RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) will feature in final two episodes of the current series of RTÉ's ‘The Science Squad'. The first of these will air this evening (Friday, 11 October), at 7.30pm on RTÉ One.

This week, The Science Squad explores the future of GP surgeries. New technologies, from the Biomedical Diagnostic Institute in our 3U Partner, DCU, are now being used in clinical trials at the RCSI Clinical Research Centre in Beaumont Hospital. Here, presenter, Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin meets Professor Dermot Kenny, Director of the Clinical Research Centre, to find out how these new tests could transform the future of healthcare. These developments allow for simple testing of major diseases, such as cancer, liver disease and cardiovascular conditions, in primary care settings such as the GP office rather than being referred to hospitals for major testing. You can watch the trailer for this episode at http://bit.ly/1g2godT.

Speaking ahead of Friday's programme, Prof Kenny said, "These innovations in diagnostics for diseases such as cardiovascular disease linked to clinical research are key to shaping the future of healthcare both in Ireland and around the world. Allowing rapid accurate tests for risk prediction at GP centres will take pressure from our hospitals and contribute greatly into the creation of a more efficient healthcare system. It was a great opportunity to showcase these trials on The Science Squad and it has been a fascinating series so far."

RTÈ's Science Squad is presented by Aoibhinn Ni Shuilleabhain, Kathriona Devereux and Jonathon McCrea. Here is a preview of the final episode in this series that features RCSI research, which airs next week:

PROGRAMME 7 - 27 October
Malaria
Malaria is a huge global public health problem, which claims approximately 1 million lives each year. RCSI has developed a new vaccine that is being trialled in Ireland. In this episode, Kathriona meets Professor Sam McConkey, Head of International Health and Tropical Medicine at RCSI and Principal Investigator on the trial to find out about the development of this potential vaccine, and speaks to some of the volunteers who are involved in the clinical trials.