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College News & events

 

The College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences Newsletter available by click on the following link. This newletter was launched in November 2011.

College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences Students Feature Prominently at Annual NUI Awards

A total of nineteen Dr Henry Hutchinson Stewart Medical Scholarships and Prizes were awarded to NUI Galway’s College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences. The award recipients were  Danielle Anstett and Julianne O’Shea, General Practice; Larissa Higgins and Teresa O’Dowd, Gynaecology and Obstetrics;  Siobhan Eccles, Midwifery; Ester Afolalu and Laura M Coyne, Nursing; Orla Ní Ghríofa and Mairead Crowley, Occupational Therapy;  Larissa Higgins, Paediatrics; Miroslawa Gorecka, Pathology; Elaine Fallon, Public Health; Laura Tobin, Speech and Language Therapy; Yasir Loai, Pharmacology; Matthew Smyth, Physiology; and Gerard Healy MB BCH BAO Hons, Surgery.

Speaking on the success of NUI Galway students and graduates, President Jim Browne, said: “This clearly highlights the high calibre of students studying on NUI Galway programmes and follows previous successes in these annual awards. I congratulate each of the Award recipients on their achievement, which will add to their academic reputation. I commend the Award recipients and I pay tribute to their teachers for their work in supporting students and helping them to achieve such high standards.”

At the ceremony, the Chancellor, Dr Maurice Manning presented Travelling Studentships, scholarships and other awards to over one hundred students and graduates of the NUI Constituent Universities and Recognised Colleges. The total value of NUI Awards in 2011 was almost €700,000.

In 2011, over one hundred students and graduates from the constituent universities and recognised colleges of the federal university received awards. UCD, UCC, NUI Maynooth, NUI Galway, RCSI and NCAD were represented in the award winners.

 

Future Doctors Delve into Research Projects

Over 60 medical students at NUI Galway have completed summer research projects into a range of areas such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, stem cell technologies, diabetes and arthritis. 40 medical and scientific faculty from both within the School of Medicine and Science, NUI Galway and the affiliated hospitals (i.e. Sligo General and Letterkenny) provided supervision for these projects.

The prize for best overall research project went to second-year medical student Mr Alan Jacobsen, from Castlegar, Co. Galway. Over the summer Alan explored new treatments for leukaemia. For further informatio on this story, please click here

 

New Findings on How the Brain's Own Marijuana  Like Chemicals Suppress Pain

New findings about how the brain functions to suppress pain have been published in the leading journal Pain, by NUI Galway researchers. For the first time, it has been shown that the hippocampus of the brain, which is usually associated with memory, has an active role to play in suppressing pain during times of stress. The work was carried out by researchers in Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and the Centre for Pain Research at the National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science, NUI Galway.

In times of immense stress or fear, pain transmission and perception can be suppressed potently in humans and other animals. This important survival response can help us cope with, or escape from, potentially life-threatening situations. An increased understanding of the biological mechanisms involved in this so-called fear-induced analgesia is important from a fundamental physiological perspective and may also advance the search for new therapeutic approaches to the treatment of pain. Further information on this story is available here . Dr Finn has also recently been awarded a €1 million grant by SFI, further information on this news item is available here.

 

Pocket Anatomy Launches Full Body App on the App Store

Pocket Anatomy, a Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology campus-based company, has launched Pocket Body - the latest application (app) for medical students and other health care professionals on Apple's App Store. This medical software, featuring comprehensive human musculoskeletal anatomy content by means of a multi-layered sequence of high-definition photo-realistic illustrations of the human body, is a breakthrough in human anatomy education. Pocket Body was developed in conjunction with the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at NUI Galway. For further information on this project click here

School of Nursing & Midwifery Ezine  

The School of Nursing & Midwifery have recently laucnhed a new ezine, which provides staff, students and stakeholders with regular updates on activities in the School of Nursing & Midwifery.  The latest copy of this online publication can be accessed by clicking on the following link

7.5 Million Funding for new Clinical Research Facility

NUI Galway’s Professor Larry Egan, Interim Director of the Health Research Board (HRB) Clinical Research Facility, Galway today (February 12th 2010) welcomed the announcement by the Minister for Health & Children Mary Harney TD that € 7.5m in capital funding is being provided for the construction of a new Clinical Research Facility on the grounds of University Hospital Galway. For further information please click here.

NUI Galway connects Medical Education and the Arts

An innovative programme connecting medical education and the arts has been launched by NUI Galway. The new Medicine in the Arts Programme is the first of its kind in Irish Universities, and has been introduced into the undergraduate curriculum of the University’s School of Medicine.  Click on the attached to read the press release. 

NUI Galway Opens New Nursing and Midwifery Library

NUI Galway’s President, Dr James J. Browne, today opened the University’s new Nursing and Midwifery Library (Wednesday, 3 February).  The new library, which adjoins the James Hardiman Library on the main campus, has been open for business since July 2009. It provides a modern learning environment for over 700 nursing and midwifery students with group study rooms, computer suites, laptop-enabled study spaces, and wireless access to the University’s networked services. For further information please click here. 

Minister Brady Lauches WHO centre  at NUI Galway

Ms Áine Brady, T.D., Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children with special responsibility for Older People and Health Promotion, today launched the establishment of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Health Promotion Research at NUI Galway. The work of the World Health Organisation (WHO) is supported by a global network of collaborating centres, with the centre at NUI Galway one of only three in Ireland, and one of only 26 centres around the world dedicated to Health Promotion. For further inforation on the launch follow this link

Henry Hutchinson Stewart Medical Scholarships 2009

The competition for the award of the Henry Hutchinson prizes is run annually across the NUI Universities and is a competition across 16 different categories open to students of Medicine, Nursing and related health areas. The profile of NUI Galway health-related degree programmes means that our students can compete in 14 of these categories. It offers an excellent framework to compare student excellence and achievement on a national scale, as it is open to students in most of the Medical Schools and the key Nursing Schools in Ireland.

The 2009 award ceremony took place on Wednesday 25^th of November in the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham.  Students of the medical school entered 13 disciplines; - Medical Microbiology, Medicine, Pathology, Pharmacology, Psychiatry, Physiology, Public Health, Paediatrics, Surgery, Anatomy, Biochemistry, General Practice and Obstetrics & Gynaecology.  Nursing students competed in the Nursing category.

From these categories students were awarded four 1^st prizes; 2 2^nd; 6 3^rd; and 2 commendations.  These results build on the extraordinary achievements of previous years also, which place the Schools of Medicine and of Nursing and Midwifery to the fore nationally in student performance and student-focussed education, and which signify the dedication and the professional of approach of our students and staff.

The 2008 year was truly exceptional, - of 14 categories entered, NUI Galway was awarded nine 1st prizes; five 2nd prizes; five 3rd prizes and one commendation (highly ranked, already a Scholarship winner). 

In 2007 Galway was awarded seven 1st prizes; four 2nd prizes; four 3rd prizes and two commendations.  In 2006 we were awarded Four 1st; Five 2nd; Five 3rd and 1 commendation.  In all 3 years NUI, Galway has the highest achieving Medical and Nursing Schools, with the School of Nursing at NUI Galway winning first prize each year.

Some historical background about the competition and about Henry Hutchinson Stewart can be taken from the website of the National University of Ireland ( http://www.nui.ie/) along with some information on the structure of the NUI federation.

Congratulations to all the Scholarship winners and to their teachers.  

Cross Border Partnership on Diabetes Related Research

NUI Galway and the University of Ulster have joined forces with HSE West and the Western Health and Social Care Trust to create a collaborative cross-border partnership on diabetes-related research. The “Atlantic - Alliance for Cooperation on Research into Diabetes” (Atlantic - ACORD) initiative brings together clinicians and researchers from the health service, academia and industry, and patients to develop innovative solutions to problems related to the growing problem of diabetes.

Diabetes has been targeted because of its increasing prevalence and the associated health care costs. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is 4-5%, and 1 in 10 pregnancies develop gestational diabetes.

Participants will also include allied health professionals, including dieticians, podiatrists, diabetes specialist nurses, IT specialists and psychologists. Priority research areas for the partnership are health technologies, the use of geographical information systems in database analysis, diabetes in pregnancy, and beta cell engineering. These research themes represent some of the key needs for patients in the region and will form the initial focus of further collaborative research proposals.

Professor Fidelma Dunne, Head of the School of Medicine at NUI Galway, said: “Tackling diabetes has become an international healthcare priority in the western world. This new research alliance, Atlantic -ACORD, is all about joined-up thinking and pooling resources and expertise north and south of the border”.

The ultimate aim of the initiative is to enhance the quality of life for patients with diabetes mellitus, and to focus on prevention, treatment and management of the disease. The participant organisations are enthusiastic about the prospect of a formal cross-border initiative in diabetes research, helping tackle this disease, which is a both a growing problem in society and major healthcare service challenge.

Professor Finbarr O'Harte of the University of Ulster, said: “The Atlantic - ACORD initiative is an exciting opportunity for us all to pool our expertise in the field of diabetes research for the benefit of diabetes sufferers. This cross-border cooperation should help bring real improvements in prevention, treatment and management of diabetes in this catchment area”.

Welcoming the initiative, Dr Maurice O'Kane, Head of Research and Development, Western Trust, and C-TRIC, said: “The establishment of Atlantic-ACORD is another significant step forward in putting in place strong systems for research into prevention and treatment of diabetes. This will help us engage even more widely with experts both in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which will lead to real benefits in how we understand and treat diabetes". It is planned to collaborate with other diabetes centres and work towards an all-island diabetes research network.

 

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