Researchers in RCSI’s Molecular & Cellular Therapeutics (MCT) have been involved in a multinational collaborative study with colleagues in the Howard Florey Institute, University of Melbourne, and other centres in Australia and Germany.

Their exciting new findings have just been published in the March issue of the highly prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. 

These concern a model of Huntington’s disease, an inherited neurodegenerative disorder. They provide fundamental information on the relationship between the brain cells that degenerate and the functional deficits that result. Only through such information on the process of nerve cell death and functional decline can therapeutic targets be identified. Daniela Babovic, a PhD student working in MCT with Prof. John Waddington spent several months at the Howard Florey Institute in 2006.

She worked on the project with Professor John Drago and his team, applying techniques developed in RCSI and is delighted that her work has contributed importantly to the results of this international collaborative endeavour. The participation of the RCSI-MCT team in this project is supported by a €1 million grant awarded by Science Foundation Ireland.