HEALTH | Donor Report

TERCENTENARY CAMPAIGN OF THE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

300 years of excellence

The School of Medicine, following traditions of its famous graduates like William Stokes and Robert Graves, intends to preserve their legacy of preparing exceptional doctors who can lead the medical profession in the 21st century.

Trinity’s Biosciences Development (see

page 5) will be the School of Medicine’s new home. It will open in 2011 when the School of Medicine is celebrating its 300th anniversary.

The School of Medicine expects to get

financial support from the Government but this will not cover all costs. The School hopes that its graduates might be in a position to help. While any contribution is welcome, the School is asking alumni to consider a contribution of at least €1,000. This contribution will entitle you to having your name or the name of a person in honour of whom the gift is made, listed on a commemorative wall in a Tercentenary Hall, which will be located prominently in the new premises.

www.medicine.tcd.ie/tercentenary http://people.tcd.ie/iroberts

THE IRISH LONGITUDINAL STUDY ON AGEING

Making Ireland the best place in the world to grow old in

The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) is a study of a representative cohort of at least 8,000 Irish people over the age of 50, charting their health, social and economic circumstances over a 10-year period. The data from TILDA will provide policy-makers and innovators in the fields of health, social care, pension planning and biotechnology with a unique knowledge base. It will create opportunities for research and development as well as innovation in technology and services in ageing in Ireland. The estimated cost of the main study

is €30m. A commitment for €23m has been received from the Department of Health and Children, The Atlantic Philanthropies and Irish Life.

The first wave of the study is currently underway.

www.tcd.ie/tilda

Pictured: President Mary McAleese at the launch of TILDA’s Health Assessment Centre

NEUROENHANCEMENT FOR INEQUALITIES IN ELDER LIVES

Helping prevent dementia

Led by Prof Ian Robertson, Neuroenhancement for Inequalities in Elder Lives (NIEL) aims to develop an internationally-replicable technology linked approach to the prevention of dementia and elder cognitive impairment by enhancing cognitive function.

NIEL’s goals are:

• Establishment of a series of research trials to identify methods for enhancing brain function in socially disadvantaged elderly people at high risk for dementia.

• Development of technologies and methods for delivering optimal brain stimulation methods.

• Development of the arrangements for engaging at-risk elderly people in an educational-preventive context.

Seed funding of €2.5m received from

The Atlantic Philanthropies will leverage considerable funding from other sources to take the programme to scale.

The Dockrell Bursary will provide me with suitable finance to pay for travel to the UK to develop and train in molecular techniques specific to Oral Biology at the University of Birmingham Oral Biology and Tissue Repair

laboratories.” Dr Hal Duncan – Lecturer/Consultant in Endodontics, Dublin Dental School Hospital, TCD

Founded in 2009 by a bequest from Professor Rodney Dockrell, the Rodney Dockrell Bursary Fund is for members of the staff of the Dublin Dental School to travel abroad for professional development.

8 | Trinity Today

Living longer and more productive lives

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