Professor Denise McDonald will begin her new role as associate professor in cerebral palsy in the upcoming academic year, a position supported by philanthropic funding on behalf of the Cerebral Palsy Foundation. It will involve addressing musculoskeletal and orthopaedic care for children and young people living with cerebral palsy, as well as coordinating eight PhD students researching aspects of cerebral palsy care and treatment, according to the Foundation.
Professor McDonald comes to the role following higher specialist training in the United Kingdom and doctoral research in Ireland. She has previously worked as a consultant in neuro-disability services in Greater Ormond Street Hospital in London, before returning to Ireland in 2005 to work as a consultant in Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) at Tallaght University Hospital. Professor McDonald specialises primarily in the treatment of children and young people with motor difficulties, neuromuscular disorders, and severe neurological impairment with medical complexity.
Speaking at the announcement of her new role, Professor McDonald said: “The aim is to drive research that will have real meaning for people living with cerebral palsy.” She highlighted the need for a multi-disciplinary approach, continuing that “there is an opportunity to pair lived experience and clinical insights with Trinity’s unparalleled breadth-spanning medicine, engineering, neuroscience, immunology and data science’’.
Cerebral palsy is a lifelong condition caused by injury to the parts of the developing brain which dictate body movement and muscle coordination. This damage can occur before, during or after birth and is usually diagnosed before the age of three. According to the HSE, it is the most common cause of disability in Irish children; the Cerebral Palsy Foundation notes that around 3,000 children and 9,500 adults are currently living with the condition across the nation.
There is no cure for cerebral palsy, but prompt intervention and effective management reduce many risks and significantly reduce the impact of the condition on individuals. Professor McDonald underscored the importance of early intervention, remarking that cerebral palsy care “includes understanding the lives of people with CP to influence change in how society and services meet need and helping deliver the next wave of breakthrough interventions’’.
There is currently no national clinical programme for cerebral palsy in the HSE. Charitable funding and support play a significant role in cerebral palsy care, treatment, and research in Ireland.
Lily Collison, a Cerebral Palsy Foundation board member, commented on the announcement of Professor McDonald’s new position that she is ‘‘confident that by 2028, Ireland will be known, or getting known, as a global leader in cerebral palsy care’’. She continued by emphasising that the Foundation’s most important aim is that “every child born with cerebral palsy in Ireland will have the opportunity to reach their potential: limited by brain injury, not by their treatment; by medical science, not postcode’’.
The Irish Cerebral Palsy Programme of Excellence, launched by the Cerebral Palsy Foundation in May 2023, states its aim as “transforming the lives of Irish people living with cerebral palsy”. It is a five-year initiative which seeks to cement Ireland as a global leader in cerebral palsy care and treatment. Trinity, with Professor McDonald at the helm, is just one of the Research Hubs being established, with others at University College Cork (UCC) and RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. While the research at Trinity will focus on musculoskeletal and orthopaedic care, UCC will focus on early detection and intervention, and RCSI will focus on adult services and support. The Cerebral Palsy Foundation hopes to extend the programme beyond the initial five-year period with support from UCC, Trinity, and RCSI.
Professor Colin Doherty, the head of the Trinity School of Medicine, remarks that Professor McDonald’s appointment “provides a unique opportunity for Ireland to become a world leader in cerebral palsy care and treatment”.
This new role marks a promising step forward for Ireland in terms of cerebral palsy innovation and research.
