Dr Cathal O’Connor won the Dermatology Research Award at the all-island Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland Research Awards, held at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

Cathal’s publication ‘Early emollient bathing is associated with subsequent atopic dermatitis in an unselected birth cohort study’ was published in the leading journal EAACI PAI Journal – Pediatric Allergy and Immunology and was voted the bestresearch published by an Irish author in dermatology in 2023.

This paper examined early bathing exposures in babies and their eczema outcomes. It showed that emollient bathing at 2 months of age might increase the risk of subsequent eczema development. The paper reviewed data from the BASELINE birth cohort study, a landmark study which was performed in Cork.

Cathal undertook his PhD at the INFANT Research Centre as part of the prestigious Irish Clinical Academic Training (ICAT) Programme and is currently completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Great Ormond Street Hospital and the Crick Institute in London.

đź“° Read the paper here: Early emollient bathing is associated with subsequent atopic dermatitis in an unselected birth cohort study – O’Connor – 2023 – Pediatric Allergy and Immunology – Wiley Online Library