Patient-centred approach
Our researchers and clinician scientists have a unique clinical and patient-centred focus to drive impactful discoveries and insights into critical global health issues, allowing us to better understand and respond to changing healthcare needs.
Our efforts are concentrated around key research themes in which our researchers work collaboratively to provide effective multi-disciplinary solutions. These research themes are:
Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine
Our researchers are working towards developing biomaterials and therapeutic strategies that can be used to replace or regenerate damaged human cells, tissues or organs. These advanced biomaterials have been developed for tissue repair with applications in bone, cartilage, cardiovascular, respiratory, neural, skin and corneal regeneration. They are also increasingly being used as therapeutic bioactive platforms for the delivery of stem cells and growth factors, or as gene-activated matrices to promote enhanced tissue repair. Read more out our research in Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine.
Cancer
Cancer research at RCSI centres on a wide variety of strategies to identify how to improve outcomes for cancer patients by optimising cancer prevention, diagnosis and therapy. Our researchers study a wide variety of cancer types, with particular attention on breast, neuroblastoma and brain, ovarian and colorectal cancer. Read more about our Cancer research.
Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders
Neuroscience and psychiatric research at RCSI encompasses the full spectrum of basic, translational and clinical research, with a particular emphasis on neurological disorders such as epilepsy and stroke, neurodegenerative diseases including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Read more about our research into Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders.
Population Health and Health Services
Research in this area aims to understand health, diseases and their determinants and develop methodological approaches for population health research. This involves researchers with a diverse range of backgrounds and specialities analysing the current issues affecting human health and health services from different perspectives.
Pioneering research is currently being carried out in several research areas including ageing, health service policy, psychiatry, physiotherapy, wound care, and solar irradiation of water.
Our researchers across epidemiology and immunology are working with clinical and industry research partners to contribute to the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more about our research in Population Health and Health Services.
Surgical Science and Practice
Building on RCSI’s heritage in surgical innovation, which dates back to our foundation in 1784, our researchers are focused on innovations that improve surgical practice for the benefit of patients.
Our broad range of research topics includes an active surgical practice research and development programme and pioneering surgical science projects. These projects range from the development of new techniques that use fluorescent probes to guide surgical procedures, to creating biobanks of patient tissue from surgery that are used to monitor outcomes and to help develop new diagnostics and treatments for disease. Read more about our research in Surgical Science and Practice.
Vascular Biology
Vascular biology research at RCSI focuses on analysing risk factors and the molecular biology of vascular diseases, optimal therapy and the minimisation of cardiovascular complications. Our research explores new ways to treat sepsis and prevent cancer progression by inhibiting angiogenesis in tumours, as well as haemostasis and determining the molecular causes of disorders such as haemophilia and Von Willebrand disease, where blood fails to clot properly.
Responding to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers from the Irish Centre for Vascular Biology at RCSI led a study, which found that Irish patients admitted to hospital with severe COVID-19 infection are experiencing abnormal blood clotting that contributes to death in some patients. The paper is published in the British Journal of Haemotology. Read more about our research in Vascular Biology.