research Office
Mission statement: The office will enhance funding opportunities, technology transfer,
commercialization and successful awards to staff and will encourage an environment
conducive for internationally competitive research.
The research office will be a national example of efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of
support to research.
Role of the research office in the strategic management and support of research
Strategy Management of the Research Pillar: - RCSI is a leader in niche areas of Translational
and Health Medicine
1. Action and sustaining the Research Strategy through specified support to capital and
human resources (see Appendix 1).
- Professorial appointments
- Research Lectureships and Research Engineers and Technicians
- Identifying and supporting promising young research talent
- Promoting interaction and collaboration between clinicians and scientists
- Research Institute - planning and management for current activity and expansion,
space usage and allocation, and equipment procurement
- National and International Research partnerships identification of opportunities,
selection, support, management and delivery
Strategy Management for the Research Office - an efficient adaptable research management
administrative support service to RCSI
2.
-
Evolving and sustaining a Strategy for the Research Office to become a National
example of efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of support to research
Management of new research support functions, expanded activities and
responsibilities
Management and administrative support to the Research Institute
Enhancing funding opportunities and success
Managing Institutional and Inter-Institutional Research Programmes and Proposals
Promotion of Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property exploitation and
commercialisation
Liaison with funding agencies, national and international bodies dealing with research
funding and policy.
Compliance in research audits and research reporting to funding agencies
The research institute strategy may be viewed at: http://www.rcsi.ie/index.jsp?&pID=93&nID=96 .
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6. Knowledge transfer strategy (20092014)

RCSI is a self-financing independent medical College located in the heart of Dublin since
1794. Throughout its long history, RCSIs reputation as an innovative and commercially
active leader in the field of biomedicine has been widely and internationally recognised.
Recently described in the Irish Times as an entrepreneurial rapid-response unit worth
500M, the College represents not only a highly regarded centre of medical and surgical
training, but also a rapidly growing institute of world-class biomedical innovation.
The RCSI Technology Transfer Office was established in October 2007 with the recruitment of
Dr. Gearid Tuohy, now charged with harnessing innovation into commercial assets and
revenue generating opportunities for the College. Since the launch of the RCSIs Technology
Transfer Office (TTO), the initial team has expanded to three and, in the space of less than 15
months, has generated just under 1M in revenue from the execution of option, licensing and
collaborative agreements based on College intellectual property.
Much of the success of the RCSI TTO has been built on the timely investments of Enterprise
Ireland in the establishment of infrastructure and resources embedded within the technology
transfer function. EI funding has enabled the College to recruit experienced commercial skills
that now add significant value to both the commercial assets and the ability to execute
transactions.
With the continued support of EI the Colleges TTO aims to be self-financing within a short
number of years. This commitment readily sits with the RCSIs independent ethos and its
commitment to continuing innovation and the development of Irelands knowledge economy.
Technology transfer in the RCSI is not restricted to commercialisation of patentable research.
Other types of important and tangible IP such as educational products and tools provide an
important output for the College, and have contributed to the national skill base as well as
providing the basis for generating revenue for the College. The Colles Institute has been
established to advance the care of the surgical patient by extending the frontiers of clinical
standards (therapeutic strategies and technologies) and by providing education and training to
enable the rapid transfer of these standards into practice. As well as meeting the lifelong
education and training needs of trainees, surgeons, other members of the surgical team and
other specialties, the Colles Institute will also offer a full suite of surgical clinical research and
technology development services to clinicians, researchers, and industry in Ireland and abroad.
The Institute is named after Abraham Colles (1773 1843) of the famed fracture, who was an
RCSI President and who quite extraordinarily held three RCSI Professorships in Anatomy,
Surgery and Physiology. The Colles Institute will be formally launched to the public in 2010.
This Institute will build on RCSIs existing reputation as an innovator in surgical education and
training. RCSI was first in the world to develop and deliver a national structured training
programme to augment the traditional apprenticeship model, and first in the world to develop
and deliver a mobile surgical skills unit, innovative online surgical education tools (BeST and
School for Surgeons), and a methodology for surgical skills assessment for selection into
higher surgical training.
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26
6.1 Commercialization Strategy

The College has a long track record for enterprise and commercialization. As an example, the
College has successfully commercialized an on-line surgical training service (School for
SurgeonsTM see http://www.rcsi.ie/postgraduate_surgery/school_for_surgeons/index.asp?id=37&pid=1277).
"SCHOOL for Surgeons" - Surgical Conferencing with enHanced Opportunities for Online
Learning - provides the trainee with regularly updated clinical and other material designed to
promote self-directed learning, challenge the trainees to actively seek to expand their
knowledge base, and develop their analytical and clinical decision-making skills. The
programme is delivered using an open source virtual learning environment (Moodle) which is
based on a social constructionist pedagogic model.A further example is BeSTTM (or Basic
electronic Surgical Training), a structured surgical training programme for post-graduate
surgical trainees, delivered over the web. This programme was developed at RCSI in
collaboration with a technology company and Harvard Medical International (part of the
Harvard Medical School), This online programme is now being used in surgical training
extensively in the US.
The Technology Transfer Office will pursue a commercialization strategy that (1) supports the
above-referenced Missions Statements of the RCSI Research Institute, especially the
commercialisation of research for the benefit of the RCSI and the nations health gain, and (2) is
consistent with the National Codes of Practice related to management and commercialization
of IP. Clearly, the main area of support will be in the area of IP capture, protection,
development and exploitation.
RCSI recognises its responsibility to generate value from the investment in research.
This will be done by utilizing the most suitable route of exploitation of College IP. It is likely
that three main mechanisms, already in place in the College today, will be employed, namely
(1) licensing (or assignment) of IP in the fields of healthcare (including therapeutics,
diagnostics, prognostics, theranostics, and education), (2) setting up RCSI-based service
offerings in the healthcare field, which service offering are based on RCSI IP, and (3) setting
up campus companies for the exploitation of appropriate RCSI IP.
As an example, these mechanisms will be applied to the following proposed projects within the
RCSI:
(1) RCSI Pharma a proposed campus company being set up to exploit the technologies in
development within the RCSI School of Pharmacy, including oral drug delivery formulations,
and a pulmonary delivery vehicle for respiratory disorders. This company is being driven by
Prof John Kelly who has extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry and has the
support of a number of influential industry figures.
(2) Biophotonics/Imaging the RCSI is leading the successful NBIP Imaging/Biophotonics
platform. This industry focussed platform which involves collaborations with a number of
international and industrial partners has the capacity to generate a considerable high tech
applied IP portfolio.
(3) Disease-Associated Biomarkers the RCSI has established a body of IP in the field of
disease-associated biomarkers. The College is currently engaging with Pharma companies to
assess how the RCSI libraries of biomarkers will be used in collaborative clinical development
studies. It is hoped that the biomarker IP would be licensed out on foot of a royalty bearing
license agreement.
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27
6.2 IP Training/Awareness Strategy

The College technology transfer function is efficiently managed through a close working
relationship with the RCSI Research Office. This approach brings the College TTO into line
with best practice internationally and facilitates management across the research continuum
from basic research through invention disclosure, patent filing and commercialisation. The
benefits of this management system contribute to successful protection of research assets by
identifying IP at an early stage and ensuring that early stage agreements such as MTAs and
confidentiality agreements are appropriately drafted to avoid any compromise of Colleges
intellectual property and subsequent commercialization options.
The following activities form part of the training/awareness strategy of the RCSI Technology
Transfer Office:
1. Representative of Technology Transfer Office meetings with Head of each Department
in the College on a quarterly basis to review ongoing projects.
2. Regular face-to-face interaction with PIs and research groups re-enforces the
importance of recognising issues that may impact on the ability to protect research
assets.
3. IP awareness lectures provided to 1st year PhDs, MScs and summer students at the
commencement of their projects on the benefits of commercialisation of research.
4. IP Clinics facilitated by external patent attorneys covering the basics of patent filing
and answering specific questions on a case by case basis.
5. Commercialisation clinics presented by EI commercialisation specialists communicate
the importance of protecting potential commercial applications of all basic and applied
research.
6. Promotional activities to make technology transfer offering clear to researchers.
a. comprehensive intranet website,
b. the publication of a quarterly email newsletter containing relevant and
informative articles relating to the commercialisation of research and the
supports available from the TTO.
c. Presentations at the Research Interaction Workshop
7. The College underscores the commitment to supporting innovation through an annual
IDEAS prize which rewards research staff that contribute to the generation of new
inventions.
8. Training on patent database searching is provided to researchers on a number of patent
search databases.
9. All RCSI grant registration forms include section drawing PIs attention to RCSI Patent
Policy, and to IP policy of funding body, especially as regards prompt reporting of
inventions, and need for confidentiality. This section needs to be signed by the PI,
whereby they acknowledge they have read and understand the relevant policies.
6.3 Institutional Support for TT Office and IP
The RCSI Patents and Inventions policy recognizes that revenue generated by College patents
will be shared amongst the College, the inventors department(s), and the inventors. This policy
also outlines the authority and responsibilities of the TTO, a copy of which is provided to every
employee upon their appointment.
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28
To ensure that commercialisation activities are recognised for career enhancement purposes,
the RCSI Promotions Committee will consider the following activities as being important
considerations for career advancement in the RCSI: involvement in development and
commercialization projects; involvements in patents; involvement in EI Commercialisation
Projects; Industry Collaborations; secondments to industry.
6.4 Management Structure of Technology Transfer Function
The RCSI TTO is the designated office charged with the responsibility of managing the
Colleges IP and commercialisation activities. The Assoc. Director is the designated legal
authority for all IP, option, license and commercial agreements involving patented research
assets of the RCSI. The Assoc. Director reports directly to Colleges Senior Management
Team including the Vice-President of the RCSI and the Colleges Director of Research.
Reporting to the Assoc. Director is the Technology Transfer Manager and the Technology
Transfer Administrator.
6.5 Commercialisation Committee
College TTO has established a Commercialization Committee which includes a variety of
specialists from the fields of patent licensing and venture capital. Biotechnology executives in
US companies, academic specialists and medical specialists working at the interface of
research and industry are also involved. In addition, College TTO staff have been recruited
specifically from a commercial background and as such bring the added-value of personal
commercial networks and diligence capacity to early stage projects. The availability of such
skill bases permits effective management of scarce resources such that College makes
commercially focused decisions in order to maximize a return on the investment in basic
research.
The College TTO actively engages with its designated EI Commercialisation Specialist on a
regular basis for both reporting progress on EI investments and in order to avail of access to the
EI network of indigenous companies - to date this has resulted in the execution of a number of
option/license agreements.
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29
6.6 Outreach
Since 2000, the RCSI has had a sustained programme for Outreach activities to promote
knowledge sharing so as to maximise the returns to education, the economy and society.
Public Outreach Activities
RCSI Mini-Med School
The RCSI Mini-Med School is an informative and entertaining public education seminar
series developed for people who are interested in learning more about health, medicine and
the delivery of healthcare in Ireland. The Mini-Med School programme comprises a series of
lectures delivered by RCSI academic staff, including some of Irelands leading physicians
and researchers. Participants learn directly from the experts how our body works, how to take
an active role in maintaining their health as well as the opportunity to hear about cutting-edge
developments. The event comprises two lectures, one evening per week over 10 weeks on a
broad range of medical and health related matters including psychiatric illness, anatomy,
cardiovascular disease, diabetes, snoring, childhood accidents, cancer and general practice. In
an age of increased patient participation and greater health awareness, the Mini-Med School
affords people the opportunity to learn more about topical health related issues from leading
experts and to gain an insight into medical terminology, research and patient care.
(www.minimedschool.ie)
Mini-Med school forms part of the RCSI Outreach strategy which aims to increase awareness
of health related issues in the general public providing the public with a forum to learn in a
relaxed educational environment. This is the sixth year that RCSI has hosted this novel
educational event, which was originally introduced to Ireland by RCSI in 1997. Previous
years have attracted widespread public interest with demand for places far outstripping
availability. These programmes impact nationally on the general publics perceptions of
medicine and healthcare and help break down barriers in relation to access to medical
information and also medical education. Presenting medical information in a relaxed
engaging environment ultimately means it has more relevance to peoples life and further
education is perceived as more accessible. Mini Med School participants bring with them a
wealth of self-directed learning and knowledge derived from their own family health
experiences. This makes for a much more exciting interaction with MMS audiences and
feedback from these events are always positive.
RCSI Mini Med School Roadshow
Due to the popularly of the Dublin based Mini Med School RCSI recently developed a MiniMed Roadshow. This unique outreach initiative was designed to facilitate the general public in
locations outside the greater Dublin area with a forum to learn about the most up-to-date
knowledge and opinions on human health, disease, diagnosis and treatment. In 2008 this
biennial event was based at the RCSI/HSE Education Centre in Waterford Regional Hospital
and 140 participants registered for the programme, consisting of a series of 10 lectures which
were presented over 5 consecutive weeks in September and October 2008.
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30
RCSI Annual Outreach Public Lecture

The Annual Outreach Lecture is one of the key events in the RCSI calendar. The target
audience of this lecture is the general public and it is delivered by a world-renowned scientist
on a topic of relevance to the RCSIs research programme. The speaker talks about their
subject with passion, and they are able to inform, inspire and entertain any audience. This
lecture promotes awareness of, and an interest in, research, science and technology, to the
wider community. The lecture is also about increasing the profile of the College in the public
domain and as such speakers are chosen for their ability to induce media interest.
Third Level Outreach Activities
RCSI Undergraduate Research Summer Studentships
This programme provides a unique education experience over the summer months for our
young talented students (RCSI, Medical University of Bahrain & Penang Medical College,
Malaysia only). Our students are encouraged to gain hands-on experience of the challenges that
come with conducting research work under the guidance of RCSI clinicians and scientists. The
students summer research is presented at Research Day (see below). There are a series of
undergraduate student research workshops & journal clubs run over the summer months to
enhance their research experience. Details for this programme are posted on the RCSI website
(http://www.rcsi.ie).
Summer Programme in Undergraduate Research on Neuroscience (SPUR-ON)
SPUR-ON 2009 is the fourth SFI UREKA site coordinated at RCSI and has now expanded to
include the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience (TCIN). SPUR-ON participants will take
part in cutting edge neuroscience research, encompassing broad and interdisciplinary
methodological approaches. Students will also take part in a 10 week programme of science
and social activities including journal club, workshops, and social events. The end of the
programme will culminate in a "mini-symposium" where participants will prepare an abstract
and present their research as an oral presentation. Dates for SPUR-ON 2009 are Monday 15th
June 2009 until Friday August 21st 2009. In terms of support, students accepted to SPUR-ON
will receive a stipend of 300/week for 10 weeks. Participants coming from the EU outside
Ireland may receive up to 300 towards travel expenses. Participants coming from outside the
EU may receive up to 800 towards travel expenses. Students are personally responsible for
any necessary travel visas and medical insurance. Although the projects are neuroscience
based, the approaches are multi-disciplinary, and applicants from a wide range of
undergraduate courses are considered for this programme. The SPUR-ON projects are hosted
at three sites: RCSI St Stephen's Green campuses in Dublin city centre, the Education and
Research Centre in the Smurfit Building at Beaumont Hospital (easily accessible by public
transport) and Trinity College Dublin which is a short walk from St. Stephens Green.
Images of Science Competition
This annual science as art competition is open to everyone working or studying in the Royal
College of Surgeons in Ireland. The competition runs from August to October and the winners
are announced in early November. The overall winning image and the 11 runners up images
are taken and used to create a wall planner for the following year. These wall planners are used
throughout the College by staff and students alike and include important College dates to
facilitate the flow of information. The event finale will be a talk on the stories behind the
winning images and will be given to the reseachers of the college and invited guests (including
________________________________________________________________________________________ 31
interested journalists and reporters and the sponsor). This event requires full sponsorship. The
prize for the overall winner of this event is 1500 euro towards either a digital camera or laptop
of their choice and a canvas print of their winning image. The 11 runners up get a canvas print
of their image.
RCSI Annual Research Day
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland held its inaugural Research Day in 1984 as part of its
Bicentennial Celebrations. This event was so successful that it is now an annual event in the
College calendar and is traditionally held on the first Wednesday after Easter.
Research Day provides a forum for undergraduate and postgraduate students from all
departments to present their most recent research findings either by oral or poster presentations,
and affords an opportunity for research discussions between, for example, the basic scientist
and the clinician, and between the molecular expert and the systems expert. Every year there
are several significant and prestigious prizes on offer, and there is keen and healthy
competition between the researchers. The increasing number of undergraduate students
carrying out funded research projects during the summer months has caused a welcome
expansion of their contribution to the overall programme. Abstracts of the presentations are
published in an annual Book of Abstracts. A highlight of the day is the Distinguished Guest
Lecture. Research Day is seen as a major social event at RCSI and is keenly anticipated every
year and the evening ends with a Buffet Supper for all participants.
Research Day can also draw interest from Irelands media where last year, 2008, saw several
projects reported in various Irish newspapers. This year Research Day 2009 will be held on
15th April, 2009.
Secondary School Outreach Activities

Mini-Med School for Transition Year Students
The Mini-Med School for Transition Year Students is an informative and entertaining public
education programme developed for students in their transition year in school. During this
event students can enjoy the experience of what it will be like to train and work as a medical
doctor and get a feel for the different stages of a career in medicine. Students have an
opportunity to see live operations, to attend interactive lectures delivered by some of Irelands
finest Doctors and Surgeons, and to get hands on training in Clinical skills as well as
experience in medical and scientific practicals and tutorials. Students also have access to
training materials on the RCSI Medical Information Technology Platform. A series of
lectures is hosted on this platform along with relevant additional information, quizzes
and competitions. In 2009 this one-week programme was held in January when RCSI hosted
150 transition year students. Dates for the 2010 programme will be available in October or
November 2009 when applications will be invited.
Debating Science Issues (DSI)
DSI is a Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI) led dynamic debating competition which
invites young people to engage in debate on the cultural, societal and ethical implications of
advances in biomedical science. Open to students in the senior cycle of Irish Second Level
Education (15-18 years), participating students take part in a series of 3 hour workshops which
facilitate discussion and learning about biomedical science including stem cell research, the
ethics of animal research and nanotechnology in an informal round table open forum.
Providing an open and impartial environment, these workshops challenge students to think
________________________________________________________________________________________ 32
about the ethical and societal impact of biomedical research and ignites their desire to learn
more about this important area of research. This enthusiasm finds an outlet in the debating
competition itself. Hosted by 5 Irish research centres based in NUIG, UCC, TCD, RCSI &
DCU as well as with W5 in Belfast Debating Science Issues is what true debate is all about.
School Visits
RCSI Research Outreach strongly encourages funded researchers to advance public
understanding of science & engineering. Visits by Principal Investigators, PhD Students or
other members of their research teams, to Secondary schools to give talks or interactive
presentations on their own research, on more general science topics, or on careers in science,
are considered particularly valuable exercises that can have enormous impact for the next
generation of Irish scientists. Every year a list of RCSI researchers interested in taking part in
the School Visits initiative is posted on the RCSI website (http://www.rcsi.ie), where there is
further information available on the researcher name and school presentation title and contact
details for the schools to apply or make enquiries.
Primary School Activities
Small Science, Big Ideas
Small Science, Big Ideas is an informative and fun public education program designed to
familiarize primary school children with basic scientific concepts and encourage them to
develop their problem solving skills and sense of curiosity. The programme, established in
2006, consists of a hands-on workshops designed specifically for younger children (aged 5-12
years) and is facilitated by an RCSI scientist, Dr Maria Morgan. The workshops introduce
participants to some of the ways scientists work and allow them to conduct simple
experiments. The Small Science, Big Ideas Programme consists of a suite of workshops based
on varying themes including food and our bodies, air and our lungs, cracking crime with
science, etc. Students become familiar with the major organs in the human body, and how
each plays an important role in their health. Through the experimental activities, we provide
students with the experience of working scientifically and encourage them to develop their
curiosity and problem solving skills. Pre- and post-visit materials are provided to teachers and
contain background information on all the activities. The workshops are designed to be
portable and can be set-up in any room, no specialist equipment/facilities required. The
programme also specifically addresses many aspects of the social, environmental and science
education (SESE) primary school curriculum.
By the end of March 2009 almost 460 primary school children and 16 teachers will have
participated in the programme, which has been enthusiastically received thus far. The
programme is currently supported by an RDS Science Live Demonstration Bursary and
Molecular & Cellular Therapeutics, RCSI. The programme is targeted at the younger classes of
primary schools as this age group, (often neglected in the recent growth of outreach
programmes nationally), are at a critical stage in developing and forming attitudes towards
science/medicine. The workshop represents a fun and educational way of making science
relevant and ultimately more accessible to them as a future career.
Science Hands On Workshops (SHOWs)

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33
These workshops target primary school students and nurtures an inquisitive mind and affection
for science in our youngest audience. The entire class and their teacher are invited to the
college and are asked to draw their impression of a scientist before they come and to make a
list of questions to ask a scientist in a particular field e.g. bones, brain, blood etc. When they
arrive they get to interview their scientist and to do a scientific experiment. When they leave
they are given a science pack with other experiments that the teacher can get the students to do
in their own classroom and a booklet with information and photos from their visit.
School Visits
RCSI Research Outreach strongly encourages funded researchers to advance public
understanding of science & engineering. Visits by Principal Investigators, PhD Students or
other members of their research teams, to Primary schools to give talks or interactive
presentations on their own research, on more general science topics, or on careers in science,
are considered particularly valuable exercises that can have enormous impact for the next
generation of Irish scientists. Every year a list of RCSI researchers interested in taking part in
the School Visits initiative is posted on the RCSI website (http://www.rcsi.ie), where there is
further information available on the researcher name and school presentation title and contact
details for the schools to apply or make enquiries.
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34
7. STRUCTURED PHD EDUCATION

School of Postgraduate Studies Strategy (2007 2012)
Vision for the School of Postgraduate Studies
To develop RCSI postgraduates as competent and inspiring leaders capable of making
significant contributions to human health.
Mission of the School of Postgraduate Studies
To market, recruit, support and retain a world class postgraduate community at RCSI. To train
versatile postgraduates for success and to maximise the influence of RCSI postgraduates in a
range of careers. To support internal and external providers of postgraduate training and to
establish stronger links with national and international peer institutions in the pursuit of
postgraduate excellence.
Introduction
Postgraduate education is critically important to the international reputation of RCSI and, in
recognition of this, the School of Postgraduate Studies was established in September 2006 to
pursue a strategic agenda for 4th level education. The School arranges/oversees the taught and
research programmes, recruitment, registration, monitoring, examination and graduation of
students and supervisor training. The School liaises with the Institute of Leadership and
Healthcare Management to provide continuing professional development for the
doctoral/postdoctoral community and with the Recruitment, Admissions, Student Services,
Fees, Examinations and Communications Offices to provide relevant administrative services
for the smooth operation of PhD programmes. The School also interacts strongly with the
Research Office which is responsible for the management of all research programmes.
This strategic agenda of the School for 4th Level education will be channelled using appropriate
links with relevant constituencies through which high quality communications will be
promoted and supported to the benefit of our present, future and past postgraduates.
Internal links the School will provide a centralised, cohesive infrastructure to recruit,
support, monitor and retain world class postgraduate students.
2 External links the School will maintain, improve and establish new links to national and
international peer organisations as well as other relevant policy and funding agencies.
3 Alumni links the School will foster dialogue with postgraduate alumni and will organise
regular events to evolve the relationship with its chief constituents.
1
It has been widely acknowledged that the apprenticeship model no longer provides sufficient
training for PhDs in the 21st century and a more structured approach to postgraduate training is
necessary to improve the employability of our postgraduates. Therefore, by 2012, all
postgraduate research students at RCSI will be enrolled in a structured programme containing
the elements outlined in the diagram below. This structured programme will represent a
successor programme to the current MRes/PhD Programme, which will be adapted to
accommodate the requirements of all research PhD candidates regardless of their discipline. It
is our recommendation that PhD candidates should be funded for four years full-time and the
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35
School of Postgraduate Studies will work to move this recommendation forward at local and
national level.
Figure 1: The Postgraduate Student Training Path: from recruitment to career in four years
7.1 Management of the School
The School of Postgraduate Studies sits within the RCSI Medical Faculty and reports to the
Medical Faculty Board. The Head of School is a senior academic who is research active with a
strong interest in the welfare of postgraduates. The Postgraduate Programmes Manager,
working full time in the role, is responsible for day-to-day management of the School,
deputising for the Head of School when appropriate. The current Head of School is Professor
Kevin B Nolan, BSc PhD DSc (NUI) FRSC, and the current Postgraduate Programmes
Manager is Dr Helen McVeigh. A full time secretary provides administrative support to the
School.
The two primary committees working directly with the School are as follows:
the School of Postgraduate Studies Committee, which overseas the School activities
the Postgraduate Course Assessment Committee, which is responsible for approving new
postgraduate courses for which a certificate, diploma or degree is awarded
Linking with Other Institutions
RCSI already has strong links with several Irish third level institutions, working closely with
its partners to provide advanced postgraduate training courses. These links will be strengthened
by targeted meetings with appropriate personnel to further develop opportunities for
________________________________________________________________________________________ 36
postgraduate training including providing career development workshops. Opportunities to

establish inter-institutional Graduate Schools in specific research themed areas will be explored
including the delivery of training through electronic mechanisms such as Moodle, where
appropriate.
RCSI primarily attracts postgraduates who have completed their undergraduate degrees
elsewhere and therefore relies heavily on recruitment campaigns through standard advertising
plus access to contacts at our peer institutions both nationally and internationally. Strengthened
links with these other institutions, plus hosting a Postgraduate Open Evening, will assist in
recruiting the best postgraduates.
7.2 Structured PhD Education in RCSI
While RCSI recognises that the core of PhD education is advancement of knowledge through
original research this education must also facilitate acquisition of additional skills for personal
and professional development and awareness.
In RCSI a structured PhD involves
taught modules (7) and laboratory rotations (3) or research assignments (3) in the
1st year,
3 years of full-time research on a chosen topic (years 2-4),
overseas University or Industry placement (up to 6 months in year 3)
ongoing professional and career development training.
The taught modules delivered with the aid of Moodle VLE and e-learning, provide training in
research essentials, in scientific logic and reasoning, in communication skills, and in laboratory
techniques as well as providing essential knowledge in leading edge areas of biomedical
sciences. The laboratory rotations allow students to broaden their range of technical and
research skills and allow exposure to different research environments thus helping inform
students about choice of PhD research. The ongoing professional and career development
provide ethics and social understanding, team working and leadership, enhanced
communication skills, personal effectiveness / development, team-working & leadership,
career management, entrepreneurship & innovation.
The structured PhD aims to create a substantial cohort of biomedical scientists capable of
following a diversity of careers in which they will contribute new knowledge and act as
articulate, well-rounded, researchers able to communicate their research to a range of
audiences.
RCSI is currently the lead institution in 4 inter-institutional structured PhD programmes, for
which funding to the value of 5M euro per programme has been secured, and is a participant
in 3 others, see Table.
The structured PhD is strongly linked to the RCSI strategy in translational (bench to bedside)
research, the taught modules are delivered by clinicians and scientists and the research
component involves joint supervision of projects by clinician/scientist teams
Each student is guided by a mentor other than the supervisor who is responsible, mainly but
not exclusively, for the non-academic welfare of the student for the duration of the PhD.
7.3 Funding Postgraduate Education
Currently the majority of our postgraduates are funded for three years by one of three
mechanisms:
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37
Principal Investigators (PIs) attract funding for a studentship and invite applications for the
project defined in the grant application. External funding agencies that have funded
postgraduate studentships at RCSI include Science Foundation Ireland; Health Research
Board; Enterprise Ireland; IRCSET; Wellcome Trust; Irish Aid (Dept of Foreign Affairs);
the EU. Internal funding opportunities include those advertised by the RCSI Research
Committee.
2 RCSI attracts funding for PhD programmes and invite applications from individuals for a
variety of research projects.
3 Students are self-funded either personally or through scholarships received outside RCSI
for which they are eligible to pursue a higher degree at RCSI.
1
It is our aspiration to progress to a 4-year PhD Programme for all our PhD students in a 1 + 3
year model comprising taught courses, mostly in the first year, external examination of
progress within the first two years and the inclusion of professional and career development
training to prepare our postgraduates for a variety of work opportunities. We will examine
mechanisms to attract the additional funding that will be required to achieve this goal.
7.4 Meeting National and European Objectives for Postgraduate Education

Irish Government policy on fourth level education proposes to double the number of
postgraduates by 2012/2013 in line with recommendations in the OECD Review of Higher
Education in Ireland (2004)
http://www.education.ie/servlet/blobservlet/oecd_review_national_policies_education.doc .
RCSI plans to participate in this national strategy by recruiting world class postgraduates from
Ireland, the EU and beyond. Postgraduates will be funded through significant grant
applications to relevant funding bodies and the School of Postgraduate Studies will work with
the relevant lead PIs in coordinating the postgraduate training for such funding proposals.
The Bologna agreement (1999) seeks to achieve parity of qualifications and enhance the
provision of comparable degrees by cooperating in quality assurance of education and
encouraging mobility within Europe. In order to meet these objectives, the School will
introduce a European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) for postgraduate degrees and, in the case
of higher degrees by research, the majority of credits will be allocated to the research thesis.
Credits towards the postgraduate degree will be based on recommendations in the Bologna
process (http://ec.europa.eu/education/programmes/socrates/ects/doc/guide_en.pdf) and in
accordance with the Irish National Framework for Qualifications (http://www.nfq.ie/nfq/en/).
It is envisaged that in future, all PhD training will encompass taught courses, in both specific
research topics and business topics, in addition to the substantial research project in a 4-year
programme. It is recommended that postgraduate courses at the level of PhD should aim to
cover the seven core academic competencies for PhDs outlined by the UK Research Councils
and
AHRB
in
the
Joint
Skills
Statement
(2001).
http://www.ahrb.ac.uk/ahrb/website/images/4_93335.doc
7.5 Co-tutelle PhD Programmes
In October 2008 RCSI and the National University of Ireland established a co-tutelle PhD
programme with the Universities of Montpellier 1 and 2, the Centre National de la Recherche
Scientifique (CNRS) and the Institut National de la Sant et de la Recherche Mdicale
(Inserm). This collaboration, which was officially launched by the Irish Ambassador in
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38
January 2006 (http://www.rcsi.ie/index.jsp?1nID=93&nID=105&aID=2087), is the first of its

kind between Ireland and France and will enable,
(i) students and PIs to engage in collaborative research and training.
(ii) sharing of research facilities.
(iii)co-supervision by staff from the participating institutions of PhD students.
(iv) joint conferences, seminars and other scientific events which would enhance the
quality of the co-tutelle experience
(v) an exchange of students on PhD electives or short-study visits with due recognition
of course credits.
(vi) adherence to international and/or national regulations and best practice codes for the
undertaking, supervision and examination of PhD theses.
(vii) award of joint degrees reflecting the students research efforts in the participating
institutions.
7.6 Postdoctoral Training and Career Development
The School has responsibility for coordinating training and career development opportunities
for postdoctoral fellows. Currently the School is working with the School of Healthcare
Management to develop a structured programme of Professional Development Training for
postdocs. This programme will be rolled out in the 2007 2008 academic year.
Within the international context of NBIPIreland, RCSI is the co-ordinating Inistitution of the
FP7 MarieCurie Career Enhancement
and Mobility Programme (CEMP) .
The mission of the NBIPIreland Career Enhancement and Mobility Programme (CEMP) is to
support experienced research fellows at various stages of their career in attaining and
strengthening their career prospects to become independent investigators or senior scientists in
education or industry. The CEMP funds and support post-doctoral research fellows wishing to
undertake interdisciplinary research and training programmes in biophotonics and imaging
applied to cancer, cardiovascular and neuro-degenerative diseases.
7.7 Future Plans for Structured PhD Education in RCSI
(i) To move towards a 4-year structured programme for all PhD students (currently, because
of funding constraints, some students are on 3-yearprogrammes).
(ii) To expand the co-tutelle programme EU-wide.
(iii) To embark on professional PhD degree programmes aimed at practicing professionals
carrying out research part-time.
________________________________________________________________________________________
39
Table: Summary of current Structured PhD Programmes in RCSI
PhD Programme
HRB PhD Scholars Programme in
Diagnostics and Therapeutics for Human
Disease
HRB PhD Scholars Programme in Integrated
Healthcare: from Research to Policy and
Practice
PhD Programme in the Connecting Health
Research in Africa and Ireland Consortium
The National Biophotonics and Imaging

Platform Ireland
The Clinician Scientist Fellowship

Programme
The Irish Drug Delivery Network

PhD Programme in Bioinformatics and
Computational Medicine
Structured MRes/PhD Programme in
Biomedical Sciences **
Career Enhancement and Mobility
Programme
Collaborating Institutions
(* indicates Lead
Funding Agency
Institution)
RCSI *, Beaumont
HRB
Hospital, DCU
RCSI *,TCD,UCC
HRB
RCSI *, TCD, NUIG

The Malaria Consortium
(MC)
HEIs in six African
countries
RCSI *,DCU,
NUIM,DIT,UCC,
UL, NUIG, CNRS
(Montpelier)
RCSI, TCD,
UCD,UCC,NUIG
Irish Aid
(managed through
HEA)
RCSI, UCD, Conway

Institute *,TCD,UCC
RCSI, UCD *,TCD
RCSI
RCSI NBIPI
HEA PRTLI
Cycle 4
HEA PRTLI
Cycle 4
(coordinated by
MMI)
SFI
IRCSET (GREP)
HEA PRTLI
Cycle 3
FP7 MarieCurie
Co-fund + HEA
PRTLI5
________________________________________________________________________________________
40

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RCSI Research Strategy 2009 2014

2. Creating a Translational Research Infrastructure

3.1 Management Structure

4. Fostering Population and International Health Research at RCSI: 2009-14

4.1 Irish research focus

5. Strengthening of RCSIs Research Management and Support

6. Knowledge Transfer Strategy (2009 2014)

6.1 Commercialization Strategy

7. The School of Postgraduate Studies Strategy (2007 2012)

The RCSI Strategic Plan for Translational Research 20092014

proposes an innovative programme to build capacity and excellence in translational research

The TRH is founded on a solid basis of peer-reviewed ongoing collaborative research

1 Promotion of Translational Research

neurodegenerative diseases, epilepsy and behaviour. RESPIRATORY - respiratory cystic

1.3 Development and Sustainability of Translational Research (20092014)

1.5 Rising to the challenge of Translational Health and Medicine

in cardiovascular biology. In 2008, the college appointed a full-time clinician-scientist

2 Creating a Translational Research Infrastructure

European Infrastructure for Research in Biomedical Imaging (EIRBI)

RCSI Research Institute - Management and Strategy

appropriate. The Research Committee membership is limited to a maximum of 14 members

Injury (TBI)), endocrinology (diabetes, pituitary dysfunction), respiratory inflammatory

4.Fostering Population and International Health Research at RCSI: 2009-2014

5 Strengthening of RCSIs Research Management and Support

The research institute strategy may be viewed at: http://www.rcsi.ie/index.jsp?&pID=93&nID=96 .

6. Knowledge transfer strategy (20092014)

6.1 Commercialization Strategy

6.2 IP Training/Awareness Strategy

RCSI Annual Outreach Public Lecture

Secondary School Outreach Activities

Science Hands On Workshops (SHOWs)

7. STRUCTURED PHD EDUCATION

postgraduate training including providing career development workshops. Opportunities to

7.4 Meeting National and European Objectives for Postgraduate Education

January 2006 (http://www.rcsi.ie/index.jsp?1nID=93&nID=105&aID=2087), is the first of its

Table: Summary of current Structured PhD Programmes in RCSI

The National Biophotonics and Imaging

The Clinician Scientist Fellowship

The Irish Drug Delivery Network

RCSI *, TCD, NUIG

RCSI, UCD, Conway

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