Dr Ruth Freeman
Director, Science for Society
There exists a huge opportunity in Ireland today to improve children’s health and wellbeing through scientific research.
Targeted paediatric research not only explores new treatment possibilities but also facilitates a broader and deeper understanding of the ways in which young patients are affected by illnesses and health conditions.
Cerebral palsy research
This year, under our Strategic Partnership Programme, we co-funded ELEVATE with Cerebral Palsy Foundation. This is a new €11.6 million, five-year cerebral palsy research programme at University College Cork (UCC).
ELEVATE is led by the Irish Centre for Maternal and Child Health Research (INFANT) at UCC, partnering with RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Trinity College Dublin and all tertiary-level maternity hospitals in Ireland.
ELEVATE aims to make Ireland a leading hub for research and innovation in early brain injury and cerebral palsy. Researchers will create cutting-edge AI screening algorithms, devise novel detection methods, explore potential new treatments and actively involve cerebral palsy-affected families in ongoing trials, education and information platforms.
Research into children’s health and
wellbeing has been largely sporadic.
Investing in paediatric health research
For the last three years, we have partnered with Children’s Health Foundation through our Frontiers for the Future Programme. This valued collaboration focuses on discovering cures and treatments for sick children and aims to measurably enhance paediatric healthcare solutions for the future.
We have also been delighted to award funding to the University College Dublin-based AI PREMie team, under our ‘Future Innovator Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Societal Good Challenge.’ The AI PREMie team uses cutting-edge biomedical, clinical and machine learning techniques to help diagnose and manage pre-eclampsia — a serious complication affecting one in every ten pregnancies.
These are just a few examples of where we are investing public funds in paediatric research. Historically, however, research into children’s health and wellbeing has been largely sporadic.
Advancing research for a promising future
The recent establishment of Ireland’s new competitive research and innovation funding agency, Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland, is exciting. Amalgamating Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council, the new agency strengthens engagement between Ireland’s research and innovation system, enterprise, Government, public bodies, voluntary sector and society.
It is my deep, personal hope that children with illnesses will benefit from this newly configured research ecosystem. We owe them not just a future of promises but a promising future.
