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PhD student’s genetic research win prestigious prize

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By Michelle Crean

A Killorglin man has won a prestigious prize, the Conway Festival Gold Medal, for his work on genetic research on TB in cattle.

PhD student, John O’Grady, was competing against 114 other researchers in UCD Conway Institute, a biomedical research institute in University College Dublin.

This early-stage research could identify potential biomarkers to develop new diagnostic tests for M. bovis infection and guide the breeding of livestock with enhanced bovine TB resistance.

The research being carried out by John and supervised by Professors David MacHugh, Claire Gormley, and Stephen Gordon will impact the global agricultural industry, which sustains significant economic losses due to M. bovis infection in cattle.

In the context of a One Health framework – in which the health of animals, humans and the environment are inextricably linked - understanding the response in cattle to M. bovis infection can help explain immunological responses during human TB.

“We created a pipeline for integrative genomic analyses using three types of data: high-resolution genomic variation and transcriptomic data generated by our group and external genome-wide association study data produced by scientists at Teagasc and the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation," the UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science, said.

"For this, we used samples of peripheral blood from cattle infected with M. bovis to perform a transcriptome wide association study. This is the first study of its kind in the context of bovine TB.”

John is in the first year of his doctoral studies funded by the SFI Centre for Research Training in Genomics Data Science. As part of his PhD, he will continue this research to see if there are commonalities in gene expression across breed groups. The genes that are overexpressed during M. bovis infection may be potential biomarkers for the development of new diagnostic tests for M. bovis infection.

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Soroptimist make €3k donation to Rockmount Care Centre

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Members of the Killarney Soroptimist Society visited the Rockmount Care Centre on Wednesday, to present a cheque for €3000 to Nurse Manager Mary Hussey.


The significant sum was raised during the society’s successful annual pancake morning held on Shrove Tuesday at the Killarney Avenue Hotel.
Rockmount Care Centre provides essential support as a dedicated day care facility for individuals living with Dementia and Alzheimer’s, serving many clients and families from the Killarney area.
These funds arrive at a vital time, as they are earmarked for the centre’s new sensory garden project, which is currently in the design phase.
Pictured at the presentation are Soroptimists members handing over the proceeds to Mary Hussey. The society extended their thanks to the Killarney Avenue Hotel and all those who supported the fundraiser to help make this donation possible.

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Public realm works begin on Main Street and Kenmare Place

Repair works for the Killarney Public Realm project officially commenced on Monday, April 20, following approval from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. This phase of the project, […]

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Repair works for the Killarney Public Realm project officially commenced on Monday, April 20, following approval from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

This phase of the project, funded by the URDF, focuses on enhancing the streetscape and accessibility of both Main Street and Kenmare Place.
To allow the appointed contractors to carry out the investment safely, a section of the R-878 on Main Street, stretching from Kenmare Place to Plunkett Street, is now closed to traffic. This first period of construction is scheduled to run from April 20 until July 3.
Recognising the importance of the tourism season, the council has confirmed the street will fully reopen from July 4 to October 4 to accommodate peak summer traffic. Following this break, works will resume for a second period starting October 5 and running until December 4.
While vehicle diversions are in place, pedestrian access to all businesses and emergency service access will be maintained throughout the construction phases. Kerry County Council stated that these works are part of a wider programme to improve the safety and quality of the town centre and has thanked the public and local business owners for their cooperation during these essential improvements.

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