Past Rounds

Since its inception, nine calls for funding have been approved for the Joint Funding Scheme and 125 projects for which funding might otherwise might not have been available, have been supported through this scheme.

While no differentiation is made between charities or disease areas, the scheme has been particularly beneficial for rare diseases where research being undertaken internationally may be limited.

Round 8 Joint Funding Scheme 2016 

Charity	Principle Investigator	Title
Diabetes Ireland Research Alliance	Prof Timothy O’Brien	Identifying the Aetiology of Diabetic Progenitor Cell Dysfunction in Osteoporosis
Irish Cancer Society, Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Diabetes Ireland & The Irish Heart Foundation	Prof David Hevey	Peer-to-peer motivational interview intervention for smoking, alcohol and physical activity among at-risk adolescents in low SES communities: A Feasibility trial
Cystinosis Ireland	Dr Minnie Sarwal	Targeting Autophagy in Nephropathic Cystinosis
Cystinosis Ireland	Prof Elena Levtchenko	Unravelling the mechanisms of Azoospermia and potential future treatments in male Cystinosis patients
Epilepsy Ireland	Prof David Henshall	MicroRNAs in the mechanism of ketogenic diet therapies and as biomarkers in paediatric Epilepsy
Irish Nephrology Society	Prof Mark Little	AVERT: Autoimmunity Relapse Prediction Using Multiple Parallel Data Sources
Fighting Blindness	Prof James Loughman	Pioneering Advances for Control of Myopia in Children- The Shield Initiative
Fighting Blindness	Prof Jane Farrar	Application of Next Generation Sequencing for the Genetic Characterisation of Irish Retinal Degeneration Patients
Arthritis Ireland	Prof Anthony Gerry Wilson	An Investigation of the mechanisms linking C5orf30 with tissue damage in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Arthritis Ireland	Prof Ursula Fearon	Resolution of inflammation by metabolic reprogramming in the inflamed joint
The Irish Thoracic Society	Prof Joseph Keane	Towards host-directed therapies to overcome immune impairment in cigarette smokers during mycobacterial infection
Muscular Dystrophy Ireland	Professor Kay Ohlendieck	Comparative mass spectrometric profiling of the dystrophin complexome in normal versus pathological muscles with differing degrees of fibre degeneration
Muscular Dystrophy Ireland	Dr Melissa Bowerman	Role of TWEAK/Fn14 pathway in mediating muscle pathology in SMA
St Patricks Mental Health Hospital	Prof Declan McLoughlin	Ketamine for Relapse Prevention in Recurrent Depressive Disorder: a randomised, controlled pilot trial (The KINDRED Trial)
Breakthrough Cancer Research	Dr Mark Tangney	Bacteria in Human Tumours

Charity	Principle Investigator	Title
Diabetes Ireland Research Alliance	Prof Timothy O\’Brien	Identifying the Aetiology of Diabetic Progenitor Cell Dysfunction in Osteoporosis
Irish Cancer Society, Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Diabetes Ireland & The Irish Heart Foundation	Prof David Hevey	Peer-to-peer motivational interview intervention for smoking, alcohol and physical activity among at-risk adolescents in low SES communities: A Feasibility trial
Cystinosis Ireland	Dr Minnie Sarwal	Targeting Autophagy in Nephropathic Cystinosis
Cystinosis Ireland	Prof Elena Levtchenko	Unravelling the mechanisms of Azoospermia and potential future treatments in male Cystinosis patients
Epilepsy Ireland	Prof David Henshall	MicroRNAs in the mechanism of ketogenic diet therapies and as biomarkers in paediatric Epilepsy
Irish Nephrology Society	Prof Mark Little	AVERT: Autoimmunity Relapse Prediction Using Multiple Parallel Data Sources
Fighting Blindness	Prof James Loughman	Pioneering Advances for Control of Myopia in Children- The Shield Initiative
Fighting Blindness	Prof Jane Farrar	Application of Next Generation Sequencing for the Genetic Characterisation of Irish Retinal Degeneration Patients
Arthritis Ireland	Prof Anthony Gerry Wilson	An Investigation of the mechanisms linking C5orf30 with tissue damage in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Arthritis Ireland	Prof Ursula Fearon	Resolution of inflammation by metabolic reprogramming in the inflamed joint
The Irish Thoracic Society	Prof Joseph Keane	Towards host-directed therapies to overcome immune impairment in cigarette smokers during mycobacterial infection
Muscular Dystrophy Ireland	Professor Kay Ohlendieck	Comparative mass spectrometric profiling of the dystrophin complexome in normal versus pathological muscles with differing degrees of fibre degeneration
Muscular Dystrophy Ireland	Dr Melissa Bowerman	Role of TWEAK/Fn14 pathway in mediating muscle pathology in SMA
St Patricks Mental Health Hospital	Prof Declan McLoughlin	Ketamine for Relapse Prevention in Recurrent Depressive Disorder: a randomised, controlled pilot trial (The KINDRED Trial)
Breakthrough Cancer Research	Dr Mark Tangney	Bacteria in Human Tumours

Round 7 Joint Funding Scheme 2014 

Charity	Research Institution	Principal Investigator	Title
Alpha One	RCSI	Dr Emer P. Reeves	Altered lipid raft cholesterol content contributes to the dysregulated activity of neutrophils in alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency
Alpha One	RCSI	Professor Noel McElvaney	Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency: Which is important phenotype, level, activity or all three?
Fighting Blindness	University College Dublin	Dr Breandan Kennedy	Identification of drugs that can safely and effectively maintain visual function in models of inherited retinal degeneration
Fighting Blindness	Queen\’s University Belfast	Dr Giuliana Silvestri	Inherited Retinal Degenerations: All Ireland Retinal Degenerations Partnership (AIRDP)
Royal Victoria Eye and Ear	Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland	Professor Conor Murphy	Restoring immune balance in patients with patients with primary Sjogrens Syndrome (pSS) by modulating microRNA expression
Irish Thoracic Society	University College Cork	Professor Fergal O\’Gara	Investigate the impact of bile aspiration on chronic respiratory infection – Bile Paradigm
Cystinosis Ireland	The University of Auckland	Professor Alan J. Davidson	Modelling cystinosis with human stem cells and the therapeutic potential of aspartate
Cystinosis Ireland	University of Florida	Professor Anuj Chauhan	Drug Eluting Contact Lenses for Cystinosis Therapy

Round 6 Joint Funding Scheme 2013

Charity	Principal Investigator	Project Title
Alpha One Foundation	Dr Emer P. Reeves	Post-translational modifications modify the anti-inflammatory effect of alpha-1 antitrypsin
Children\’s Fund for Health Ltd	Dr Sally Ann Lynch	Identification of the genetic causes of developmental delay with mitochondrial dysfunction in the Irish Traveller population
Epilepsy Ireland	Dr Naomi Elliott	The collaborative development of an evidence-based educational resource for self-disclosure strategies for people with epilepsy. (How-To-Tell)
Fighting Blindness	Prof. Jane Farrar	Genetic characterisation of a cohort of Irish retinal degeneration patients
Friends of the Rotunda	Professor Fergal Malone	The HANDLE Study: HEMODYNAMIC Assessment in pregnancy and neonatal Echocardiography assessment. A study identifying Abnormal Hemodynamic Profiles in Pregnancy as a Predictor of Adverse Obstetric Outcome and Characterisation of Neonatal Myocardial Performance in Infants.
Irish Cancer Society	Professor Pamela Gallagher	Self-Management for Head and Neck Cancer Survivors: Living Well With and Beyond HNC
Irish Thoracic Society	Prof Noel Gerard McElvaney	Ignoring the Nonsense – Personalised Medicine for Genetic Lung Disorders
Irish Thoracic Society	Dr Barry Plant	Clinical implications and utility of an endotoxin-tolerant state in cystic fibrosis

Round 5 Joint Funding Scheme 2012

Charity	Principal Investigator	Project Title	Research Institution
Alpha One Foundation	Dr Emer Reeves	Regulation of neutrophil membrane receptor profile and signalling by serum alpha-1 antitrypsin.	RCSI
Children\’s Fund for Health	Prof. Eileen Treacy	Galactosaemia, a modifiable multi-system glycosylation disorder?	Children\’s University Hospital Temple Street
Irish Cancer Society	B. Therese Kinsella	Thromboxane (TX)A2 -mediated PRK1 signalling in Prostate Cancer:	University College Dublin
Fighting Blindness	Prof Jane Farrar	Exploration of AAV-delivered gene therapies for LHON	TCD
Brainwave	Professor Agnes Higgins	An evaluation of the role of the Epilepsy Specilist Nurse and the impact on patient quality of life	RCSI
Brainwave	Dr Veronica Lambert	Demystify the veil of secrecy: a mixed method inquiry of parent-child dialogue about epilepsy and its associated stigma	Dublin City University
Research Foundation Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital	Dr Caroline Jefferies	Profilling Toll-loke receptor responses in patients with primary Sjogren\’s syndrome	RCSI
The Alzheimer Society of Ireland	Brian Lawlor	Cognitive function, caregiver stress an cortisol: Mechanisms and implications for prvention of adverse health consequences in spouse	Trinity College Dublin
National Chilldren\’s Research Centre/Children\’s Medical and Research Foundation	Dr Sean Ennis	The characterization of recessive mutations in homozygous haplotypes implicated in Autism Sepctrum Disorders	National Chrildren\’s Research Centre, Crumlin Hospital
Bee For Battens , The Saoirse Foundation	Dr Jonathan Cooper	Glial dysfunctino in muktiple forms of NCL: new directions for therapy	Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London
Bee For Battens , The Saoirse Foundation	Steven J Gray	Global Gene Transfer for the treatment of Batten Disease	The University of North Carolina at Chapel hill

Round 4 Joint Funding Scheme 2011

Charity	Principal Investigator	Host Institution	Project Title	Duration
Alpha One	Emer Reeves	RCSI	Control of lipid induced granule exocytosis in neutrophils: therapeutic potential of alpha-1 antitrypsin.	3 Years
Alpha One	David Bergin	RCSI	The role of carbohydrate residues in Alpha-1 antitrypsin anti-protease and anti-inflammatory properties.	3 Years
Brainwave	David C. Henshall	RCSI	Genome-wide DNA methylation analysis of hippocampus from patients with pharmacoresistant temporal lobe epilepsy.	1 Year, 6 Months
Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland	Eileen Savage	UCC	National Prevalence of Depression and Anxiety in Patients with cystic fibrosis and Parents: Impact on Health and Quality of Life.	3 Years
Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland	Marguerite Clyne	UCD	The role of mucus and mucins in mediating Pseudomonas aeruginosa colonization of the cystic fibrosis lung.	3 Years
Diabetes Federation of Ireland	Ronan Conroy	RCSI	What factors influence self-care and Quality of Life in young Irish adults (aged 23-30) with Type 1 diabetes?	1 Year
Fighting Blindness	Peter Humphries	TCD	Exploration of the candidacy of RPE65 in the etiology of adRP with choroidal involvement	3 Years
Fighting Blindness	Jane Farrar	TCD	Stem cell therapies for the treatment of diverse retinal disorders.	3 Years
Irish Cancer Society	Ciaran Morrison	NUIG	Centrosome amplification and radiosensitisation of prostate cancer cells.	3 Years
Irish Cancer Society	Laura Barkley – Elliman	NUIG	Therapeutic microRNA control of Prostate Cancer growth.	1 Year, 6 Months
Multiple Sclerosis Ireland	Una Fitzgerald	NUIG	Polymer-mediated delivery of endoplasmic reticulum stress altering siRNA to oligodendroyctes in a cerebellar rat brain slice model of de- and remyelination.	3 Years
National Childrens Research Charity	Sally Ann Lynch	UCD	Indentifying recessive genes for primary ciliary dyskinesia, microepaly and dilated cardiomyopathy.	2 years
National Childrens Research Charity	Sean Ennis	NCRC	Genomics of paediatric autism spectrum disorder	3 Years

Round 3 Joint Funding Scheme 2009

Charity	Principal Investigator	Project Title	Duration
Alpha One	Prof Noel G McElvaney	Accelerated neurophil apoptosis is associated with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency	3 Years
Alpha One	Dr Catherine Greene	Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinasd (PI3K): a molecular target of ER stress induced by Z alpha -1 antitrypsin?	3 Years
Association of Friends of St. Patricks Hospital	Prof Paul Fearon	Measuring quality of care in an Irish Mental Health Service Context	3 Years
Brainwave: The Irish Epilepsy Association	Dr Evelyn T Burke	Heritability of cognitive endophenotypes in temporal lobe epilepsy: A neuropsychological investigation	1 Year 6 months
Brainwave: The Irish Epilepsy Association	Dr Gianpiero Cavalleri	A pharmacogenomic study of chronic refractory epilepsy	3 Years
Children\’s Medical and Research Foundation	Dr Maureen J O\’Sullivan	The role of Epigenetic Modification and miRNAs in the Development of Pediatric Gastrointestinal Stromal tumour (GIST)	3 Years
Cystinosis Foundation Ireland	Dr Philip Newsholme	Molecular mechanisms of muscle myopathy and pancreatic beta cell dysfunction associated with Cystinosis: Determination of optimal approaches for cell protection	3 Years
Duchenne Ireland	Dr Helge Amthor	Can exon skipping therapy restore the mitrochondiral metabolism in animal models for DMD	1 Year
Duchenne Ireland	Prof Volker Straub	Identifying the biodistribution of antisense oligonucleotides in the mdx mouse by Magnetic Resonance Imaging	2 Years
Irish Cancer Society	Dr Mark Lawler	Hypermethylation in prostate cancer: further evaluation of GSTP1, SFRP2 and IGFBP3 as prognostic biomarkers and unmasking of epigenetically controlled miRNAs	3 Years
Irish Cancer Society	Dr Rosemary O\’Connor	To determine how RACK1 regulations cell migration during tissue morpohgenesis and tumorigenesis using 3D culture model systems	3 Years
Irish Cancer Society	Prof Afshin Samali	Uncoupling of death receptor-induced nuclear factor kappa B activation from apoptosis	3 Years

Round 2 Joint Funding Scheme 2007

Charity	Principal Investigator	Project Title	Duration
Alpha One	Prof N.G.McElvaney	Anti-inflammatory effect of Alpha 1-antitrypsin on the phagocytic neutrophil	3 Years
Irish Heart Foundation	Prof J Feely	Choice of antihypertensive agent in newly diagnosed patients and in those patients not responding to therapy	2 Years
Irish Heart Foundation	Dr B Hynes	Cardiac Angiogenesis: \”Cell Based Bypass\” of chronic vascular occlusions	2 Years
Cystic Fibrosis	Dr C Gallagher	Gender Differences in Muscle Dysfunction and Electrical Muscle Stimulation in Cystic Fibrosis	3 Years
Cystinosis	Dr Patrick Harrison	Development of an in vitro gene repair kit: towards a cure for cystinosis	3 Years
Cystinosis	Dr Minnie Sarwal	Investigation of a Mechanism That Can Prevent Renal Injury in the Patients with Nephropathic Cystinosis.	3 Years
DEBRA	Dr Jane Farrar	Evaluation of RNAi-based therapeutic approaches for dominant dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa	3 Years
Diabetes Federation of Ireland	Sean Dinneen	The Galway Diabetic Foot Study: Epidemiology, Cost, Feasibility, and Implications for Clinical Practice and Policy	3 Years
Fighting Blindness	Jane Farrar	Exploration of stem cell-based therapies for retinal degenerations	3 Years
Irish Cancer Society	Tom Cotter	Redox regulation of apoptosis modulating survival pathways in re-current tumours	3 Years
Irish Cancer Society	Shaun McCann	Infusion of mesenchymal stem cells in patients with steroid resistant acute grade II to IV GvHD: a prospective double-blind randomized study	3 Years

Round 1 Joint Funding Scheme 2006

Charity	Principal Investigator	Project Title	Duration
Research Institute for a Tobacco Free Society	Professor Luke Clancy	\’The effect of the Irish workplace smoking ban on birth weight and gestational age at birth\’.	1 Year
Research Institute for a Tobacco Free Society	Dr. Patrick Goodman	\’A study of environmental tobacco smoke exposure within unexempted premises – nursing homes as defined in the Public Health Acts 2002 and 2004\’.	2 Years
Mater Foundation	Professor P. Ronan O\’ Connell	\’Investigation of fibroblast gene expression profiles associated with the development of fibrostenosing phenotype in Crohns disease\’.	3 Years
Mater Foundation	Dr. Maria Byrne	The effect of Insulin therapy on beta cell survival in patients with Maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY) 3\’	3 Years
Alpha One Foundation	Thomas P. Carrol	\’Elucidation of unfolded protein response pathways activated in lung and liver disease associated with XZ alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency\’.	3 years
Alpha One Foundation	Catherine M. Greene	\’Identification and characterisation of novel proinflammatory proteases that exacerbate lung disease associated with Z Alpha -1 antitrypsin deficiency\’.	3 Years
Muscular Dystrophy Ireland	Professor Kay Ohlendieck	\’Identification of novel biomakers in dystrophic heart and muscle fibres using comparative proteconomics\’	3 Years
Muscular Dystrophy Ireland	Joe Mooney	\’Safety testing of an antisense oligonucleotide for exon 51 skipping in the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy\’.	1 Year
Fighting Blindness	Mr. Stephen Beatty	\’Spatial profile of macular pigment in relation to risk for age-related macular degeneration\’.	3 Years
Fighting Blindness	Brendan N. Kennedy	\’Directing retinal stem cells to become functionally integrated coen photoreceptors in host retinas\’.	3 Years
Fighting Blindness	Marius Ader	\’The development of cell based therapies for the treatment of photoreceptor degeneration in mouse models of retinitis pigmentosa\’.	3 Years
Fighting Blindness	Peter Humphries	\’On the molecular pathology of retinal degradation caused by mutations within the IMPDH1 gene\’.	3 Years
Diabetes Federation of Ireland	Dr. Donal O\’ Shea	\’Adipocyte size and type 2 diabetes in obesity – a study of patients undergoing bariatric surgery\’.	3 Years
The Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland	Edward F. McKone	\’Genetic modifiers of the cystic fibrosis phenotype\’.	3 Years
DEBRA Ireland	Professor Abhay Pandit	\’A biodegradable nanoshell for targeted gene delivery of type VII collagen\’.	3 Years
Irish Cancer Society	Dermot Kelleher	\’Tribbles homolog 3 a novel regulator of carcinogen signalling in oesophageal cells\’.	3 Years
Irish Cancer Society	Professor Mark Lawlor	\’Identifying and evaluating novel methylation biomakers in prostate cancer\’.	3 Years
Irish Cancer Society	Sharon McKenna	Influence of Bcr-Abl on ER initiated apoptosis, and novel targeting strategies for Bcr-Abl expressing leukemias\’.	3 Years
Irish Cancer Society	Professor Gerald C. O\’ Sullivan	Immune reactivity to foregut cancers- investigation into mechanism of oral tolerance\’.	3 Years
Irish Cancer Society	Dr. Wiliam Watson	\’Proteonomic analsyis of urine from prostate cancer patients – translating the proteonome to clinical biomarkers\’.	3 Years
Irish Cancer Society	John Reynolds	\’Identification and validation of early predcitive serums markers of response to neoadjuvent radiochemotherapy in rectal and oesophageal cancer\’.	3 Years
Irish Cancer Society	Verna Amberger – Murphy	\’Investigation in signalling pathways in high grade glioma in order to predict responsiveness to tyrosine kinase inhibitors\’.	3 Years
Irish Cancer Society	Margaret McGee	\’Small molecule cycophilin A inhibitors as novel anticancer therapeutics\’.	3 Years
Irish Cancer Society	Professor Stephen Eustace	\’A targeted contrast agent for multiple myeloma\’	3 Years
Irish Heart Foundation	Dr. R Watson	\’Analysis of neutrophil migratory potential as a predictive marker of human cardiac transplant rejection\’.	3 Years
Irish Heart Foundation	Thomas Barron	\’Long term adherence to cardiovascular therapy in Irish populations\’.	2 Years
Irish Heart Foundation	Dr. Emma Stokes	\’FAME – a randomized controlled trial of family mediated exercise intervention following a stroke\’.	3 Years
Irish Heart Foundation	Dr. James O\’ Donnell	\’Development of the endogenous thrombin potential assay as a novel approach to characterising global coagulation status in patients with arterial thrombosis\’.	2 Years
The Childrens Medical and Research Foundation	Professor JM Redmond	\’Omega 3 fatty acid and glutamine pretreatment\’.	2 Years
The Childrens Medical and Research Foundation	Dr. Niamh O\’ Sullivan	\’Rapid early detection and molecular profiling of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates in Paediatric Cystic Fibrosis Patients	3 Years
Meningitis Research Foundation	Dr. Ed Lavelle	\’The identification of novel immunomodulatory factors from Neisseria memingitidis subgroup B\’.	3 Years
Asthma Society of Ireland	John L. Faul	\’The role of natural T cells in human asthma\’.	3 Years
Cystinosis Foundation of Ireland	Dr. Donal Cairns	\’Design, formulation and biological evaluation of novel prodrugs for the treatment of Cystinosis\’.	2 Years