The Government has launched the Clinical and Translational Research Scholars Programme (CTRSP), a PhD programme developed by the partner institutes of Molecular Medicine Ireland to prepare science graduates for jobs in Ireland’s knowledge economy.
The CTRSP is a four-year PhD programme being run in NUI Galway, UCC, Trinity College and UCD with the aim of producing graduates trained to translate patient and disease-focused research into clinically effective and commercial applications.
The programme has been carefully developed with the assistance of the Irish Medicines Board and companies such as Amgen, Pfizer, Creganna-Tactx and Merrion Pharmaceuticals, ensuring the training will be relevant and effective to the needs of Irish industry in the health sector.
Twenty science graduates have enrolled on the programme following a competitive selection process.
The CTRSP is being funded through Cycle 5 of the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI), and will entail an investment of €4.3m by the state in the four host institutions.
One of the objectives of PRTLI Cycle 5 is to enhance PhD education and training, and to deliver PhDs with skillsets for working across the spectrum of the private and public sectors.
“I strongly believe this new Clinical and Translational Research Scholars Programme is very important on a number of strategic levels,” said the Minister for Innovation, Seán Sherlock, TD.
“It will deliver more scientists in Ireland who are undertaking innovative patient- and disease-focused research, and then crucially bringing their findings from the bench to the clinic – for the ultimate benefit of our population’s health.”
