Universtiy College Dublin
The 1st International Symposium of Future in Dermatology: Inflammation will take place in O'Reilly Hall in UCD.
University College Dublin is one of Europe's leading research-intensive universities. At UCD undergraduate education, master's and PhD training, research, innovation and community engagement form a dynamic spectrum of activity.
Today UCD is Ireland's largest and most diverse university with over 30,000 students, drawn from approximately 124 countries. It actively promotes university life as a journey of intellectual and personal discovery through its highly innovative and flexible UCD Horizons undergraduate curriculum and is the most popular destination for Irish school-leavers.
UCD is Ireland's leader in graduate education with over 8,000 graduate students, with almost a quarter being graduate research students. Over 50% of UCD undergraduates progress to graduate studies.
UCD is home to over 6,000 international students and delivers degrees to over 5,000 students on overseas campuses. In addition, the University places great emphasis on the internationalisation of the Irish student experience – preparing all UCD students for future employment and life that crosses borders, boundaries and cultures.
UCD Charles Institute of Dermatology
Launched in June 2011 with an investment of €18 million, UCD Charles Institute of Dermatology is the first academic translational institute devoted to dermatology in Ireland and Europe. The Institute’s vision is to become a world leader in dermatology research and training, which will lead to improved patient care through the discovery of new treatments and therapies.Continuing the Hume Street Legacy in Dermatology
The City of Dublin Skin and Cancer Hospital Charity in partnership with University College Dublin founded the Charles Institute on the campus of University College Dublin.
The Institute is named in honour of Andrew Charles FRCSI, the founder of the City of Dublin Skin and Cancer Hospital (known as Hume Street Hospital) and his son Havelock Charles who worked as consultant dermatologists in the hospital throughout their lives.
Honouring the vision and commitment of the founding fathers and all of the dedicated staff who worked in the hospital from its foundation in 1911 to its closure in 2006, the Board of Directors of the City of Dublin Skin and Cancer Hospital Charity has become the major donor to the Charles Institute, contributing a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Hume Street Hospital site towards the establishment and maintenance of this Institute.
Aims & Objectives
The objectives of the Charles Institute will be:
• to build on the legacy of the city of Dublin skin and cancer hospital by creating a centre-of-excellence with international repute in translational dermatology.
• to establish and perform outstanding research in the field of basic and clinical dermatology research.
• to initiate and conduct research programs to improve the understanding about the pathophysiology and therapy of dermatological diseases in close collaborative association with the Conway Institute, the Health Sciences Centre as well as national and international collaborators.
• to provide the facilities necessary for the future training of all healthcare professionals dedicated to curing skin diseases.
• to establish a national program that supports Ireland's community of dermatologists through continued medical education and patient advocacy.
• to develop the translational model of bench-to-bedside and bedside-to-bench research through close collaboration between the existing dermatological services of the UCD hospitals, the Charles Institute, and all interested universities or hospitals dedicated to ground-breaking dermatological research.
• to ensure ultimately that these objectives will result in the development of new or improved therapies for dermatological diseases.
Since 2014, Professor Martin Steinhoff is the first Director of the Charles Institute and Professorial Chair of Dermatology at UCD. With a capacity for 72 scientists, the Charles Institute so far established dermatological research groups studying skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis, pruritus, acne, rosacea, hydrenitis suppurativa, epidermolysis bullosa, delayed wound healing, psoriasis, melanoma or non-melanoma skin cancer. Other themes are to develop new topical, systemic or gene therapies for the treatment of debilitating skin diseases. Using modern-omics technologies, as well as methodologies of morphology, immunology, molecular biology and biochemistry, the Charles Institute is well equipped with state-of-the-art techniques for excellent dermatology research. By connecting the basic science institute with the UCD’s dermatology departments and clinical trial centres, the future intention will be to provide excellent translational research in dermatology that will quickly result in beneficial new therapies and improved patient's quality of life. In order to also fulfil its responsibility to public health, the Charles institute works close together with the Irish Skin Foundation (ISF).
