Maynooth University has been awarded €1 million under the Science Foundation Ireland-Irish Aid Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Challenge, on the recommendation of a panel of global health experts.
Prof Sean Doyle, Department of Biology and Dr Nicola Mountford, School of Business and ALL Institute, with partner team lead, Dr Peter Waiswa in Makerere University in Uganda, won the first SDG Challenge focusing on SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being, with a new approach to identifying sepsis in newborn babies. The team was supported by the Irish Neonatal Health Alliance as its societal impact champion.
Sepsis causes 17 neonatal deaths per day in Uganda and existing tests can be difficult to use on babies and may not provide results quickly enough. The project, Neosepsis, is developing a new low-resource sepsis test that can be conducted using a small drop of blood from a heel prick.
The SDG Challenge Programme is a partnership between SFI and Irish Aid (Department of Foreign Affairs), whose purpose is to support transformative, sustainable solutions to contribute to addressing development challenges in Irish Aid’s partner countries.
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD, and Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora, Sean Fleming TD, announced the winning project.
Minister Harris said: “Significant progress has been made in tackling and reducing child mortality in the past two decades, and the Neosepsis project will contribute in areas where improvements are still urgently needed.
“The team has made rapid progress since being selected for funding only 18 months ago. This progress demonstrates that working together, we can effectively tackle the Sustainable Development Goals and make a real difference on a global scale.”
Minister Fleming said: “The winning project is an exciting collaboration between experts in Ireland and Uganda that will have a real-world impact. The project has the potential to transform sepsis testing. Seventeen children die of sepsis each day in Uganda alone.
“I congratulate the researchers on winning the Science Foundation Ireland-Irish Aid Sustainable Development Goals Challenge and hope the additional funding provided will help with this vital research.”
“This was a true team effort from Maynooth to Uganda,” said Prof Doyle. “In addition to our research teams, and the hundreds of families involved in initial trials, we also thank Accuplex Diagnostics Limited in Maynooth who contributed their expertise and test device prototypes.”
The Neosepsis team is adapting an existing technology for the detection of serum amyloid A (SAA), which is a proven biomarker of infection. They will use the additional funding to move towards regulatory approval in Uganda, manufacturing of the tests and further evaluation studies.
ALL Institute: Assisting Living & Learning
ToggleMaynooth University team triumphs in SFI-Irish Aid SDG Challenge
News
Mac MacLachlan, Director, ALL Institute publishes new article in International Perspectives in Psychology
Article entitled: Community-based mental health intervention skills: Task shifting in low- and middle-income settings.
Date: Friday, 23 November 2018
ALL Member Matt McCann identified as 'exciting new business talent' by Independent Newspaper
Newspaper article entitled '30 under 30: From robotics to medtech to clothes-sharing - meet Ireland's young guns striving to break new ground'
Date: Sunday, 18 November 2018
Mac MacLachlan Delivers Keynote Presentation at National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan
Conference Entitled: “Independent Living:Harnessing The Power of Technology to Achieve a Better Life”
Date: Friday, 09 November 2018
Article in The Atlantic Relating to Access Earth, Brainchild of ALL Member, Mathew McCann
A Smart City Is an Accessible City A new breed of accessibility apps can make life easier for people with disabilities. They can also make it harder.
Date: Tuesday, 06 November 2018
Mac MacLachlan, Director ALL Institute Receives 2018 Award for Promoting Equality of Opportunity
The award was given by the British Psychological Society
Date: Monday, 29 October 2018
Ana Maria Sanchez Rodriguez, ALL Member has New Book Chapter Published
Chapter 9: Addressing General Recommendation No. 35 from an Intersectional Perspective on Violence, Gender and Disability in Mexico Ana María Sánchez Rodríguez
Date: Sunday, 30 September 2018
The ALL PhotoCall
Every photo tells a story...Reveal positivity, collectivity or activity about Assisting Living and Learning and enter our photo competition.
Date: Friday, 28 September 2018
The ALL Institute had the pleasure of hosting the UNPRPD (United Nations Partnership for the Rights of People with Disability)
As well as a lot of hard and very engaged work, participants also had a tour of the historic campus - under the blazing Irish sun - and a close encounter with Ireland’s leading Traditional Group, the McVeigh Family Band.
Date: Friday, 28 September 2018
ALL Member Matt McCann Presents on Access Earth at the UNPRPD Knowledge Management Training Workshop
Presentation Entitled 'Access for Everyone".
Date: Tuesday, 11 September 2018
Dr. Delia Ferri, ALL Institute Member Presents at UN Partnership for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Knowledge Management Training Workshop
Dr.'s Ferri's Presentation: "The Role of the European Union in Protecting the Rights of Asylum Seekers with Disabilities: Insights for UNPRPD Projects"
Date: Monday, 10 September 2018