MDI Research Collaborations 2024: Highlights from Groundbreaking Studies with Irish Universities
Last year, MDI collaborated with the University of Galway, University College Dublin and Trinity College on three different research studies. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated in these studies. We are pleased to share the results of two of these studies below. The researchers from all three projects would like to extend their gratitude to everyone who took part in their study. Without your support, these projects would not have been possible.
The lived Experience of Health-Related quality of Life for Adults with Muscular Dystrophy.
This project was realised through a collaborative partnership between the PPI Ignite Network, School of Psychology at the University of Galway and Muscular Dystrophy Ireland.
The Principal Investigator of this study was Brona Mulligan, a Masters Student at the University of Galway To view a summary of the results, Click here.
For a more detailed report, Click here.
The psychosocial needs of adults living with muscular dystrophy and similar genetic neuromuscular disorders.
This project was realised through a collaborative partnership between the School of Psychology at University College Dublin and Muscular Dystrophy Ireland. It was funded by the Irish Research Council - New Foundations Grant 2023 and was implemented in collaboration with Muscular Dystrophy Ireland.
The Principle Investigator of this study was Assistant Professor Dr Finiki Nearchou, from University College Dublin. The full report with findings from this study is now available here.
Dr. Nearchou and her team are also preparing more publications, which we’ll share on our website as soon as they’re available.
MAGIC Project - Accelerating development of genetic therapies for muscular dystrophies
The MAGIC project brings together world leading experts from various fields including genetics, bioengineering, and medical research, from 17 institutions across Europe, the UK and the US. The aim of the project is to speed up the development of gene therapies and genome editing therapeutic approaches for muscular dystrophies. This project is funded by the European Union, the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through Horizon Europe, and the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) for a four-year period (2023 – 2027).
Maynooth University is one of the 17 institutions involved in this project. Professor Karen English who was recently named among the top 2% of most-cited researchers globally is leading out on workplan 6 “Preclinical immunology and genotoxicity of newly developed vectors”. Karen and her team bring their Immunology expertise to characterise the immune response to gene therapy vectors developed within the MAGIC consortium project. Vectors are systems that deliver gene therapies to the right place in the body. Karen and her team will work with the project partners involved in developing and manufacturing novel gene therapy vectors to investigate the natural immune response to the vectors and identify ways to reduce this response.
More information about the MAGIC Project is available here. https://magic-horizon.eu/