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
Katriona O'Sullivan, ALL Member has New Book Chapters Published
"Responding to the Global Access Challenge: Expanding College and Career Opportunities for Students from Low-SES Communities in Ireland." "Migrating Innovations Across National Boundaries: Starting Early Access Interventions in the United Kingdom."
Date: Thursday, 14 June 2018
ALL Member Dr. Ana Maria Sanchez Rodriguez at 11th Conference of States Parties, New York
Dr. Sanchez Rodriguez participated with the Humanity and Inclusion delegation in the 11th session of the Conference of States Parties (COSP) to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
Date: Tuesday, 12 June 2018
New Article by ALL Member Delia Ferri in 'Societies' Journal
Web Accessibility for People with Disabilities in the European Union: Paving the Road to Social Inclusion
Date: Tuesday, 12 June 2018
ALL Member Dr. Ana Maria Sanchez Rodriguez at Law and Society, Toronto 2018
“The 2030 Agenda: Understanding Economic and Social Rights for persons with disabilities”
Date: Thursday, 07 June 2018
ALL Members Dr Seán Commins and Dr. Richard Roche Have New Article Published in Ageing Research Reviews
Autobiographical memory, the ageing brain and mechanisms of psychological interventions
Date: Thursday, 31 May 2018
New Articles by ALL Members in Journal: Disability & Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology
Authors include Mac MacLachlan, Emma Smith, Fleur Boot, Hilary Hooks and Deirdre Desmond
Date: Thursday, 31 May 2018
ALL Director Mac MacLachlan Speaker at Agile Ageing Alliance Conference
ALL Institute Director, Mac MacLachlan, was a speaker and panelist at the Agile Ageing Alliance’s (AAA) Congress – “You Say You Want A Revolution”, in London, 9-10/5/18
Date: Wednesday, 09 May 2018
ALL Member Dr. Katriona O'Sullivan Has New Article Published
‘I feel like I have a disadvantage’: how socio-economically disadvantaged students make the decision to study at a prestigious university" published in Studies in Higher Education 19/4/18
Date: Thursday, 19 April 2018
New Article: ALL Director Mac MacLachlan has Article Published in Ethics & Behavior
"Access to Assistive Technology, Systems Thinking, and Market Shaping: A Response to Durocher et al."
Date: Thursday, 19 April 2018
Turn to Teaching: Launch
ALL Member Katriona O'Sullivan launches ‘Turn To Teaching’ initiative to encourage diversity in education
Date: Wednesday, 18 April 2018