TThhee PPrrooggrraammmmee ffoorr RReesseeaarrcchh iinn TThhiirrdd LLeevveell IInnssttiittuuttiioonnss iiss cceelleebbrraattiinngg iittss 1100tthh AAnnnniivveerrssaarryy iinn NNoovveemmbbeerr 22000088.. AAddmmiinniisstteerreedd bbyy tthheeHHEEAA,, tthhiiss iinniittiiaattiivvee hhaass ttrraannssffoorrmmeedd tthhee rreesseeaarrcchh llaannddssccaappee iinn IIrreellaanndd,, aanndd UUCCDD CCoonnwwaayy IInnssttiittuuttee hhaass bbeeeenn aa ppaarrttiiccuullaarr bbeenneeffiicciiaarryyooff tthhee pprrooggrraammmmee,, wwiitthh tthhee bbuuiillddiinngg iittsseellff,, tthhee ccoorree tteecchhnnoollooggyy ffaacciillttiieess,, aanndd kkeeyy eedduuccaattiioonn pprrooggrraammmmeess ffuunnddeedd tthhrroouugghh PPRRTTLLIICCyycclleess 11--33..

UCD is planning a series of exhibitions and presentations throughout the campus during October, November and December 2008 inorder to highlight the achievements and successes that have been made possible by PRTLI. Look out for the displays in the foyer ofthe Conway Institute, including our core technologies stand. On 27th November, the HEA will launch a commemorative book,showcasing some of the most exciting PRTLI funded research underway in Ireland. The launch will open a ten-day exhibition and‘festival of research’ in the Science Gallery, to which all will be welcome.

PRTLI 10th Anniversary Celebrations

OOnn 1199tthh SSeepptteemmbbeerr 22000088,, UUCCDD CCoonnwwaayy IInnssttiittuuttee hhoosstteedd aa ddaayy oofflleeccttuurreess aanndd wwoorrkksshhooppss ffoorr tthhee CClliinniiccaall SScciieennttiisstt FFeelllloowwss oonn tthheeMMoolleeccuullaarr MMeeddiicciinnee IIrreellaanndd CClliinniiccaall SScciieennttiisstt FFeelllloowwsshhiippPPrrooggrraammmmee ((CCSSFFPP))..

This programme, funded through PRTLI Cycle 4, is designed toprovide world-class research training for those originallyworking in clinical positions – thus furthering the developmentof translational medicine in Ireland. There are currently 19fellows in the programme and, on 19th September, they visitedthe UCD Conway Institute and took an in-depth look at some ofits core technologies and cutting-edge research.

The morning began with a series of short lectures on animalmodels of disease. A number of Conway Investigators spoke onthe relevance of animal models to different areas of humanpathophysiology. The fellows heard from Prof. CatherineGodson on models for diabetes; Prof. Ciaran Regan on modelsfor schizophrenia; Prof. Michael Keane on models for pulmonarydiseases; Dr Ollie Blacque on using C. Elegans as a diseasemodel and DrBreandan Kennedy on using zebrafish tounderstand colour vision and blindness.

In the afternoon the fellows split into smaller groups and took atour of some of the Conway Institute’s Core Technologyfacilities, where they got hands-on training in specific areasfrom Dr Giuliano Elia, Dr Dimitri Scholz, Mr Colin Travis, Prof.Liam Gallagher, Prof. Brendan Loftus and Dr David Cottell.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all theresearchers who contributed their time and expertise to makethis day so successful. The Fellows were highly impressed withthe infrastructure and research within the Institute, and willcontinue through the programme with a keen sense of UCDConway Institute as a centre of excellence in translationalmedicine.

Elaine QuinnCommunications & Education Officer

UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular & Biomedical ResearchUniversity College Dublin

Belfield, Dublin 4Ireland

E: elaine.quinn@ucd.ieT: (+353-1) 716 6706F: (+353-1) 716 6701

W: www.ucd.ie/conway

UCD Conway Institute hosts MMI Clinical Scientist Fellows day

TThhee hhiigghhllyy ssuucccceessssffuull CCoonnwwaayy LLeeccttuurree aanndd SSeemmiinnaarr SSeerriieess((CCLLAASSSS)) hhaass rreeccoommmmeenncceedd aafftteerr tthhee ssuummmmeerr hhiiaattuuss.. AAllrreeaaddyy,,tthhee sseemmiinnaarr ccoommmmiitttteeee hhaavvee bbeeeenn wwoorrkkiinngg hhaarrdd ttoo aattttrraacctt aarraannggee ooff ddiiffffeerreenntt ssppeeaakkeerrss ffoorr tthhee FFrriiddaayy lluunncchhttiimmee sseemmiinnaarrss,,ttoo wwhhiicchh aallll aarree wweellccoommee..

Some of the speakers who will feature in the coming weeksinclude:- October 3rd: Prof Jeremy Simpson, SBES, UCD- October 10th: Dr. Patricia Finn, UCSD, USA

- October 17th: Dr. Jakub Golub, The Medical University ofWarsaw: “Targeting Cytoprotective Mechanisms ofPhotodynamic Therapy - New Possibilities for Potentiated Anti-Cancer Effects”- October 24th: Dr. Peter Crowley, UCD

Don’t forget to keep an eye on the plasma screens and noticeboards for further details as they become available. Lunch isserved immediately before the seminars each week, so it’sworth being on time for CLASS!

Conway Lecture & Seminar Series underway for a new year

Funded through the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions, administered by the HEA.

MMMI Clinical Scientist Fellows on their visit to the Conway Institutes

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Iss

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RReennoowwnneedd sscciieennttiisstt,, PPrrooffeessssoorr DDeenniissNNoobbllee CCBBEE,, ttoolldd tthhee aauuddiieennccee aatt tthheeaannnnuuaall UUCCDD CCoonnwwaayy IInnssttiittuuttee FFeessttiivvaallooff RReesseeaarrcchh oonn 2255tthh SSeepptteemmbbeerr 22000088aabboouutt tthhee ccoommpplleexxiittyy ooff hhuummaannbbiioollooggiiccaall ssyysstteemmss –– wwhhaatt hhee rreeffeerrss ttooaass ‘‘tthhee mmuussiicc ooff lliiffee’’..

Since scientists have discovered howto sequence the human genome, therehas been immense excitement aboutthe possibilities that are opened up bybeing able to understand humanbiology at the molecular level. Thepotential for the healthcare industry isperhaps the most obvious, withpredictions that we would soon beable to identify the genes responsiblefor a variety of illnesses or conditionsand therefore target them with newdrug therapies.

But progress on this has been farslower than first imagined. DenisNoble sees this as a result of a nearlytoo-intense focus on science at themolecular level. We now have a verygood understanding of many biological

molecules - how they’re made andwhat they do - but we have been lesssuccessful in seeing how thesemolecules interact together inprocesses that govern entire livingsystems. Denis Noble now says it istime to take theapproach of“integration ratherthan reduction”. Weneed to scale uprather than down.

It is this approachthat underpins therelatively newdiscipline of systemsbiology, an areawhere UCD and theConway Institute areworking particularlyhard to establishcritical mass inIreland. ProfessorNoble can rightly beregarded as thepioneer of thisscientific approach,

which involves using mathematicaland computational methods to help usto understand enormously complexbiological systems.

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October 2008 - Issue 4

WWiitthh tthhiiss iissssuuee ooff CCoonnwwaayy FFooccuuss,, wweebbiidd ffaarreewweellll ttoo PPrrooffeessssoorr JJaanneett AAlllleennwwhhoo hhaass bbeeeenn DDiirreeccttoorr ooff tthhee UUCCDDCCoonnwwaayy IInnssttiittuuttee ssiinnccee DDeecceemmbbeerr22000055.. IInn tthhaatt ttiimmee sshhee hhaass lleedd tthheeIInnssttiittuuttee tthhrroouugghh iittss nnuummeerroouussaacchhiieevveemmeennttss aanndd ssuucccceesssseess,, eennaabblliinnggiitt ttoo bbeeccoommee oonnee ooff tthhee mmoossttssiiggnniiffiiccaanntt aanndd ssiizzeeaabbllee iinnssttiittuutteess ooffsscciieennttiiffiicc rreesseeaarrcchh iinn IIrreellaanndd..

Professor Allen is now moving on totake up a post as Director of Researchat the Biotechnology and BiologicalSciences Research Council in the UK,where she will oversee six scientificresearch institutes. We wish her allthe best in this new role.

“I would like to thank everyone withinthe UCD Conway Institute who has

contributed to the ongoing success ofthe Institute during my time here”,says Professor Allen. “I have beenconstantly impressed by both thestandard of the science being donehere, and the way in which peoplehave cooperated to make this one ofthe foremost institutes in Ireland. Iwould also like to thank everyone formaking me feel so welcome overthe last two and half years.”

Over the coming months theInstitute will be managed on aday-to-day level by AssistantDirector Michael O’Sullivan withthe rest of the Directorate team.Professor Des Fitzgerald, UCD VPfor Research, will oversee theacademic affairs of UCD Conwaywhile the search for a new director

gets underway; “As a country and as auniversity, we are facing somechallenging times”, says ProfessorFitzgerald, “but the UCD ConwayInstitute is in a very strong position torise to these challenges and make themost of the exciting opportunities thatare available.”

Director’s Message

‘Music of Life’ played at UCD Conway Festival

UCD CONWAY INSTITUTE OF BIOMOLECULAR & BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH

Keynote speakers at the 8th annual UCD Conway Institute Festival ofResearch: (from l to r) Profs Ralf Baumeister, Denis Noble and Nick Turner

Conway Focus Oct 08 Final:Layout 1 copy 03/10/2008 09:35 Page 1

Contd. from page 1

Professor Noble’s book The Music of Life:Biology beyond the Genome is the firstpopular book on this subject, and he usesthe analogy of music to explain histhinking. Like music, biological systemsare much more than simply the sum ofthe molecules or ‘notes’ that are part oftheir structure.

Professor Noble has spent much of hiscareer working to understand thesesystems. In 1960, he published the firstcomputer model of the human heart –using computational processes tointerpret function from the molecularlevel up to the whole organism – in thiscase a virtual organ. At the UCD ConwayInstitute Festival of Research, ProfessorNoble used this computer modelling ofthe heart to illustrate what he sees as theten guiding principles of systems biology.The tenth principle is that there aremany more yet to be discovered – “agenuine theory of biology does not yetexist”! Far from giving us the blueprint oflife, therefore, sequencing the humangenome has simply allowed us to betterunderstand some of the instrumentsinvolved in playing ‘the music of life’.

Systems biology also featured in thelecture given by Prof. Ralf Baumeister,University of Freiburg, where he spokeabout being able to use an

interdisciplinary systems biologyplatform to understand how proteinnetworks operate in situations of agingand disease like Alzheimer’s orParkinsons. Prof. Nicholas Turner of theManchester Interdisciplinary Biocentreopened the Festival of Research with hislecture on the directed evolution ofenzymes – speeding up the work ofnature, with obvious implications for thepharmaceutical industry.

The 8th Annual Conway Festival ofResearch was an unqualified success.Over 160 abstracts were submitted fordisplay in the poster exhibition, whilethere were eight oral presentationsand twenty moderated postersthroughout the day. Prizes wereawarded to Colm Duffy, TerenceBukong, Sinead Toomey andJacqueline Whyte for their posters.Third prize for the oral presentationswent to Michelle Nic Raghnaill, andMichael Johnston won 2nd prize. 1stprize and the Roche medal wasawarded to Lydia Lynch for herpresentation on “The policeman of theabdomen no longer undercover: thehuman omentum reveals itself as aunique immune organ, which iscompromised in obesity.”

UCD Conway Institute extends itsthanks to all the sponsors who madethe event possible, and in particular

the primary sponsors Biosciences andSarstedt Ltd. Prizes were also offered byRoche and MWG Operon.

Professor Janet Allen carried out her lastfunction as Director of the UCD ConwayInstitute as she thanked the seminarcommittee and all who assisted them inensuring the Festival ran smoothly andwell.

8th Annual UCD Conway Institute Festival of Research

TThhee 22000088 FFeessttiivvaall ooff RReesseeaarrcchh ssaaww tthheeuunnvveeiilliinngg ooff aa nneeww iinniittiiaattiivvee ttoo pprroommootteetthhee CCoorree TTeecchhnnoollooggyy ffaacciilliittiieess tthhaatt aarreessuucchh aann iinnttrriinnssiicc ppaarrtt ooff tthhee UUCCDD CCoonnwwaayyIInnssttiittuuttee.. AA ddiissppllaayy ssttaanndd ffeeaattuurriinnggiinnffoorrmmaattiioonn oonn eeaacchh ooff tthhee tteecchhnnoollooggiieessaappppeeaarreedd iinn tthhee ccoonnsseerrvvaattoorryy ooff OO’’RReeiillllyyHHaallll,, hhiigghhlliigghhttiinngg tthhee eexxtteenntt ooff tthheeiinnffrraassttrruuccttuurree aanndd pprrooffeessssiioonnaall eexxppeerrttiisseehhoouusseedd wwiitthhiinn tthhee IInnssttiittuuttee..

The technologies are grouped into sixmain areas, and in each case there is adedicated team of experts who managethe facilities and offer opportunities forcollaboration on experimental design,data analysis, or publication of findings.

The main technologies are:

Flow Cytometry, run by Dr AlfonsoBlanco; Mass Spectrometry, run by DrGiuliano Elia; Transcriptomics &Genomics, also under Dr Elia;Bioinformatics & IT Support, run by DrPeadar O’Gaora and Conway Tech

support; Electron Microscopy, under DrDavid Cottell; and Imaging – bothMicroscopy and In Vivo - under DrDimitri Scholz.

The UCD Conway Institute CoreTechnologies are available on a ‘pay-per-use’ basis to anyone within UCD whomay have need of them, and can alsobe booked by researchers from otheruniversities and institutes. The extentof these facilities is one of the uniqueselling points of the UCD ConwayInstitute, and has been instrumentalin helping to attract internationalresearchers through processes suchas the SFI Stokes initiative.

Over the next few weeks the standshowcasing the Core Technologieswill remain on display in the foyer ofthe UCD Conway Institute.

If you would like to know more aboutany particular area, or have a projectyou would like to collaborate on, just

come along and meet some of the peopleinvolved.

Spotlight on UCD Conway Institute Core Technologies

Some of the Core Technology posters displayed at the Festivalof Research

Understanding why cancer spreads

UUCCDD CCoonnwwaayy IInnssttiittuuttee rreesseeaarrcchheerrssPPrrooffeessssoorr LLiiaamm GGaallllaagghheerr aanndd WWiilllliiaammFFaalllleerr hhaavvee bbeeeenn ppaarrtt ooff aann iinntteerrnnaattiioonnaalltteeaamm wwoorrkkiinngg ttoo uunnddeerrssttaanndd tthheepprroocceesssseess bbeehhiinndd tthhee ddeevveellooppmmeenntt ooffmmeettaassttaasseess iinn ccaanncceerr ppaattiieennttss.. TThhee ggrroouupphhaass ppuubblliisshheedd iittss ffiinnddiinnggss iinn tthheeSSeepptteemmbbeerr iissssuuee ooff PPNNAASS..

The research centres on MicroRNAs(miRNAs), which are small non-codedstrands of RNA involved in influencingwhich genes are ‘expressed’ or ‘switchedon’, and therefore which characteristicsappear in an organism.

The research team - based in Spain,Texas, Ohio, the UK and UCD and led byDr Manel Esteller - have discovered thata specific series of miRNAs can influencewhether a tumour progresses or isinhibited. These miRNAs normally carrytumour suppressors, and so, when theyare silenced tumours are able to growand spread. Where the relevant miRNAswere reintroduced or ‘reawoken’ in acancer cell of a model organism, tumourgrowth was found to be reduced and theprogression of metastasis was halted.

The team discovered that a processknown as DNA methylation is involved in

the silencing of those miRNAs that carrytumour suppressors. This aberrant DNAmethylation is therefore also implicatedin the development of metastases, or‘secondaries’. The researchers have beenable to tell which particular miRNAs aremost involved in this process, and alsowhich methylation signatures indicatemetastasis.

This is of benefit in predicting how, orwhether, a patient’s cancer will progress,but will also provide a molecular basisfor developing targeted drug therapiesfor patients with metastasis in thefuture.

UCD researchers identify key to Alzheimer’s memory lossUUssiinngg nneeww sscciieennttiiffiicc tteecchhnniiqquueess,,rreesseeaarrcchheerrss hhaavvee uunnlloocckkeedd tthhee ccaassccaaddeeooff mmoolleeccuullaarr eevveennttss tthhaatt lleeaadd ttooAAllzzhheeiimmeerr’’ss ddiisseeaassee.. TThhee sscciieennttiiffiiccffiinnddiinnggss ppuubblliisshheedd iinn tthhee JJuunnee eeddiittiioonn ooffNNaattuurree MMeeddiicciinnee ssuuggggeesstt aa ppootteennttiiaall nneewwttaarrggeett ffoorr tthhee ddeevveellooppmmeenntt ooff ddrruuggtthheerraappiieess ttoo ffiigghhtt tthhee iirrrreevveerrssiibbllee aannddddeeggeenneerraattiivvee ddiisseeaassee wwhhiicchh aaffffeeccttss mmoorreetthhaann 4400,,000000 ppeeooppllee iinn IIrreellaanndd aanndd ssoommee2299..88 mmiilllliioonn ppeeooppllee wwoorrllddwwiiddee..

Alzheimer's disease is marked by thebuild-up of plaques consisting of beta-amyloid protein fragments, as well asabnormal tangles of tau protein foundinside brain cells. The team of Irish andinternational researchers have identifiedthat the accumulation of a particularprotein (called amyloid β-protein - Aβ)

in the brain initiates Alzheimer’s diseaseand that it directly alters the structureand function of brain cells. The findingsplace a significant emphasis on thedevelopment of new therapeuticstrategies targeted at the reduction ofthe formation of Aβ as opposed to thereduction of the plaque burdenassociated with the disease.

“Alzheimer’s disease is a major personaland societal tragedy,” says ProfessorCiaran Regan from the UCD School ofBiomolecular and Biomedical Science,one of the co-authors of the report. “Thedisease progression is torturously longand debilitating, extorting a hugeemotional and economic cost.”

“The onset of the disease is insidiouswith the earliest symptoms oftenmanifested as subtle and intermittentdeficits of episodic memory,” explainsProfessor Dominic Walsh, associateProfessor of Pharmacology at the UCDConway Institute, another co-author ofthe report.

“Our findings support the growingtheory that Alzheimers’s diseasememory deficits may result from loss ofdendritic spines and that this process ismediated by amyloid β–protein (Aβ)oligomers, not monomer or plaque Aβ aspreviously considered.”

The research is supported by theWellcome Trust, SFI and the US NationalInstitutes of Health.

Diabetes Research Centre hosts international symposium

AA ccoonnddiittiioonn tthhaatt aaffffeeccttss bbeettwweeeenn 2255%%aanndd 3355%% ooff aallll ddiiaabbeettiicc ppaattiieennttss wwaass tthheessuubbjjeecctt ooff aa ssyymmppoossiiuumm hhoosstteedd bbyy tthheeUUCCDD DDiiaabbeetteess RReesseeaarrcchh CCeennttrree oonn JJuunnee2255tthh aanndd 2266tthh 22000088.. DDiiaabbeettiiccnneepphhrrooppaatthhyy ((DDNN)) iiss tthhee mmaaiinn ccaauussee ooffeenndd--ssttaaggee rreennaall ddiisseeaassee.. NNooww,,rreesseeaarrcchheerrss kknnooww tthhaatt DDNN iiss aallssooaassssoocciiaatteedd wwiitthh aann iinnccrreeaasseedd rriisskk ooffccaarrddiioovvaassccuullaarr ddiisseeaassee.. TThhee ccoonnddiittiioonnhhaass aa hhuuggee eeccoonnoommiicc ccoosstt iinn aaddddiittiioonn ttootthhee hhuummaann ccoosstt ffoorr ddiiaabbeetteess ssuuffffeerreerrssaanndd tthheeiirr hheeaalltthhccaarree ssyysstteemmss..

UCD’s Professor Catherine Godson waschair of the symposium’s programmecommittee and collaborated with Profs.Peter Maxwell (QUB), Denise Sadlier,Finian Martin and Harry Holthofer (DCU)in putting together the four sessions onthe subject of diabetic nephropathy that

were held over the two days of theconference under the banner of ‘DiabeticKidney Disease: Genes, Signals andCells’.

Delegates heard a series ofpresentations dealing with the area ofgenetic epidemiology – understandinggenetic susceptibility to diabeticnephropathy. Dr Per-Henrik Groop of theUniversity of Helsinki and Dr AndrzejKrolewski of Harvard Medical Schoolspoke on this subject, while Drs MadelineMurphy and Derek Brazil of UCD, alongwith Roel Golschmeding of UniversityMedical Centre Utrecht spoke on variousresearch projects aimed atunderstanding the signalling pathwaysthat influence the progression ofdiabetic nephropathy.

The greater level of insight researchershave into the initiation and progressionprocesses of DN, the greater their abilityto develop new therapeutic strategies forthe disease by identifying specifictargets for these therapies. Mark Cooperof the Baker Heart Research Institute ofAustralia; Valerie Clerin of WyethResearch Cambridge, MA; JohnCoffmann of Duke University and KumarSharma of UC San Diego all spoke ontheir work in this regard.

The symposium organisers gratefullyacknowledge the support of gold sponsorRoche and silver sponsors Baxter,Novartis, Astellas, Pfizer, Wyeth andMenarini for making the event possible.

Lydia Lynch, winner of the 2008 UCD Conway Researchmedal, with Dr Orina Belton, chair of the Festival Committee

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