Irish Medical Times Medical News for Healthcare Professionals
Mallow Primary Healthcare Centre (MPHC) is to become the site for the first satellite NEIL Memory Research Unit — joining forces with TCD to engage older adults in brain health research.
Prof Brian Lawlor
The goal of the Neuro Enhancement for Independent Lives (NEIL) Programme at Trinity is to enable independent living and improve quality of life by conducting research and developing interventions aimed at dementia prevention.
Dr Cormac Sheehan of the HSE and the Department of General Practice, UCC, who is overseeing the running of the Memory Research Unit Mallow, said the programme was delighted to be opening the first satellite study site for the NEIL Memory Research Unit in MPHC. “We want to develop ways to help people to protect their memory. This study will provide an accurate baseline of the cognitive functions of healthy adults over the age of 50.
“We also hope that this will open exciting opportunities for more research at MPHC and lead to experience and employment opportunities of young graduates of UCC and our other national universities.”
In November 2011, NEIL established a Memory Research Unit at Trinity under the direction of Profs Sabina Brennan, Brian Lawlor and Ian Robertson. The purpose of this unit is to collect rich and comprehensive data from 1,000 healthy adults aged over 50, with the aim of furthering understanding memory and its related processes as we age.
gary.culliton@imt.ie
