NUI Galway has been awarded almost €700,000 in funding for three research projects as part of a coordinated Covid-19 Rapid Response Research, Development, and Innovation programme.
The new Government investment, totalling €10.5 million, will support 39 Covid-19 research and innovation projects nationally.
The three NUI Galway projects will investigate how the antibodies our bodies make affect the course of disease in Covid-19; respecting people with disabilities’ needs and rights in crisis and emergency; and crisis coping for marginalised youth: living and learning through Covid-19.
Dr Michelle Kilcoyne a researcher and lecturer in glycosciences at NUI Galway, will lead a project that looks at one of the ways that our bodies can fight the Covid-19 virus, by making antibodies against it. These antibodies in the blood can either stop the virus directly, or recruit cells of the immune system to kill it. However this recruitment of immune cells is not well studied in Covid-19, and it may contribute to more severe symptoms of disease. Science Foundation Ireland is funding the project to clarify the links between blood antibodies, virus-killing activity, and symptoms in patients.
Immune response
At present, it is not known exactly how the immune system’s antibody response to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, is linked to how mild or severe the symptoms are. The research project will examine blood samples from patients with Covid-19 and look at how the type and amount of antibodies link with recruitment of immune cells and the patient’s experience of the disease. By understanding more about how the body reacts to the virus, and how that links to disease, the findings will help inform how to vaccinate against and treat Covid-19.
“Developing vaccines and antibody therapies depends on using a particular viral antigen to recruit the correct immune response, or effector function, in the patient,” Dr Michelle Kilcoyne of the School of Natural Sciences at NUI Galway explained. “However, antibody effector functions for particular viral antigens are not well studied in Covid-19 patients, and different effector functions may be linked to disease severity and outcome. Combining a strong team of clinicians and research scientists, we are applying a multiplexed and high throughput approach to understand the link between the viral antigen, the individual patient effector function, and disease severity.”
Professor Eilionóir Flynn, established professor at the university’s School of Law and director of the Centre for Disability Law and Policy, will lead a new project supported by the Health Research Board and the Irish Research Council that will look at decisions made during the pandemic in several European countries and their impact on people with disabilities. The research will provide guidance for decision-making bodies to help them maintain their obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.
Strategic decisions made by countries and healthcare systems in the pandemic may not always support the rights of people with disabilities. Using a framework developed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, this project will analyse laws, policies, and guidelines that emerged in response to the Covid-19 pandemic in Ireland, Spain, UK, Italy, Sweden, and Germany. The project will provide guidance to governments, medical councils, and healthcare professionals in order to maintain obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.
Disproportionately affected
“Emerging research findings, including from the International Disability Alliance and other disability groups, demonstrate that disabled people globally are disproportionately impacted by the current pandemic,” Professor Flynn said. “Not only are disabled people at greater risk of contracting the virus and experiencing adverse effects, especially those living in institutional settings, but they are also disproportionately affected by restrictions in access to community services and supports. This research will help us to understand in more depth how countries can respond to the challenge in ways that protect the human rights of disabled people.”
Professors Pat Dolan and Gerry Mac Ruairc will lead a project focusing on young people, aged between 12 and 18 years, who are marginalised or are at high risk during the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, and there is evidence that the most marginalised are becoming increasingly disconnected from school.
Funded by the Health Research Board and the Irish Research Council, the project will work with marginalised young people and their families to come up with ways of coping with and improving wellbeing. The results will be tailor-made approaches and supports for marginalised young people, as well as evidence to inform policymakers and provide tools for important stakeholders, such as teachers and parents.
Marginalised
Young people who are marginalised are at risk of disengaging from school, and from society more generally, during the pandemic. The research will work with marginalised young people and their families to come up with new ways to support those at risk. By developing solutions with marginalised young people, the project can inform strategies that can help them engage with school and reduce the risk of disengagement.
“The pandemic has posed very particular threats to the education and wellbeing of marginalised youth in Ireland,” said Professor Pat Dolan, director of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre at NUI Galway.
Professor Gerry MacRuairc, School of Education, NUI Galway, added: “This project is a unique opportunity not just to research the problem but, working directly with youth and their schools, to come up with real-world, practical solutions.”
President of NUI Galway, Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, commented: “I wish to extend my warm congratulations to Michelle, Eilionóir, Pat, and Gerry on being included on the Covid-19 Research and Innovation projects announced by Government today [Monday]. Research excellence is one of NUI Galway’s strategic values and is to the forefront of everything we do, and in particular when tackling the response to the Covid-19 crisis. Professor Lokesh Joshi, vice-president for research at NUI Galway, added: “Once again it is tremendous to see projects of this high calibre being led from NUI Galway in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.
