The Brendan McGonnell UCD Professor of Paediatric Molecular Haemato-Oncology has been established at the UCD School of Medicine with thanks to an award provided by the National Children’s Research Centre (NCRC) and funded by the Children’s Medical and Research Foundation (CMRF) Crumlin. This is a truly fitting gesture in memory of Mr. McGonnell and his extraordinary philanthropy. We sincerely extend our gratitude to the NCRC and CMRF for their commitment to advance research into paediatric and adolescent cancers of the blood, and to improve survival rates for those affected.
Professor Jonathan Bond has been appointed to the Chair. He will establish a research group, lead a competitive paediatric research programme and contribute to teaching within the UCD Medicine degree programmes.
Child and young adolescent haematological cancers account for approximately 40% of all cancers in children up to the age of 16. Professor Bond’s research programme, which will be carried out at Systems Biology Ireland, UCD, will focus on understanding how normal gene regulation is subverted in acute leukaemia with the ultimate goal of developing new and better treatments for every child and adolescent with this blood cancer.
Professor Bond completed his undergraduate medical study at Trinity College Dublin and trained as a clinical paediatric haematologist in Ireland before obtaining his PhD in Molecular Haematology at Imperial College London. Before his appointment to the Chair, Professor Bond underwent a research fellowship at the Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, in Paris. His main research interest is trying to understand how normal gene regulation gets subverted in acute leukaemia. We are absolutely delighted to welcome Professor Bond, he will be a hugely significant asset to research into paediatric haemato-oncology at UCD.
Each of the seven schools in the UCD College of Science engages in exciting and internationally recognised research. Research includes drug discovery, development and delivery which aim to identify biomarkers, novel therapeutic targets to guide drug development and target medicines toward specific populations.
The James Joyce Library receives on average one million visits per year. Behind these doors there is vast study space amongst hundreds of books and academic journals. The library’s special collections houses the first documentation of the Flight of the Earls, a letter written to Éamon de Valera as well as numerous manuscripts by some of Ireland’s most celebrated writers such as Frank McGuinness, Edna O’Brien, and Maeve Binchy.
The UCD Student Centre is home to the UCD Student Union which aims to promote student wellbeing on campus be it mental health, disability rights, mature students or accommodation support. The UCDSU provides free counselling services as well as running life skills courses for students suffering from depression or anxiety.
Newman is a multi-storey mixture of the arts and social sciences. With lecture theatres that can house up to 500 students as well as smaller spaces for tutorials, students can share ideas with both their peers and their tutors. Whether it be current politics, history or literature there are a wide array of topics up for debate and discussion.
There is no better training for students than in Richview, the home of architecture in UCD. This space includes design studios, a well-equipped workshop and building laboratory, exhibition spaces and the most extensive architectural library in the country.