COVID-19 (Coronavirus): Rapid Response Research Case Studies

Lead Researchers: Professor Rose Anne Kenny, Dr Mark Ward, Dr Nollaig Bourke

Funded by: Irish Research Council and Health Research Board

Funding amount for both projects: €375,197

In Summary

Death rates from COVID-19 in older adults are devastating, and the consequences of the pandemic on the physical, mental and emotional well-being of surviving older adults will be dramatic and long-lasting. The Irish Longitundal Study on Ageing (TILDA) is an ongoing research project looking at the health and wellbeing of a nationally representative group of more than 8,000 people aged over 50 in Ireland.

With funding from the Health Research Board and Irish Research Council, TILDA will gather information about who has been exposed to the virus and the risk factors for developing COVID-19 in that age-group. TILDA researchers will also survey 6,000 TILDA participants about how their health, behaviours and attitudes have changed in the pandemic. Together, the studies will help policymakers and health systems to optimise the national response to COVID-19 in the longer-term.

The problem

Older people are suffering severe consequences more than anybody else. We need more information about the association between COVID-19 and the much more likely consequences of the infection older people in Ireland, and we need to plan to support older people as they recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The projects

One project, led by Dr Nollaig Bourke at Trinity College Dublin, will look for important information relating to COVID-19 in the TILDA participation group of more than 8,000 people aged over 50 in Ireland. That study will examine blood samples from TILDA participants to see if they have been exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19 and explore risk factors. Another project will invite TILDA participants to take part in a survey about their health and wellbeing and behaviour and their experience of COVID-19.

The outcomes

• we will be in a better position to estimate how adults over the age of 50 in Ireland are likely to have been exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19, even if they haven’t shown symptoms
• the findings will inform future vaccination measures, and help us to achieve maximum protection for older people
• we will have a better picture of what factors in older people in Ireland could be linked to more severe disease, and this will help identify people at risk
• we will know more about the experience, attitudes, health and behaviour changes among older people that have arisen from the pandemic, and we can plan to support their long-term safety and wellbeing

Professor Rose Anne Kenny, Principal Investigator and founder of TILDA and Professor of Medical Gerontology at Trinity College Dublin, says:

Lead Researchers: Dr John Lambert, Professor Walter Cullen

Funded by: Health Research Board and Irish Research Council

Funding amount: €199,098

In Summary

Dublin’s north inner city is an area of high social deprivation and a high incidence of COVID-19. Led by University College Dublin School of Medicine, the North Dublin COVID-19 Cohort Study was established in April 2020, and researches the health of people living in this region of the city who have been effected by COVID-19.

By analysing healthcare information about patients attending the Mater Hospital and general practices with COVID-19, and by involving consenting patients in follow-up studies, it will capture important insights into the health experience of people living in Dublin’s north inner city during the pandemic and will provide reports to the HSE and other health agencies. In this way, it will help to plan health services according to the needs of this at-risk population and reduce the negative effect of the pandemic on local communities.

The problem

Local communities in north inner-city Dublin are at high risk of infection and illness from COVID-19.

The project

Established during the aftermath of the outbreak, the North Dublin COVID-19 Cohort Study is led by University College Dublin to gather important information on COVID-19 in north inner-city Dublin. It will examine hundreds of anonymised patient records from people attending the Mater Hospital for COVID-19, and will follow the progress of patients who consent to be part of the project.

The outcomes

• the project will issue technical reports about COVID-19 in north inner-city Dublin to the HSE, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre and European agencies for infectious disease monitoring
• as a result of this project, we will know more about how to ensure our health services can reduce the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the local population

Professor Walter Cullen, co-Principal Investigator of the North Dublin COVID-19 Cohort Study says:

Prof John Lambert, University College Dublin and co-principal on the project emphasises:

Lead Researcher: Professor Alice Coffey, University of Limerick

Funded by: Irish Research Council and Health Research Board

Funding amount: €199,647

In Summary

A recent national ‘call to action’ has resulted in qualified nursing and other health professionals returning to practice, moving into new areas of practice or newly starting to practice, in order to support health services in the COVID-19 pandemic. These professionals are likely to benefit from additional resources to build their competence and confidence.

A project led by the University of Limerick will make online resources available, including answers to specific clinical questions to support individuals with queries. The information will be available through a website and on social media. This individualised readily available and relevant information will help healthcare professionals at the front-line dealing with COVID-19, as well as professional bodies more broadly dealing with the pandemic. The project will track the impact of the resources.

The problem

Following a call to action, many newly qualified healthcare professionals are entering practice, while other qualified healthcare professionals may be returning to practice following an absence or moving into new areas of practice. The core professional skills are intact, but changes will have occurred in terms of technology and routine practice underpinning the work assigned. This HRB-IRC funded innovation will link the individual health care professionals to evidence based advice for many clinical and practical problems.

The project

A project led by the Health Implementation Science and Technology Research Cluster at UL, will triage clinical and case specific queries posed by individual healthcare professionals and ensure evidence based, timely responses. Resources will be freely available online.

The outcomes

• healthcare professionals will have individualised rapid access to relevant, online information to support their clinical questions when they are entering, moving to different areas of practice or returning to practice to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic
• the resources will help to build confidence and competence among healthcare professionals in their practice
• the online resources that this project will make available, will also support broader healthcare professionals and bodies in the pandemic

Professor Alice Coffey, Professor of Nursing and Midwifery, and Lead of the Health Implementation Science Research Cluster at the University of Limerick, says:

Lead researcher: Dr Gerard Molloy, NUI Galway

Funded by: Health Research Board and Irish Research Council

Funding amount: €148,745

In Summary

Keeping physically distant from others is a proven way to slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, but people are less likely to stick to the recommendations than they are to follow other important steps, such as washing their hands.

A project at NUI Galway will use expertise in behaviour change interventions to gather information about how different groups in society feel about physical distancing, and how future communications could be tailored to encourage greater adherence in order to manage the COVID-19 pandemic.

The problem

People do not tend to rigidly follow physical distancing recommendations, even though it is a proven way to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The project

A project led by NUI Galway will explore how people feel about physical distancing, looking across different age groups and analyse how communications could be tailored to be more effective in encouraging this practice in the general public.

The outcomes

• we will know more about how people feel about physical distancing and why people may be less likely to practice it compared to other measures, such as washing hands
• the project will help deliver an evidenced-informed communications strategy for Ireland, to encourage proven behaviours that help to stop the spread of COVID-19

Dr Gerard Molloy, from NUI Galway’s School of Psychology, says:

Lead researcher: Professor Catherine Comiskey

Funded by: Health Research Board and Irish Research Council

Funding amount: €96,340

In Summary

Ireland has taken public health measures such as closing schools and businesses and encouraging social and physical distancing to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Planning for future easing of such restrictions is hampered because we don’t know how many people in the community have been infected with the virus but have not shown symptoms. A HRB and IRC-funded project led by Trinity College Dublin will use mathematical models to estimate the levels of asymptomatic infections, and this will help to inform planners and policymakers about a possible second wave, and when and how Ireland can ease social restrictions related to COVID-19.

The problem

Policy makers and planners in Ireland need to advise on school openings, safety for nursing homes and protection of the vulnerable communities in the COVID-19 pandemic. But we don’t know how many people have been infected with the virus and have not shown symptoms.

The project

A project led by Trinity College Dublin will use back calculation methods and models on data of cases with symptoms, and from this provide crucial estimates about the scale of the asymptomatic COVID-19 population in Ireland.

The outcomes

• we will have a better estimate of how many people in Ireland have been infected with COVID-19 but who have not displayed symptoms
• the information will help planners and policymakers to estimate the critical points and communities where levels of past infection could be protective against the virus
• this will help to devise plans to ease COVID-19 restrictions Ireland while protecting people from the pandemic and a possible second wave of spread

Professor Catherine Comiskey of Trinity College Dublin School of Midwifery and Nursing, says:

Lead researcher: Professor Brian McGuire

Funded by: Irish Research Council and Health Research Board

Funding amount: €187,254

In Summary

It is important to protect the mental health of frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, because they shoulder a large burden of treating people who are affected by the disease. But the current guidelines about mental health protection for frontline healthcare workers typically relate to incidents such as terrorist attacks and natural disasters. The mental health needs of frontline healthcare workers in this long-term 21st-century pandemic are unknown. A project funded by HRB and IRC at NUI Galway will gather information about the experience and needs of frontline healthcare workers during the pandemic in Ireland and overseas, and will develop best-practice principles to support the mental health of frontline healthcare workers for this and future pandemics.

The problem

Frontline healthcare workers are under stress due to COVID-19, but there are no existing best practice guidelines for supporting their mental health in a long-term 21st century pandemic.

The project

A project led by NUI Galway will gather and analyse information about the experience of frontline healthcare workers in Ireland and abroad, and develop and test best practice for supporting their mental health.

The outcomes

• we will know more about the mental health needs of frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
• the project will develop and test best practice guidelines for supporting mental health among healthcare workers for COVID-19 and future pandemics of its sort

Professor Brian McGuire of NUI Galway School of Psychology, says:

Lead Researchers: Professor Martin O’Halloran and Professor John Laffey, NUI Galway

Science Foundation Ireland award €205,667

Overview

The virus that causes COVID-19 attacks the airways and lungs, which means that people who are ill with the virus can have trouble breathing.

There are pieces of equipment to help these patients, including machines to assist their breathing, and tubes to deliver a flow of oxygen into their nose. Because of COVID-19 though, such equipment is in short supply, and in the case of high-flow oxygen, it may put the attending healthcare workers at greater risk of being exposed to the virus.

A new project led by NUI Galway called INSPIRE will develop new and easy-to-manufacture equipment to help support patients with airway problems while minimising the risk to healthcare workers.

What is the issue?

Patients with COVID-19 who are severely ill often need help to breathe, but equipment to do this is in short supply, and some may increase the risk of the virus spreading to healthcare workers.

What will the research project do?

The INSPIRE project led by NUI Galway will develop a CPAP/BiPAP Hood that can help patients to breathe and that will be easy to manufacture and reuse, and comfortable for patients to use for long periods.

For patients receiving high-flow oxygen therapy, the project will also develop a vacuum-assisted face guard that will collect infectious droplets coming from the patient’s nose or mouth during treatment, reducing the infection risk for healthcare workers.

The initiative will involve an interdisciplinary team of academic researchers, MedTech engineers, frontline healthcare professionals and industry working together to develop these technologies.

What will the potential impact be?

By developing breathing-support equipment that is easy to manufacture and safe to use for patients with COVID-19, the project will reduce risk of infection to front-line healthcare staff and may help reduce the demand on more invasive, mechanical ventilators for patients.

Researcher comment

Dr Martin O’Halloran, Director of the Translational Medical Device Laboratory at NUI Galway, says:

Lead Researcher: Professor Paul Cotter, Teagasc and APC Microbiome Ireland

Science Foundation Ireland funding €378,716

Summary

The virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, contains genetic information that can change over time. If we can ‘read’ those changes, we will have a better map of how the virus spreads across regions. Being able to determine the genetic makeup of the viruses circulating in Ireland will also support efforts to respond to clusters of infections as they arise, and minimise the spread of the virus. Collecting the sequences of the viruses in Ireland will also mean we can pick up on important new changes that could affect the ability of the virus to cause disease or to evade treatments or vaccines.

SFI is to fund a National Coronavirus Sequencing Consortium that will read and analyse the genetic makeup of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in patient samples in Ireland. The data about the genetic sequences of the viruses will be freely available, allowing epidemiologists to monitor trends in Ireland and internationally, and to watch for for changes in the virus that could have an impact the development and delivery of treatments and vaccines.

What is the issue?

The virus that causes COVID-19 contains RNA that can change slightly over time. Unless we track those changes comprehensively in Ireland, we won’t have a clear picture of how strains of the virus are spreading, nor will we be able to spot changes in the virus that could affect how it causes disease, or how we could develop treatments of vaccines against it.

What will the research project do?

SFI will fund a consortium led by the Teagasc/APC Microbiome Ireland Sequencing Centre at Moorepark with partners University College Cork, Cork University Hospital, the National Virus Reference Laboratory, University College Dublin, Beaumont hospital, Genomics Medicine Ireland, Trinity College Dublin/St James’s Hospital, University of Limerick (UL)/University Hospital Limerick, the National University of Ireland, Galway and Maynooth University. This consortium will ‘read’ the RNA sequence of viruses isolated from samples of patients who have lab-confirmed infections of COVID-19 and make the sequence information freely available for analysis.

What will the impact be?

We will know more about the genetic makeup of COVID-19 viruses circulating in Ireland

The information generated by the project will allow experts to monitor genetic changes in the virus and quickly spot developments that could affect human health and treatment or vaccination against COVID-19.

Researcher comment:

Professor Paul Cotter, a Principal Investigator with APC Microbiome Ireland and VistaMilk, SFI Research Centres at Teagasc, says:

Lead Researchers: Professor Virginie Gautier, Professor Patrick Mallon, and Professor Gil Lee

Science Foundation Ireland funding €540,263

Overview

Testing people for COVID-19 infection helps to diagnose patients, who can then isolate and receive treatment as needed. High rates of testing across the country will also be key in enabling Ireland to safely navigate its way out of the pandemic. Sampling involves taking a sample from the back of the nose and throat with a swab, and put that sample through a lab test (PCR) to see if the virus is present. However, testing has been disrupted by an unreliable supply of the high-quality reagents, solutions and chemicals needed. With SFI funding, a project led by University College Dublin will develop and supply necessary reagents and materials for SARS-CoV-2 testing to hospitals in the Ireland East Hospital Group. The local and reliable supply will help enable the country to meet its testing requirements and will provide important information for clinicians, planners and policy-makers.

What is the issue?

To detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19 infection, a very small number of RNA viral genomes must be isolated from the nasal swab. This is a stereotypical needle in the haystack problem where there are a very small number of viruses in among tens of thousands of much larger cells. The key is to use magnetic nanoparticles to capture the RNA from the complicated soup that makes up the virus lysate, which includes proteins, lipids and other cellular components, and then use a powerful magnet to move and thus separate the magnetic nanoparticles. This allows a series of solutions to be used to rinse the RNA-nanoparticle complex and then release the RNA it into a buffer that can be used for reverse transcription and quantitative detection with the polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

What will the research project do?

A project led by a multi-disciplinary team of infectious disease clinician, molecular virologist and nanotechnologists at University College Dublin. Using test samples from patients enrolled in the All Ireland Infectious Diseases Cohort, we will test and make key reagents and supply them to the Ireland East Hospital Group, to ensure a timely and adequate supply of in vitro diagnostics. That will include Lysis buffer, which inactivates and bursts open the virus, superparamagnetic nanoparticles, rare-earth magnet arrays, and specific ‘probes’ to detect virus RNA.

What will the impact be?

Making reagents and materials ‘in-house’ for SARS-CoV-2 virus testing will provide a secure and local supply for the Ireland East Hospital Group.

The project will immediately provide reagents and materials to enable 40,000 tests for COVID-19 infection to hospitals in the East of Ireland.

Over time, the project will develop the capacity to deliver reagents and materials to enable 15,000 tests per day.

Researcher comment

Professor Gil Lee, Stokes Full Professor of Physical Chemistry at UCD, says:

Virginie Gautier, Principal Investigator, UCD Centre for Experimental Pathogen Host Research (CEPHR), UCD School of Medicine:

Patrick Mallon, Consultant in Infectious Diseases in St Vincent’s Hospital, Professor of Microbial Diseases and Director of the Centre for Experimental Pathogen Host Research (CEPHR):

Lead Researcher: Dr. Ignacio Martin-Loeches, Trinity College Dublin

Science Foundation Ireland award: €192,566

Summary

When someone is infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, it can sometimes result in severe illness. Being able to tell quickly who is at risk of becoming very sick with the virus would mean that those patients could be quickly prioritised for treatment.

A study led by Trinity College Dublin will analyse samples from patients infected with the COVID-19 virus and measure aspects of their immune responses. By comparing these responses to the level of illness that the patients develop, the researchers will identify immune ‘signatures’ in patients that could signal a higher risk of becoming very sick with COVID-19. The project will also help us to better understand how our immune systems respond to the virus and will thereby inform potentially better ways to treat the disease and develop strategies for immunity.

What is the issue?

Some patients become very sick when they infected with the COVID-19 virus, and this can lead to severe injury to the body and death. We don’t know how to identify these patients early so they can get the appropriate level of medical attention quickly. We also don’t know how their immune response is involved in more severe illness.

What will the research project do?

The project, led by Trinity College Dublin, will look at various molecular signals and antibodies in samples from patients who have been infected with the COVID-19 virus, and see how those molecular signals relate to the severity of disease and symptoms that the patients have. This will allow them to identify the early molecular signals associated with more severe symptoms, and to see if there is a link between symptoms and the levels of antibody a person produces to the virus.

What will the impact be?

By understanding more about how the immune system responds to in infection with the COVID-19 virus, we will know more about how that response could cause more severe symptoms and this will help inform ways to intervene.

By figuring out the early molecular markers that suggest a patient is at high risk of developing severe disease in COVID-19, clinicians should be able to quickly identify at-risk patients while they are in the early stages of infection prioritise them for more intensive medical care. This will help to reduce the numbers of patients experiencing severe forms of the disease.

Getting better picture of the antibodies that patients with differing levels of disease produce will help to inform strategies to build immunity in the population at large.

Researcher comment

Dr. Ignacio Martin-Loeches, Vice-Chair of Intensive Care Medicine at Trinity College Dublin, says:

Lead Researcher: Professor Tim McCarthy, Maynooth University

Science Foundation Ireland Funding: €402,323

Summary

Emergency services need timely and relevant data to respond to crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic. A Science Foundation Ireland-funded project led by Maynooth University will use information from satellites, drones and other sources to derive activity metrics relating to human movement and interaction in public-spaces. The platform will be developed ethically to protect data privacy and ensure GDPR compliance, and it will be designed to used to reduce risk, promote safety and minimise spread of COVID-19 infection.

What is the issue

COVID-19 infections can spread between humans who are in close contact, so Ireland has brought in physical and social distancing measures to protect public health. Failing to adhere to those measures could result in more widespread infection, suffering and death from COVID-19.

What will the research project do?

A project led by Maynooth University will establish a drone co-ordination and operations centre, and will develop a platform to collate and analyse data from diverse sources relating to human activity. The system will be able to detect where activities could potentially pose a risk to public health relating to the spread of COVID-19 and inform emergency services.

What will the impact be?

The decision-support data platform developed in this project will help central government agencies, local authorities and organisations to manage general movement, social distancing and human-interactions in cities, towns and public spaces.

Researcher comment

Dr Tim McCarthy, an Associate Professor at the Department of Computer Science in Maynooth University, says: