{"id":12855,"date":"2025-09-25T15:40:29","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T15:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/?p=12855"},"modified":"2025-09-29T11:38:48","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T11:38:48","slug":"weaving-patient-voices-into-the-heart-of-groundbreaking-medical-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/personal-health\/weaving-patient-voices-into-the-heart-of-groundbreaking-medical-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Weaving patient voices into the heart of groundbreaking medical research"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"background-color:#f2f2f2;color:#32373c\" class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-profile-box round ab-has-avatar ab-font-size-14 ab-block-profile ab-profile-columns\"><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-avatar-wrap\"><div class=\"ab-profile-image-wrap\"><figure class=\"ab-profile-image-square\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" class=\"ab-profile-avatar wp-image-12856\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/25152406\/vicky-1758813844-UCDConway_Helen_Roche.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/25152406\/vicky-1758813844-UCDConway_Helen_Roche.jpg 400w, https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/25152406\/vicky-1758813844-UCDConway_Helen_Roche-125x125.jpg 125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure><\/div><\/div><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-content-wrap\"><h2 class=\"ab-profile-name\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Helen Roche<\/h2><p class=\"ab-profile-title\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Director of the UCD Conway Institute and Professor of Nutrigenomics, University College Dublin<\/p><div class=\"ab-profile-text\"><\/div><ul class=\"ab-social-links\"><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background-color:#f2f2f2;color:#32373c\" class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-profile-box round ab-has-avatar ab-font-size-14 ab-block-profile ab-profile-columns\"><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-avatar-wrap\"><div class=\"ab-profile-image-wrap\"><figure class=\"ab-profile-image-square\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" class=\"ab-profile-avatar wp-image-12857\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/25153113\/vicky-1758814271-UCDConway_Lorna_Donlon.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/25153113\/vicky-1758814271-UCDConway_Lorna_Donlon.jpg 400w, https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/25153113\/vicky-1758814271-UCDConway_Lorna_Donlon-125x125.jpg 125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure><\/div><\/div><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-content-wrap\"><h2 class=\"ab-profile-name\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Lorna Donlon<\/h2><p class=\"ab-profile-title\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Artist and Tapestry Weaver<\/p><div class=\"ab-profile-text\"><\/div><ul class=\"ab-social-links\"><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>A research institute is finding creative ways to start meaningful conversations between scientists and patients that can deepen collaboration and improve health outcomes.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Biomedical research has given the world countless important advances in healthcare and medicine. For instance, the UCD Conway Institute unites 600+ researchers exploring cellular and molecular biology, translating discoveries into diagnostic tools and therapeutics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-consulting-patients-and-their-families\"><strong>Consulting patients and their families<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Prof Helen Roche, Director of UCD Conway Institute and Professor of Nutrigenomics at University College Dublin, admits that researchers can sometimes be disconnected from the very people they try to help. \u201cWe can tend to work in a bubble,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut at the Conway, we aim to change that by consulting and engaging more effectively with patients and their families. Finding out about their lived experience can better inform our work and help translate our research with greater efficiency.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Institute launched its Patient&nbsp;Voice in Health Research initiative in 2016, led by Prof Amanda McCann with Elaine Quinn. This brings scientists and patients together to improve the quality of research and positively impact health outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Minority communities <br>experience higher rates <br>of certain diseases.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-bringing-together-powerful-personal-stories\"><strong>Bringing together powerful personal stories<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>However, before collaboration begins, it\u2019s important to build trust between scientists and patients with \u2018conversation openers.\u2019 For example, the Conway recently worked with artist and <a href=\"https:\/\/cutfromthesamecloth.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tapestry weaver<\/a> Lorna Donlon \u2014 a UCD graduate with a degree in cell and molecular biology \u2014 on a unique public\u00a0engagement project called Cut From the Same Cloth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UCD Conway\u2019s researchers met with 164 women from minority communities \u2014 including members of the Venezuelan, Ukrainian, African, Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani, Kashmiri and Irish Traveller communities \u2014 aiming to foster trust and understanding between them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMinority communities experience higher rates of certain diseases, but don\u2019t necessarily volunteer to get involved in research programmes because they don\u2019t feel they can contribute,\u201d explains Prof Roche. \u201cYet, it\u2019s important for us to hear diverse voices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-science-stitched-with-humanity\"><strong>Science stitched with humanity<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>All women were invited to attend meetings with pieces of <a href=\"https:\/\/cutfromthesamecloth.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fabric and cloth<\/a> that were personally relevant to them. \u201cThis was the springboard for them to tell extraordinary, real and emotional stories,\u201d remembers Donlon. \u201cConway researchers also brought pieces of fabric that were important to them, along with imagery and patterns from their work, such as cancer cells and diabetic kidney cells. There were tears, but there was also a great sense of joy and enormous interest in the research.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Donlon documented these personal stories and <a href=\"https:\/\/cutfromthesamecloth.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">scientific images in an expansive tapestry<\/a>, which has been exhibited to the public in various venues across Ireland. \u201cThe women who took part benefitted from this engagement,\u201d says Prof Roche. \u201cBut our researchers did too because they were able to connect with the women.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body><div style=\"text-align:center\" class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-button ab-block-button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cutfromthesamecloth.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"ab-button ab-button-shape-rounded ab-button-size-medium fb-pixel\" style=\"color:#ffffff;background-color:#3373dc\">Click here to learn more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2400\" height=\"2374\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/26152836\/vicky-1758900461-UCDConway_CutFromTheSameCloth_Credit_Anthony_Hobbs-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12933\" style=\"width:760px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/26152836\/vicky-1758900461-UCDConway_CutFromTheSameCloth_Credit_Anthony_Hobbs-1.jpg 2400w, https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/26152836\/vicky-1758900461-UCDConway_CutFromTheSameCloth_Credit_Anthony_Hobbs-1-125x125.jpg 125w, https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/26152836\/vicky-1758900461-UCDConway_CutFromTheSameCloth_Credit_Anthony_Hobbs-1-768x760.jpg 768w, https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/26152836\/vicky-1758900461-UCDConway_CutFromTheSameCloth_Credit_Anthony_Hobbs-1-1536x1519.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/26152836\/vicky-1758900461-UCDConway_CutFromTheSameCloth_Credit_Anthony_Hobbs-1-2048x2026.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2400px) 100vw, 2400px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A research institute is finding creative ways to start meaningful conversations between scientists and patients that can deepen collaboration and improve health outcomes. Biomedical research has given the world countless important advances in healthcare and medicine. For instance, the UCD Conway Institute unites 600+ researchers exploring cellular and molecular biology, translating discoveries into diagnostic tools &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/personal-health\/weaving-patient-voices-into-the-heart-of-groundbreaking-medical-research\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":12947,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5431],"tags":[5984],"class_list":["post-12855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal-health","tag-personal-health-2025"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/29113827\/vicky-1759145905-Tapestry_1200x800wLDonlon-600x400.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/29113827\/vicky-1759145905-Tapestry_1200x800wLDonlon-600x600.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"henryphillips","author_link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/author\/henryphillips\/"},"vicky_index_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12855"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12855\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12942,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12855\/revisions\/12942"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}