INFANT Centre News

Tuesday 02 October 2018 As published in the Irish Examiner:    Prof Geraldine Boylan, INFANT co-founder and director, and Professor of Neurophysiology at UCC, says it is vital to continue research into maternal and child health. INFANT is Ireland’s only dedicated research centre spanning maternal and child health and has been recognised internationally as a world-leading organisation that is responsible for a number of research breakthroughs and life-saving science for mothers and babies. As director, I am very proud to lead this important research centre. We have made ground-breaking discoveries in neonatal seizure detection, pre-eclampsia, neonatal brain injury, maternal nutrition, and childhood allergy. INFANT has been at the heart of perinatal research and innovation for more than five years. Funding from Science Foundation Ireland in 2013 was catalytic to the success of the INFANT Centre, and once  it was established, it was quickly recognised as a global force for development in perinatal healthcare and research. Competitive research grants, collaboration requests and philanthropic funding from national and international sources supplemented the initial €6 million in start-up funding to grow to its €30 million portfolio today.   Prof Geraldine Boylan, INFANT Director    Over the last five years, the INFANT Centre has been a high performing SFI research centre and it will continue working in this important area. INFANT is maturing and has a new ambitious programme that will [...]

Monday 01 October 2018 Following an SFI Research Centre programme call for funding, the new proposal of the INFANT Centre at UCC has not been funded at this time but instead has been recommended to proceed to a national open call in 2020. The Centre opened in 2013 with initial funding from Science Foundation Ireland, which will end in May 2019. INFANT will continue its research work funded by a diverse range of national and international funding agencies, industry partners and philanthropic donors. INFANT’s mission is to improve health outcomes for mothers and babies by focusing on clinical and health research and innovation in pregnancy, birth and early childhood. The Centre has grown rapidly from its initial award of €6M to over €30M in five years comprising donations, competitive funding awards, and global partnerships with industry and academic researchers which  has enabled the development of INFANT to the point where it now has over 100 staff, a dedicated paediatric clinical research unit, an internationally recognised biobank, a world-leading data hub and other clinical research infrastructure in obstetrics and neonatology. The support from SFI for the Centre has, to date, been a significant catalyst for major growth and development. It has allowed INFANT to develop breakthroughs in seizure detection and in areas such as pre-eclampsia diagnosis, maternal and new-born nutrition and allergy. The Centre will continue to [...]

Monday 24 September 2018   Rhodri Cusack is the Thomas Mitchell Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in Trinity College Dublin, and a world-renowned expert in his field. Prof Geraldine Boylan, Director of the INFANT Centre noted that “The appointment of Prof Cusack as an INFANT PI is very exciting, it expands the impact INFANT will have, and will enable us to gain even more momentum as a world-leading research centre, improving health outcomes for babies around the world”. The Vice President for Research and Innovation at UCC, Professor Anita Maguire welcomed the addition of this talented research leader to the INFANT Research Centre, noting that “Prof Cusack brings research expertise which is entirely complementary to the current expertise within INFANT, and as a result his addition will open exiting new research opportunities with potential to contribute to improved health outcomes”.   How does perinatal brain injury affect development? Prof Cusack is the Thomas Mitchell Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and head of the Cusack Lab in the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience. As a graduate of Cambridge and the University of Birmingham, he has worked in the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge and more recently was Associate Professor at the Brain and Mind Institute of the University of Western Ontario. His research has been funded by the IRC, MRC, Wellcome Trust, BBSRC, EPSRC, CIHR, and NSERC. Rhodri has recently received a prestigious ERC [...]

Wednesday 05 September 2018 An Post unveiled four €1 stamps on Wed 5 September titled "Irish Scientific Discoveries" at the international Schrodinger at 75 Conference in the National Concert Hall. The series of stamps highlight recent scientific discoveries made by scientists who work in pioneering research and development in Ireland. The science-based stamps represent new areas of research, which are generating new knowledge, cutting-edge technology, and competitive enterprise. The four topics are examples of innovative and impactful academic research being carried out in academic institutions around the country: these are new forms of light, fighting superbugs, emissions adsorption, and INFANT's seizure prediction algorithm.     Created by An Post in partnership with Science Foundation Ireland, the Irish Scientific Discovery stamps feed into Ireland’s rich scientific history, recognising its growing reputation for scientific excellence worldwide.  This standing is evidenced by Ireland’s ascent in global ranking of scientific citations – now the 10th most innovative country in the world (Global Innovation Index) and 11th for overall IMD World Competitive Ranking, 2017. A 2016 report into Opportunities and Challenges for European Tech Employers also showed 29% of Ireland’s population are now employed in science and technology. Science Foundation Ireland– an agency of the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation – is the national foundation for investment in scientific and engineering research and contributes to societal and economic awareness of the value of science, technology, [...]

Friday 22 June 2018 MINISTER COVENEY OPENS NEW €5MILLION UCC PAEDIATRIC ACADEMIC UNIT   Ireland’s first integrated paediatric academic unit was officially opened on Monday 18th June by Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney, T.D. Following a multi-million euro investment by University College Cork, Science Foundation Ireland, and a generous philanthropic donation, the new unit is located in an exceptional tri-location between Cork University Hospital, Cork University Maternity Hospital, and University College Cork. The first of its kind in Ireland, the new paediatric academic unit focuses on improving health outcomes for children, from infancy through to adolescence through teaching, research, and innovation. Home to more than 60 staff, including clinical and academic leaders, scientists, nursing staff and PhD researchers; the academic teams tackle clinical problems such as newborn brain injury, infant seizures, allergy, eczema, sleep, and explore ways of enhancing the long-term wellbeing and development of children. Collaboration between clinicians, scientists and families is at the heart of the unit Speaking at the official opening, Tánaiste Simon Coveney T.D. said, “This is a progressive and innovative step to improving children’s health in Ireland and internationally through academic research. The collaboration between clinicians, researchers, industry, trainees, patients and their families will yield enormously positive results to shape paediatric healthcare of the future. I would like to acknowledge the vision of UCC and the College of Medicine and [...]

Thursday 07 June 2018 New Research our Sphere Programme PhD candidate, Gillian Maher, has been published in JAMA Psychiatry. The work is exploring the association between hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and other neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring. Exposure to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy is associated with a small increase in the odds Examining what the pooled estimates are from existing literature exploring the association between hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring, the systematic review and meta-analysis of 61 studies suggested that exposure to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy is associated with a small yet statistically significant increase in the odds of autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in offspring compared with no exposure. Gillian and the team recommend increased developmental screening of infants who have been exposed to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, as this could allow for early intervention, which in turn may improve neurodevelopmental outcome.   FULL PAPER HERE: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2681643

Monday 21 May 2018 INFANT is pleased to announce that it has been awarded €800,000 under the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI2) to improve clinical trial infrastructure for children and infants in Ireland.  Part of this funding will be used to set up a new network, In4Kids, to facilitate the development of new drugs for children in Ireland.  In4Kids will be the Irish hub of the pan-European multidisciplinary network. CONECT4CHILDREN (C4C), comprising academia, medical institutions, industry, and affiliated partners.  The C4C consortium has been awarded €140 million by the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI2) to improve clinical trial infrastructure for children and infants.  Partnership in the C4C network will provide In4Kids members with a gateway to access future funding from the network for Irish research. Children deserve innovative therapies and medicines developed specifically for them Speaking at the launch of In4Kids, INFANT Director Prof Geraldine Boylan said, “Children must have access to innovative therapies and medicines that have been developed with the same rigour and urgency as those developed for adults.  The C4C network with its Irish partner, In4Kids, will accelerate the availability of high-quality scientific data that will improve the safe and effective use of medicines in children.” With a budget of €140 million, C4C is one of the biggest awards funded through the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2, funded jointly by the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovative programme as well as the European Pharmaceutical Industries [...]

Wednesday 16 May 2018 We were delighted on Friday 11 May to launch the B-BEST START LifeMatters for Mums, Dads and New Born Babies handbook on Friday with author Dr Margaret O’Rourke, and alongside our Principal Investigator Prof Eugene Dempsey and Director, Professor Geraldine Boylan.     The B-BEST START Programme is part of the Infant Centre’s NeoView Programme, which aims to improve the outcomes of babies in the neonatal unit (NNU) by empowering parents to build their own health, well-being and resilience so that they can be active, informed and emotionally engaged with their new born babies, infants and children.   The focus of the day was on the Neonatal Unit (NNU). The NNU is a unit in the hospital that specialises in the care of babies, particularly those who are born too soon, who have a low birth weight, who have medical conditions that require additional care, and those recovering after surgery. In Ireland, approximately 1 in 10 babies will visit the NNU for at least a few days. The length of stay in the NNU will depend on baby's size, prematurity, and medical circumstances. The first 1000 days of baby's life are critical Speaking at the event, Dr Margaret O’Rourke noted that the book helps to empower parents, “Babies need their mums and dads, and the programme is about making them central [...]

Monday 23 April 2018 A collaboration between INFANT, the Embedded Systems group in the Dept of Engineering in University College Cork, and engineers in Tyndall National Institute has won a prestigious Collaboration Award from the Irish Laboratory Awards group. The Irish Laboratory Awards has established itself as the premier event in Ireland for benchmarking those that demonstrate excellence, best practice, and innovation in Ireland’s laboratories.   The Brain Stethoscope Design The award-winning work is centered on the Brain Stethoscope Design, which is a low-cost and portable device that can acquire and interpret EEG signals (a measure of electrical activity in the brain). The device will provide easy-to-use EEG recording hardware, and software that will give a visual, sound-based and Artificial Intelligence-assisted interpretations to assist in healthcare decision making.  

Monday 29 January 2018 The loss of a baby has a profound effect on the family. Twelve families bereaved by stillbirth took part in a research study by the Pregnancy Loss Research Group at the INFANT Centre and UCC, the results of which have been published today. Each of the parents detailed the events and experiences leading up to, surrounding and following the diagnosis of a life-limiting condition or stillbirth of their baby. Stressing the importance of good communication and sensitive care from healthcare professionals, the study supports the need for the HSE National Standards for Bereavement care following pregnancy loss and perinatal death to be implemented nationally. The twelve families were cared for at CUMH and they took part in interviews, detailing the profound impact their experience had on their lives. The diagnosis of stillbirth is devastating and traumatic news. All parents spoke of the relationships they had with the staff who cared for them during their pregnancies and birth of their babies. The interactions with staff left a lasting impression on the family, and in an Irish context where termination of pregnancy is currently not  permissible, this study sheds an important light on the importance of the option of a perinatal palliative care approach for babies and their parents following a significant antenatal  diagnosis.. For parents who receive a life-limiting diagnosis that is likely to result [...]

Tuesday 07 November 2017 We are delighted that our Dr Deirdre Twomey has won the Cure and Care award at the jENS 2017 Conference in Venice on 1 November. The jENS 2017 conference is a joint meeting of all the European Neonatal societies, the largest European Neonatal Research meeting to date. BiHIVE’s Psychology Postdoctoral Researcher Deirdre Twomey was chosen to present her research abstract from the >800 submitted to the jENS conference and she was nominated for the Young Investigator Award. Nine nominees presented their research during a special session at the conference and Deirdre won the Cure and Care Award for her presentation “Touchscreens for cognitive assessment of toddlers”. The presentation allowed Deirdre to engage with key stakeholders and world leaders in the field of neurology, brain injury, and neurodevelopment and will lead to collaborations and future research.

Friday 20 October 2017 This Research Day will share, promote and facilitate discussion on cutting edge, best practice perinatal research from international experts and early career researchers on how to improve health outcomes for pregnancy, infancy and childhood. The event will take place in the Clayton Hotel, Lapps Quay, Cork.    Registration Opens at 08:15.    Our Programme begins at 08:45 with a Welcome Address. A poster session will take place at the break time. Lunch will be provided to all attendees. INFANT Research Day 2017 Programme Pregnancy/Pre-eclampsia Session Chair: Prof Louise Kenny   09:00 - KEYNOTE: Prof Richard McManus Self-Monitoring of Blood Pressure to Detect and Manage Hypertension During and After Pregnancy: Can Women Do It Better?   09:45 – Dr Cathal McCarthy - Mitochondrial superoxide scavengers mediate endothlelial dysfunction in pre-eclampsia 10:00 - Eoin Roche - Analysis of comparable home / clinic blood pressure readings in the LEANBH population 10:15 - Sinead Flanagan - Periconceptual Maternal Alcohol Consumption and Subsequent Behavioural Outcomes at 2 and 5 Years of Age   Birth & Pregnancy Loss Session Chair: Dr Keelin O’Donoghue   10:45 - KEYNOTE: Prof Anna David Novel treatments for fetal growth restriction using gene therapy and other innovative approaches​   11:30 - Indra San Lazaro Campillo - Ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage hospital admission in Ireland: incidence, type of management and morbidity indicators 11.45 - Maeve O’Connell - Prevalence and associated risk factors [...]

Thursday 12 October 2017 WMB held its 11th annual Women Mean Business Conference & Awards in Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel on 2nd October. The event recognises the achievements of businesswomen and entrepreneurs across Ireland. Prof Louise Kenny of the INFANT Centre was honoured with the WMB Woman in Technology Award for 2017 for her work as founding director of Metabolomic Diagnostics, a medical diagnostics company. Working with UCC, they are developing a breakthrough technology to provide predictive diagnosis of pre-eclampsia in early pregnancy. This technology has the potential to revolutionise prenatal care globally and save lives. In addition, it will dramatically reduce overall healthcare costs around the world. Opening the event, An Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise & Innovation, Frances Fitzgerald TD said: “With the variety of awards here today, we can see the breadth of women’s ingenuity and ability to perform at a high level in the business world... As Minister for Business, Enterprise & Innovation, I am now in a job where I will seek to ensure that women in business are the leaders in business”.  

Wednesday 04 October 2017   A blog post from Sophie Casey:    I was recently awarded the Irish Research Council’s Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship for a 4 year PhD project. My work will investigate the downstream targets and effects of microRNA alterations in neonatal hypoxic encephalopathy (HIE) – a leading cause of infant mortality and lifelong disability. I will examine the circulating microRNA alterations over time in a well-established animal model of HIE and research the proposed target pathways of these microRNAs. This allows insight into the genes which may be involved in the mechanisms of action behind the neuronal injury. Future plans involve investigation into the effects and targets of microRNA alterations in cell models of hypoxia. As the investigation of microRNA alterations was performed during the BiHIVE study, the goal of this project is to identify potential cross-species bridging biomarkers of HIE. Other research interests include autism spectrum disorders and their links to circulating cytokine alterations. This work will be carried out under the supervision of Dr. Deirdre Murray, Dr. Gerard O’Keeffe and Prof. Geraldine Boylan.   Huge congratulations, Sophie!  Related Links https://www.okeeffelab.com/

Tuesday 03 October 2017 A  Service of Remembrance will be hosted by Cork University Maternity Hospital on   Friday 13th October 2017 at 7.30pm   Sacred Heart Church, Western Road, Cork   All who have experienced or been affected by pregnancy loss or infant loss are very welcome to attend.                            

Monday 21 August 2017 Infant Welcomes Dr. Peter Barrett The Wellcome-HRB Irish Clinical Academic Training Programme (ICAT) has welcomed its first intake of fellows at an induction event, held recently at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. We are delighted to announce that Dr. Peter Barrett, ICAT fellow, has been appointed to UCC and will begin a year of academic and specialist training with Infant with Dr. Ali Khashan. Research Excellence Prof. Louise Kenny's presentation at the induction event highlighted Infant's commitment to developing the careers of talented young researchers. Peter will work with Dr. Ali Khashan in the Epidemiology research team and will also be mentored by Dr. Deirdre Murray, who was selected by ICAT as a model of research excellence. Peter will take part in a diverse educational scheme which includes project work and clinical training. Emerging Science The ICAT programme supports emerging science excellence in Ireland by guiding ICAT fellows towards a Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training. Infant are proud to support the growth of clinical expertise in Ireland and we look forward to working with Peter! Posted in: News Related Links Read More: The ICAT Programme

Monday 21 August 2017 Promising Research Infant is proud to congratulate Dr. Cathal McCarthy and Dr. Jane English, who have both won an Emerging Investigator Award from the Health Research Board. The HRB Emerging Investigator Awards supports researchers in the middle of their careers to build sustainable research programmes. With an investment of €8.3 million, the HRB are rewarding 11 successful researchers for their "diversity and ability to multitask". Dr. McCarthy and Dr. English will now contribute groundbreaking research towards improvements in general health, policy and practice. They will also act as mentors to the next generation of researchers. Rare Blood Samples Dr. English's research focuses on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a complex disorder of brain development. By identifying blood biomarkers in the blood at birth, Dr. English hopes to diagnose ASD at an early stage and maximise the effectiveness of therapy and treatment. The Emerging Investigator Award will allow Dr. English to access rare blood samples from several international birth cohorts including the Danish National Birth Cohort, the Aarhus Birth Cohort, and Cork’s own BASELINE Birth Cohort (http://www.baselinestudy.net/). This makes it the largest Autism Biomarker Discovery programme undertaken to date. Common Complications of Pregnancy Dr McCarthy’s research interest is in the area of pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes, two common complications of pregnancy becoming more prevalent in Ireland. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been identified for its possible influence on both conditions, with Dr. McCarthy's study [...]

Monday 31 July 2017 The International Stillbirth Alliance Annual Conference will be held in Cork, Ireland from 22-24th September 2017 at the University College Cork campus. The Conference will take place over two days, Saturday and Sunday, with a mixture of plenary and concurrent sessions from invited speakers and selected presentations from conference abstracts. 10 CPD points will be awarded to delegates of the ISA Conference. Pre- conference, an IMPROVE workshop will be held on Friday 22nd September (https://sanda.psanz.com.au/clinical-practice/improve/).

Tuesday 18 July 2017 On 4 June, the amazing Jane O'Sullivan ran in the Cork Marathon - all 26 miles and 385 yards of it - in aid of the research in the INFANT Centre. We are overwhelmed by Jane's efforts and generosity, and of all the people who donated to her. We are so thankful for your support and generosity.   When asked why she ran the marathon, Jane noted "I decided to fundraise for INFANT because I wanted not only to raise money for a worthwhile cause but also to taise awareness in the public domain about the great work that is undertaken in their research for women and babies. Many people are unaware of the progress that has been made and is continuing to be made, thanks to the tireless efforts of those who work at INFANT. I wanted to help in some way to promote such a worthy cause". We thank Jane, and everyone who donated so generously, from the bottom of our hearts. The donations will have a huge impact in our research efforts to combat pregnancy loss.  

Tuesday 11 July 2017 Professor Louise Kenny wins Guaranteed Irish Science Hero award Professor Louise Kenny, Director of INFANT, has just been named as the Guaranteed Irish Science Hero for 2017. Prof Kenny was selected for the award following a public nomination process and received the award at the INFANT Research Centre, a world-leading Science Foundation Ireland research centre in University College Cork and Cork University Maternity Hospital, Cork City. CEO of Guaranteed Irish, Brid O'Connell said: “Professor Kenny is a true ambassador for Ireland so it is with great pleasure that we name her as the very first Guaranteed Irish Science Hero today. Whilst we received hundreds of very strong nominations from the public, Professor Kenny had by far the strongest support and was the clear winner of the Guaranteed Irish Science Hero Award for 2017."   Pioneer “Professor Kenny’s research group has pioneered the use of metabolomic technology, helping to reduce infant and mother fatalities. It is because of this commitment to pregnancy research and in developing innovative technologies to improve the treatment and care available to mothers and babies that she has been awarded this accolade. I would like to wish Professor Kenny and all her team at INFANT the very best for their continued research in this area!” Perinatal and Neonatal Research Growing in Ireland On receiving the Guaranteed Irish Hero Award for Science, [...]

Tuesday 04 July 2017 The paper is entitled "V2Hz: Music Composition from Wind Turbine Energy using a Finite-State Machine" and will be published on IEEEExplore. The paper explores the spatial sonification of distributed information sources based on an algorithmic approach to music. By developing an algorithm that adopts the rules of music theory, it was possible to sonify random information sources in a manner which sounds similar to western music (i.e. the generated music is in a specific key, and forms chord progressions based on the solely on the data of the raw information sources). As test data we used the output voltages of wind turbines. The next stage will be to use this algorithm to sonify more complex EEG voltage signals in real-time.

Tuesday 27 June 2017 Advancing Neonatal Care Infant trial data has shown that Incereb's Neon EEG device can improve treatment for babies in neonatal care. As a world-renowned pregnancy research centre, Infant played a key role in securing Incereb's funding and distribution. Significant Collaboration Incereb's CEO Jim Roche called their collaboration with Infant "enormously significant" in attracting US distribution. Clinicians in the United States, Mr. Roche noted, recognised Infant as a leader in the field, proving the marketability of the Neon EEG device. Life Changing Research Infant are very proud of their collaboration with Incereb, which shows the power of research to change the lives of mothers and babies worldwide. To read The Business Post's full article on Incereb's success, click here (subscription required).  Related Links The Business Post: "Incereb Celebrates Success after Funding Round" (Subscription)

Tuesday 20 June 2017 At Infant, we are comitted to making science interesting and accessible to young learners. When our Outreach team visits schools, our clever robot friend Cubetto is always eager to join us! Recently, Cubetto paid a visit to junior and senior classes from St. Patrick's Infants National School in Cork. What is Cubetto? Cubetto is a robot toy which introduces children to the art of coding. Suitable for ages three to seven, Cubetto is an interactive, fun way for children to code without the need for a screen. Coding is a language, and just like a new language, an early experience with coding open doors for children later in life. The Worskshops Our 'workshops' include a number of fun activities which teach young learners how to program Cubetto. Using code, Cubetto can draw, navigate obstacles and travel across maps and mazes. Cubetto's deceptively simple design shows how we can use search algorithms, functions and loops to solve problems and learn about the world. To Infinity and Beyond! Another great activity we brought along to St. Patrick's Infant NS was Rocket Mouse. Using paper, an empty bottle and a little imagination, learners can see how forces like air and pressure help to move objects. Rocket Mouse encourages children to design and experiment, so that they can launch their mice into the stars!

Friday 19 May 2017 Monday 22 May 2017 will mark the first ever World Preeclampsia Day. Follow the #WorldPreeclampsiaDay hashtag on Twitter and share your story!  Support the Thunderclap campaign to tell the world. Preeclampsia Can Affect ANY Woman At the INFANT Centre, we are working to combat preeclampsia with our IMPROvED project. Almost 1500 mothers in CUMH have volunteered for the study which aims to develop a predictive test for preeclampsia. Our INFANT Researchers created this video to mark the day: Pre-eclampsia is most common in the second half of pregnancy and can still strike up to six weeks after delivery. Women can sometimes be symptomless, but many symptoms are also easy to dismiss. Awareness of the signs is vital. Our director, and consultant obstetrician at CUMH, Prof Louise Kenny notes that "As healthcare professionals, we never, ever mind seeing someone, reviewing a mother who is worried about herself in pregnancy. We would much rather see 100 women and reassure them that they are fine than miss even one who has signs and symptoms of pre-eclampsia and who has dismissed them or ignored them." All maternity units are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. There will always be a senior duty midwife available on the phone (whether you are seen publically or privately). If any mother is concerned, call the hospital. Know the symptoms. They could save [...]

Monday 10 April 2017 Partnership Announced Between INFANT & Global Partners to Explore Optimal Nutrition for Premature Infants   PiNPoINT Investigator team – L-R: Dr Elaine McCarthy, postdoctoral researcher, Dr Brendan Murphy, Consultant Neonatologist, CUMH, Teresa Berkery, Project Manager, Stephen Lane, Software Developer, Aileen Regan, Danone Nutricia, Ana-O’Reilly Marshall, Neonatal Research Dietician, Prof Mairead Kiely, Principal Investigator, Sarah Fenton, Pharmacist, Bairbre Hickie, Fresenius Kabi, Ann-Marie Brennan, Clinical Specialist Neonatal Dietitian, Christian Stafford, Business Development Manager, INFANT, Brian O’Mullane, Creme Global, Conor McGauran, Creme Global, Dr Kevin Walsh, Science Foundation Ireland (Photo: Paul Sherwood Photography)   On April 5, the INFANT Centre, a leading Science Foundation Ireland research centre at University College Cork, today announced the launch of the Personalised Nutrition for the Preterm Infant (PiNPoINT) Study. The study aims to develop software to aid personalized nutritional management of preterm infants who have a very low birth weight. Science Foundation Ireland will invest more than €1M in the project with further support coming from three leading international partners: Creme Global, Danone Nutricia and Fresenius Kabi.   Why is PiNPoINT Needed? 1 in 16 babies is born prematurely in Ireland, before 37 weeks of pregnancy. The World Health Organisation (WHO) acknowledges that premature birth can cause a host of problems for the baby and it is the second leading cause of death for children under 5 worldwide. [...]