Claire Brougham, a PhD student in Professor Fergal OBriens team, won the highly prestigious Engineers Ireland Biomedical Research Medal, awarded annually to a PhD student deemed to be making the greatest contribution to the field of biomedical engineering research as evidenced by the submission of a research paper and delivery of a presentation summarising their work. Broughams paper, entitled "Dynamic stimulation allows development of a functional tissue engineered heart valve", was selected as the winning presentation from 24 initial submissions and 4 finalists by a panel of eight interdisciplinary judges. This research involved a placement in Prof. Dr. Med. Stefan Jockenhoevels laboratory in RWTH Aachen. Another TERG PhD student, Tomas Gonzalez-Fernandez, was also selected as one of the 4 finalists.
 

Pictured (l-r) are the four prize winners from the Tissue Engineering Research Group (TERG) who won awards at the recent 2016 Bioengineering in Ireland Conference, William Whyte, Alan Ryan, Fionnuala OGorman and Claire Brougham, with Professor Fergal OBrien (Anatomy). Also attached is a photo of the TERG team at the 2016 Bioengineering in Ireland Conference. 
  
Fionnuala OGorman, a student within Dr Cathal Kearneys TERG team, was awarded the prize for best oral presentation in the Gene/Drug Delivery category. Fionnualas talk was entitled "On-demand delivery of pDNA-nanoparticles from polymer based delivery systems".
 
Alan Ryan from Prof. OBriens team, was awarded the prize for best oral presentation in the Tissue Engineering of Vascular Networks and Nerves category. Alans talk was entitled "Biofabrication of physiologically relevant vascular grafts using natural polymers and a custom vascular bioreactor".
 
Finally, William Whyte, a PhD student within Dr Garry Duffys team, was awarded the prize for best poster/oral presentation in the Early Stage Research category. Williams work, which was entitled "Sustained release of targeted cardiac therapy with a replenishable, implantable reservoir", was carried out in collaboration with Dr Ellen Roche while at the Harvard Biodesign Lab, headed by Prof. Conor Walsh (http://biodesign.seas.harvard.edu/).
 
Congratulations to all the prize winners and the entire TERG team for continually setting the highest standards of research in the field of bioengineering.

A new study published this week in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) from the Health Research Board (HRB) Centre for Primary Care Research at RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) in collaboration with the University of Cambridge challenges recent UK healthcare policy which aims to reduce emergency hospital admissions and suggests alternative approaches to this problem are needed. Costly emergency admissions continue to rise and are of increasing interest to healthcare policymakers internationally.

Recently introduced changes to GPs pay mean that as part of a ‘Directed Enhanced Service (see details below), they are now incentivised to identify people in their practice thought to be at high-risk of future emergency admission and offer extra support in the form of ‘case-management. However, the researchers show that emergency admission is a difficult outcome to predict reliably. Electronic tools have been developed to identify people at high-risk but these tools will, at best, only identify a minority of people who will actually be admitted to hospital. In addition, they found that there is currently little evidence that implementing case management for people identified as high-risk actually reduces the risk of future emergency admission.

Reviewing the research evidence in this area the authors suggest alternative options that may have more impact on the use of hospital beds for patients following an emergency admission. One is to focus on reducing the length of time that patients are in hospital - though this depends on resources being available in the community to support patients when they are discharged. Second, a significant proportion of all emergency admissions are readmissions to hospital following discharge and research evidence does support interventions to reduce some of these admissions, especially when several members of the healthcare team (e.g. doctor, nurse, social worker, case manager) are involved in helping patients manage the transition from hospital to home. A third option is to focus on certain medical conditions, such as pneumonia, known to cause avoidable emergency admissions and more likely to respond to intervention interventions in primary care. Finally, the authors suggest that policy efforts should be concentrated in more deprived areas where people are more likely to suffer with multiple chronic medical conditions and are more likely to be admitted to hospital.

Commenting on this publication, lead author and HRB Research fellow Dr Emma Wallace said ‘Reducing emergency admissions is a popular target when trying to curtail spiralling healthcare costs. However, only a proportion of all emergency admissions are actually avoidable and its important that policy efforts to reduce emergency admissions are directed where they are most likely to succeed. Our analysis indicates that current UK healthcare policy targeting people identified as high risk in primary care for case management is unlikely to achieve anticipated reductions in emergency admissions and alternative options need to be considered.

Professor Roland said ‘Too often government policy is based on wishful thinking rather than on hard evidence on what is actually likely to work. In addition, new interventions often arent given enough time to bed in to know whether theyre really working.

Commenting on this publication, senior author and Professor of Health Services Research at the University of Cambridge Professor Martin Roland said ‘Reducing the number of people who are readmitted to hospital, and reducing the length of time that people stay in hospital are both likely to have a bigger effect on hospital bed use than trying to predict admission in the population. Both of these need close working between primary and secondary care and between health and social care.

ENDS

Editors Notes

Directed Enhanced Service (DES)
GPs in England get part of their pay for delivering specific services to improve the quality of care. The best known of these is QOF, the Quality and Outcomes Framework. However, there are a number of other payments, called Directed Enhanced Services (DES), which pay GPs for providing specific services. The ‘Avoiding Unplanned Admissions and Proactive Case Management DES requires GPs to:

• Identify vulnerable older people at risk of emergency hospital admission
• Proactively case manage these patients including identifying a named accountable GP and providing a personalised care plan
• Regularly reviewing emergency admissions and A&E attendances from the practices care and nursing home patients
• Reviewing unplanned admissions and readmissions for vulnerable patients

Details of the scheme are at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/299592/DES_Directions_2014.pdf

HRB Centre for Primary Care Research at RCSI.
The HRB Centre for Primary Care Research (CPCR) was established in 2008 and is funded by the Health Research Board (HRB) in Ireland. The CPCR is a national centre for research in primary care in Ireland, led by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, in collaboration with Trinity College Dublin, Queen’s University Belfast and more recently the National University of Ireland, Galway. The CPCR aims to establish evidence-based standards for the quality of clinical care in vulnerable patient groups-older adults, children, drug users and pregnant women, with a particular emphasis on effective medicine monitoring. http://www.hrbcentreprimarycare.ie/

Cambridge Centre for Health Services Research at the University of Cambridge
The Cambridge Centre for Health Services Research is a collaboration between the University of Cambridge and the RAND Europe, RAND’s European Office, also based in Cambridge. Around twenty researchers from a range of disciplines seek solutions to delivering high quality healthcare, focused mainly on developed healthcare systems in the UK and Europe. http://www.cchsr.iph.cam.ac.uk/

Raising awareness of head and neck cancer and the latest treatments for these conditions was the theme of the addresses at the 83rd Biological Society Inaugural Meeting which took place in the Albert Lecture Theatre in RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) on Friday, 29th January 2016. The Biological Society is the oldest student society in RCSI and the event was organised by students from the Biological Society Committee with assistance from the RCSI Student Services team.

Following his welcome address, outgoing Biological Society President Professor Peter Conlon handed over the chain of office to Professor James Paul ONeill, Professor of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at RCSI, officially marking the commencement of his term as President of the Society. Professor ONeill is a graduate of RCSI (Medicine, Class of 2001) and has a long association with the Society, having attended his first BioSoc meeting as a student in the late 1990s. In his Presidential Address, Professor ONeill outlined developments in head and neck cancer treatment from an oncological perspective, and the importance of raising awareness amongst patients and healthcare professionals. Professor ONeill also emphasised the importance of outpatient, inpatient and theatre access to maintain contemporary levels of head and neck oncological care.

Continuing on the theme of the meeting, guest speaker, Mr Barry OSullivan, Consultant Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery, Beaumont Hospital, delivered the Widdess Lecture Address entitled: ‘Head and Neck Cancer Surgery in 2016 - Macroscopic removal and Microscopic reconstruction. Mr OSullivan said: "Promoting head and neck cancer awareness is the number one priority for ensuring early diagnosis and good patient outcomes. In 2016, we now have cutting-edge microvascular surgical techniques which ensure that these cancers can be removed in their entirely whilst enabling us to perform reconstruction which restores form and function for the patient."

A number of College medals were presented to students and recent graduates at the meeting including the RCSI Council Medal joint winners Doireann Eves and Senan OConnell, (Senior Case Competition); Doireann Eves, was also awarded the Denis Gill Medal for Paediatrics; Scott Moses, recipient of the Alan Browne Medal for Obstetrics and Gynaecology; and Daniel Ball and Jeffrey Nafash, Psychiatry Case Competition joint winners. Recipient of the Dr Arthur Stephen ffrench-OCarroll Medal, Daniel OReilly was also presented with his award.

The Harold Browne Anatomy Medal, was awarded to Anatomy Quiz winners Ahmed Al-Aloosi, Aseel Al-Salman and Abdel Rahman Raed Mustafa Halawa.

The final award of the evening was the Mary Leader Medal in Pathology, which was awarded to the Pathology Quiz winners Petal Elder, Randhir Seetaram and Ruth Emmanuel. The Quiz runners-up Eoin Nolan, Manuel Calvo-Gurry and Ruadhan OLaoi were awarded with their certificates.

The meeting closed with a presentation of a gift of appreciation from the Society to the outgoing President Professor Peter Conlon.

RCSI is ranked 46th in the world for ‘International Outlook and #251 - 300 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (2015-2016). It is an international not-for-profit health sciences institution, with its headquarters in Dublin, focused on education and research to drive improvements in human health worldwide.

An Irish research consortium is embarking on a new project to make a test, which will lead to better treatment of cardiovascular disease, readily available to patients. Professor Dermot Kenny (RCSI, Principal Investigator, BDI) and Professor Antonio Ricco (Adjunct Professor, DCU, Principal Investigator, BDI) have developed a laboratory-based test, which has already been trialled on 400 patients, to identify those who may be at high risk of side effects from heart disease medication.

Small particles in the blood called platelets clump together and can cause heart attacks. However, anti-platelet medication, commonly prescribed to prevent this, can have potentially significant side effects for 10-30% of patients.

The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), in collaboration with BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a leading global medical technology company, Dublin City University (DCU) and the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG), through a consortium enabled by the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI)-funded Biomedical Diagnostics Institute (BDI), are working together to further develop this test as a diagnostic tool. The collaboration will receive funding of €500,000 from Enterprise Ireland (EI) and BD under the EI Innovation Partnership Programme. This new project aims to translate the current laboratory-based version of the test into a faster, more convenient, benchtop version to increase the availability of this technology to patients.

Professor Dermot Kenny, Professor of Cardiovascular Biology and Director of the Clinical Research Centre at RCSI said: "This diagnostic tool will add to the ability of doctors to test patients at risk of heart attacks, to guide preventative anti-platelet medication such as aspirin. It has already proven to be a powerful tool in a laboratory setting and we look forward to harnessing the expert technology developed by BD to make this testing widely available, ensuring the optimum treatment for patients."

Professor Dermot Kenny, Professor of Cardiovascular Biology and Director of the Clinical Research Centre at RCSI

The novel dynamic platelet function assay (DPFA), developed by BDI, centres on monitoring the interactions of platelets with a vascular protein surface in a microfluidic chip. This whole-blood assay results in a video record of platelet-surface interactions, from which multiple biophysical parameters are extracted and analysed. The assay and microfluidic chip were developed by researchers at RCSI and DCU, while the data analysis is being carried out by researchers at the Irish Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC) at NUIG.

Joe McManus, Director of the BDI, commented, "This project is an excellent example of the BDIs strengths in translating research in life sciences from early stage work right through to the point of industry partnership and commercialisation. It is also an excellent example of the academic-business-clinical partnership model practised by the BDI, bringing together a multi-institute team under Professor Kennys clinical leadership at RCSI to partner with a world-leading diagnostics company."

Dr. Noel Harvey, Senior Vice President of R&D, BD Technologies said, "This relationship is a beautiful example of physicians and scientists in distant locales coming together to solve a fundamental problem in human health. We are convinced that this model will translate solutions from the research laboratory into the clinic much faster than if we work in isolation."

RCSI is ranked 46th in the world for ‘International Outlook and #251 - 300 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (2015-2016). It is an international not-for-profit health sciences institution, with its headquarters in Dublin, focused on education and research to drive improvements in human health worldwide.

The BDI is an Academic-Business-Clinical partnership, comprising five academic institutes, with whom the academic and clinical collaborators are affiliated, and four core industry members. The academic members are DCU, the lead institute, which hosts the BDI; RCSI; NUI Galway; the Tyndall National Institute; and Trinity College Dublin. The current BDI core industry partners are Becton Dickinson and Company, Analog Devices Inc and Biosurfit SA. These companies are part of the SFI-funded CSET programme, which led to the establishment of the BDI in 2005. The BDI is currently engaging with more than 40 companies in the Diagnostics and Life Sciences sectors and the current partnership with BD follows recently-announced, separate partnerships with Randox Teoranta and Vaccinogen Inc., also focused on the development and commercialisation of products based on BDI-developed technologies.

Read the full paper here http://m.qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/early/2016/02/09/bmjqs-2015-004828

The paper is also available from the RCSI repository at http://epubs.rcsi.ie/gerstrmedart

RCSI is ranked 46th in the world for ‘International Outlook and #251 - 300 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (2015-2016). It is an international not-for-profit health sciences institution, with its headquarters in Dublin, focused on education and research to drive improvements in human health worldwide.

As part of the programme, the students will get the opportunity to witness a live laparoscopic cholecystectomy, or ‘keyhole surgery to remove a patients gallbladder, on Wednesday 17th February, which will be broadcast from a live video link from a surgical theatre in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin. Tiny cameras will show the inside of the patient as the RCSI healthcare professionals perform the procedure. Students will be able to interact with the surgical teams by asking questions, and vice-versa, all while being talked through the operation in real time.

During the programme, students will also attend interactive lectures, receive hands-on training in clinical skills, CPR, first aid and will get the chance to test out their own surgical skills using virtual reality simulators. As well as this, TY students will receive practical experience in medicine and scientific tutorials on subjects such as radiology, paediatrics, obstetrics, psychiatry and forensics to name but a few.

The 2016 RCSI Waterford MiniMed Programme is being coordinated by Professor Riona Mulcahy, Undergraduate Dean, Senior Lecturer in Medicine, RCSI and UHW; Professor Fred Jackson, Senior Educator in the Department of Medicine, RCSI and UHW; and Mr Joe OBeirne, RCSI Council Member and Honorary Senior Lecturer in Orthopaedics at RCSI and UHW.

Speaking on the course, Professor Arnold Hill, Head of the RCSI School of Medicine said "‘The Waterford TY MiniMed programme is an excellent opportunity for students in the south-east of the country to experience what it is really like to train as a healthcare professional and it doesnt get much more hands-on than watching a live surgery. This week students will spend time in a hospital learning environment where they will use and learn about the latest innovative technology in medicine from some of Irelands top healthcare professionals at RCSI and University Hospital Waterford. This experience will give them an excellent insight into the myriad of careers available in medicine, science and research."

RCSI is ranked 46th in the world for ‘International Outlook and #251 - 300 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (2015-2016). It is an international not-for-profit health sciences institution, with its headquarters in Dublin, focused on education and research to drive improvements in human health worldwide.

Professor Bennett will now lead a research team to undertake a programme of research titled "Statistical epidemiology in Population Health and Health Services Research: Quality and Patient Safety in Medicines". The programme will aim to provide detailed information and evidence about adverse drug events (ADE) in primary care and hospital settings with a view to devising an evidence-informed approach to reduce ADEs in the Irish healthcare setting, costs associated with ADEs and information on medication taking behaviour. The award is worth €1.4 million over the course of five years.

Speaking on her HRB Research Leader award, Professor Bennett commented, "The Irish population is getting older and this is leading to an increase in the use of medications. The number of people on five or more regular medicines is increasing year on year and it is known that increases in the number of medicines leads to problems of drug interactions, adherence to medicines, increased drug costs and adverse drug events. ADEs are defined as harm caused by a drug or the inappropriate use of a drug and account for approximately 15-20% of all healthcare related adverse events. With this research programme we hope to determine the association between medication-taking behaviour, changes to medicines and outcomes including ADEs, quality of life, healthcare utilisation and disease progression as well as estimating the national burden, costs and outcomes of ADEs and poor adherence to medicines."

Speaking on the awards, Graham Love, Chief Executive of the HRB said, "These awards are designed to address knowledge gaps in our health service. If you want to turn good services into brilliant ones, then research will give you that edge."

The HRB Research Leader Awards were designed to support high quality, applied research that is relevant to healthcare system managers, healthcare providers and/or policy makers; to facilitate strong research leadership in Population Health and Health Services Research (PHHSR) that meets strategic needs at local and national level. They also aim to support universities in developing and strengthening education programmes in applied health and policy research.

RCSI is ranked 46th in the world for ‘International Outlook and #251 - 300 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (2015-2016). It is an international not-for-profit health sciences institution, with its headquarters in Dublin, focused on education and research to drive improvements in human health worldwide

Research Day 2015 concluded yesterday evening with an awards ceremony which took place in the Cheyne Lecture Theatre. Dr Gianpiero Cavalleri, Research Day 2015 Academic Co-Ordinator, hosted the ceremony which saw awards being presented to winners across twelve categories.

The ceremony began with the presentation of the Mr Kamal Sayed Prize in Neurosurgery to Ms. Zaitun Zakaria. The medal, which is generously supported by Dr Yacoob Kadwa, Class of 1965, is awarded to a neurosurgery trainee in recognition of outstanding work and excellence in the field of neurosurgery. This is a prestigious award of RCSI and is run in conjunction with the Irish Institute of Clinical Neuroscience. The prize pays special tribute to the memory of Mr Kamal Sayed, a graduate of RCSI (Class of 1960). The award was presented by Amos Sayed, on behalf of Dr. Camilla Carroll (FRCSI and Class of 1985) and Dr Jacintha More OFerrall (Class of 1990).

The RCSI Author Citations Prize was awarded to Dr. Eoghan ONeill, Senior Lecturer, RCSI, and Consultant Microbiologist, Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown. The prize is awarded to the most highly cited RCSI-led paper and in recognition of its contribution to RCSIs listing in the Times Higher Education World University Ranking system. The prize was presented by Ms. Aoife Flanagan, Head of Institutional Research and Planning, RCSI.

Dr Regien Biesma, Lecturer, RCSI Department of Epidemiology & Public Health Medicine, was announced as the winner of the Health Professions Education Award. The prize was awarded by Professor Hannah McGee, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, for the best abstract and project in the broad category of health professions education, acknowledging the centrality of a robust research and development approach to all RCSIs educational programmes.

William Arthur Lackington, RCSI Department of Anatomy and Tissue Engineering Research Group, was presented a prize for the front cover illustration of the RCSI Research Day abstract book.

Medical student Amenah Dhannoon was awarded the Dr. Harry OFlanagan Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Research for the best undergraduate oral presentation. This category was open to all RCSI Research Summer Students who completed a research project in 2014. This medal award was created by Dr. Yacoob Kadwa, RCSI graduate (Class of 1965) to pay special tribute to the memory of Dr. Harry OFlanagan, former Registrar of the RCSI. The undergraduate poster presentation prize was awarded to Karim Jundi.

In the postgraduate scholars - first year category, which was open to any postgraduate group, including PhD, Msc, MD in first year of fulltime registration or equivalent, Caragh Stapleton, RCSI Department of Molecular & Cellular Therapeutics, was the recipient of The Medical Supply Company (MSC) and Bio-Sciences Limited Prize for the best oral presentation. The poster presentation prize winner in the category was Mariana Alves, RCSI Department of Physiology & Medical Physics.

In the postgraduate scholars category, which was open to any postgraduate group, including PhD, Msc, MD in second or later year of fulltime registration or equivalent, Michelle White, RCSI Department of Medicine, was awarded the Roche Medal for the best oral presentation. The poster presentation prize winner in the category, which is sponsored by Fannin, was awarded to Sergej Susdalzew, RCSI Department of Physiology & Medical Physics.

In the Early Career Investigators category which was open to all RCSI post-doctoral fellows, Dr Mark McCormack, RCSI Department of Molecular & Cellular Therapeutics, was awarded the Barnes Medal for the best oral presentation. The award is named after Dr Joe Barnes, Professor Emeritus of Tropical Medicine in RCSI and was presented by his son Mr. Matthew Barnes. The poster prize winner in this category, which is sponsored by Fannin, was awarded to Dr David W Murray, RCSI Department of Physiology & Medical Physics. The judges noted that the standard of science in this category was exceptionally high.

Congratulations to all the winners and Coordinators of Research Day 2015 Dr Gianpiero Cavalleri, Stephanie OConnor and Cathy OByrne, on the success of Research Day 2015.

RCSI is among the top 50 most international universities in the world (Times Higher Education University World Rankings, 2014-15). It is a not-for-profit health sciences institute focused on education and research to drive positive change in all areas of human health worldwide. RCSI is headquartered in Dublin and is a recognised College of the National University of Ireland. In 2010, RCSI was granted independent degree awarding status by the State, which enables the College to award degrees alongside its traditional powers to award licentiates.

International Food Night was held in RCSIs Exam Hall on Friday 13th March. This event kicked off Cultural Diversity Month at RCSI which will see a number of events that showcase the culture, traditions, food, music and dance from the colleges student body. RCSI is a true melting pot with some 60 nationalities represented amongst its student body.

Cultural diversity is something the College prides itself on, and the International Food Night was a perfect way to start the festivities. Attendees got acquainted with gastronomic delights from all four corners of the globe all while, hearing the stories behind their origin and how they are made. Over 350 RCSI students and staff attended on the night and congratulations to the Gourmet Society who pulled out all the stops to ensure a memorable occasion for everyone in attendance.


Prof Arnold Hill, Head of the RCSI School of Medicine (left) visits the Kuwaiti stand at the RCSI Cultural Exhibition Fair which is part of March being Cultural Diversity Month.

This week the Exam Hall was transformed to allow students from various countries to showcase their culture, landscape, clothing and history at the Cultural Exhibition Fair. The countries participating this year are Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Ghana, UAE, Malaysia, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Kuwait and Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (PIBS). We heard steelpans from Trinidad, got bindis from Pakistan, and got a feel of the easy going lifestyle in Malaysia. We tasted sweet coffee from Kuwait and soda bread from Ireland!

RCSI Cultural Diversity Month will culminate on Friday 27th March with the annual International Night which will be held in the impressive setting of the Round Room at Dublins Mansion House. Guests at this entertaining celebration of international talent, music and dance will be transported around the globe as the many student societies compete for the International Night Plate. Other events include an RCSI football World Cup and an international bake sale (on Monday 23rd March), a light-hearted culture debate and a test themed on culture and geography.

Take a look at a few photos from this unique event below

Safer use of medicines, improved diagnosis, and more effective delivery of primary care will result from a new €3 million award from the Health Research Board (HRB) to the HRB Centre for Primary Care Research (CPCR), based at RCSIs (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) Department of General Practice.

This award will be used to build on the significant progress the CPCR has already made in advancing the capacity and infrastructure for primary care research in Ireland. This new phase of funding will see the centre focus on areas such a Clinical Decision Support Systems, Clinical Prediction Rules and multimorbidity; topics that are of national and international importance for both policy and practice.

The research programme will be undertaken with national and international partners where additional grant funding has been secured from two pan-European grants, namely TRANSFoRm, a study that focuses on patient safety in primary care, and ALICE, a study that examines the use of antivirals for influenza like illness.

Announcing the funding, Graham Love, Chief Executive at the HRB said ‘Effective primary care means better outcomes for patients and less pressure on acute services. To be effective, it must be informed by research. This €3 million investment by the HRB underlines the importance being put on primary care interventions nationally.

Professor Tom Fahey, Professor of General Practice, HRB Centre for Primary Care Research, Department of General Practice, RCSI added ‘Our programme of primary care research is already having a great impact to improve primary care, and primary care research, in Ireland. To date we have created an international register of over 400 clinical prediction rules that help GPs to better diagnose patients and we have collaborated on the development of an infrastructure for GPs and their patients to contribute to research projects in real time. We have also identified and pilot tested an intervention to reduce potentially inappropriate prescribing at the point of patient care which could save several million euros on our prescription bills.

Details of current and past work and projects of the Centre for Primary Care Research can be viewed online at www.hrbcentreprimarycare.ie.

RCSI is among the top 50 most international universities in the world (Times Higher Education University World Rankings, 2014-15). It is a not-for-profit health sciences institute which focuses on education and research to drive positive change in all areas of human health worldwide. RCSI is headquartered in Dublin and is a recognised College of the National University of Ireland. In 2010, RCSI was granted independent degree awarding status by the State, which enables the College to award degrees alongside its traditional powers to award licentiates.

The Health Research Board (HRB) is Irelands lead agency supporting and funding health research. It aims to improve peoples health, patient care and health service delivery by leading and supporting research, generating new knowledge and promoting the use of evidence in policy and practice. To date, the HRB has supported a wide range of research which has played a key role in driving innovation in the Irish health system and supporting economic development.

Speaking on her selection, Johanna said, "This year, I will be competing for RCSI on the Irish University Womens Water Polo team at the Celtic Tri-Nations tournament in Glasgow over Easter weekend. We will be competing against the Scottish and Welsh teams for the Tri-Nation Cup. I started playing water polo back home in Canada when I was 11 years old; I trained with my club team and then competed provincially with Team Ontario and at the Canadian National Championships. Water polo was such a large part of my life that when I moved to Dublin I still wanted to keep playing; I found the Dublin University Swimming Club (DUSC) on Twitter and decided to start training with them.

The water polo community in Ireland is small but thriving, so far my time training with DUSC on behalf of RCSI has been an amazing! I competed at the University Inter-varsities in January and a few teammates and myself from the Trinity College womens team were selected to compete in Glasgow together. It has been a while since I have competed at a large tournament and I cannot wait for the hustle and bustle of traveling with a team again. We have big hopes of winning the tournament this year, hopefully we come back to Dublin holding a trophy!" she continued.

We wish Johanna and the Irish team all the best of luck