ANNUAL REVIEW master Final3a - St Vincent's University Hospital

St. Vincent’s Healthcare Group Limited - Annual Review 2007
Education & Research
Rheumatology
Principal Investigators
Professor Barry Bresnihan
Professor Douglas Veale
Specialist Registrar
Registrar
Professor Oliver FitzGerald
Dr Ursula Fearon (Senior Scientist)
Dr Ceara Walsh
Dr. John Paul Doran
Clinical Research Fellows Dr Chin Teck Ng Dr Laure Brulhart
Dr Eliza Pontifex
Dr Bernadette Lynch
Dr Taj Saber
Post Doctoral fellow Dr Sinead NicUltaigh Dr Wei Gao
Dr Monika Biniecka
Dr Emily Collins
Research Assistants Jennifer Mc Cormick Jorge Lirola
Graduate Students Mary Connolly Martina Gogarty
Aisling Kennedy
Ellen Moran
Research Activities
The coordinated Rheumatology Research group includes four Principal Investigators - Prof Barry Bresnihan,
Prof. Doug Veale, Dr Ursula Fearon and Prof Oliver FitzGerald This truly translational research group has a
primary clinical focus on early, inflammatory arthritis (RA, PsA and juvenile arthritis) and a scientific focus on
mechanisms of inflammation and joint damage. The group has developed and established novel models of
analysis using serum, synovial fluid, synovial tissue and cartilage to search for biomarkers of disease, examine
mechanisms of angiogenesis, novel mediators/cytokines and cartilage destruction in the study of
pathogenesis of arthritis.
The research plan for the next five years is to develop the current expertise and extend our local, national
and international collaborations to elucidate predictors of response to therapy, predictors of remission and to
examine the mechanisms of disease. We have consolidated our use of novel human models of disease, in
partnership with GlaxoSmithKline and Cambridge Antibody Technology, which funded drug development
studies for novel monoclonal antibodies and small molecular inhibitors.
We have in 2007 embarked on a major state-of–the-art clinical research programme to identify clinical
biomarkers of therapeutic response, to identify therapeutic remission for early arthritis, to examine
mechanisms of disease, and identify novel targets for new therapies for inflammatory disease. We have also
developed our imaging techniques with MRI, Confocal and electron microscopy. We have established new
collaborations with colleagues in SVUH, UCD (The Conway Institute, School of Public Health and
Epidemiology) and the wider DMMC. Our vision, shared with our patients, medical and scientific colleagues,
is to develop a centre of excellence for Inflammation and Immunotherapeutics Research funded through
partnership with industry, HRB, SFI.
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