Several members of the partnership from UCD and QUB. Image: © Vincent Hoban
The three-year partnership will focus on identifying joint research and innovation activities, research student mobility and information exchange.
University College Dublin (UCD) and Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) have launched an all-island cancer alliances partnership in order to further research and collaboration in the field.
The three-year partnership will see the two institutions work together to identify joint research and innovation activities, increase research student mobility and exchange information, amongst other areas.
Together, they will create inter-institutional programmes in the cancer research as well as innovation and training domains.
This work builds on the ongoing development of the All-Island Cancer Research Institute (AICRI), which has brought 10 academic institutions from across Ireland and Northern Ireland together.
The partnership is expected to both aid cross-border research and innovation activities and facilitate greater engagement in cancer programmes at a European level.
It also stems from a 2021 memorandum of understanding between UCD and QUB, which set out key areas for collaboration, including cancer research and precision medicine.
Prof Kate Robson Brown, UCD vice-president for research, innovation and impact said cancer research and innovation is a key priority area in UCD.
“This partnership will foster groundbreaking academic-clinical collaboration in cancer research, accelerating the translation of innovative discoveries into tangible societal benefits that improve outcomes and quality of life for patients on an all-island basis,” she said.
Prof Mark Lawler, associate pro-vice-chancellor and professor of digital health at QUB, said the project builds on the university’s international reputation in cancer research.
“It is particularly apt that we are announcing this partnership in the 25th anniversary year of the Ireland–Northern Ireland–US National Cancer Institute Cancer Consortium, the brainchild of Prof Paddy Johnston, the sadly departed former vice-chancellor of Queen’s and a UCD graduate,” he said. “We need to compete, not against each other, but against our common enemy – cancer.”
Both institutes have strong reputations in the area of cancer research. Last year, QUB teamed up with US biotech company Aviceda Therapeutics to create new therapies for cancer.
In the same year, scientists from UCD partnered with University of Bern to publish research about the ‘dark genome’ of human DNA, which could be instrumental for cancer cell growth. The findings could pave the way for improved understanding of tumour growth and lead to better cancer treatments.
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