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Prof Oliver Dolly awarded 1.146m funding from Science Foundation Ireland
18 May 2010
Prof Oliver Dolly, Director of the International Centre for Neurotherapeutics (ICNT), DCU has recently been awarded research funding to the value of €1.164 million by Science Foundation Ireland.
The research carried out at the ICNT looks at new neuro therapeutics including the use of botox to control pain. Botox offers the patient pain relief for conditions such as as arthritis, migraine, low back pain or over-active bladder.
His area of expertise is in the treatment of nerve communication, using the drug ‘botox’ to develop new therapies to help treat neuromuscular conditions, such as Multiple Sclerosis and bladder complaints amongst many other conditions.
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation Minister O’Keeffe said the selected projects had “the capacity to create new jobs in the ‘smart’ economy because they targeted high-growth areas at the cutting-edge of innovation”.
“The wide range of projects on which the selected researchers are working capture the calibre of work under way in our higher education institutions.”
Continued investment in the smart economy remained central to Government thinking and the researchers funded by SFI had the potential to create new jobs.
Director General of Science Foundation Ireland, Professor Frank Gannon, said the Principal Investigator Programme has been “the cornerstone of the agency’s work agenda”.
“The track record shows that by selecting excellent researchers, we can develop key partnerships with leading industries in Ireland, as well as producing high-quality publications and highly-skilled workers.”
Prof Dolly, a world leader in Molecular Neurobiology, also attracts international funding, particularly Allergan Pharmaceutical. He said that €1m funding from SFI enables him to leverage another €5m to €6m. The DCU professor shares patents for Botox with Allergan, which processes the world's supply in Westport, Co Mayo.