Threads of Discover – Seeking lived experience of pancreatic cancer
Introduction
Research Area:
Cancer
What is the research about?
We will be hosting an in-person introductory meeting on Wednesday 22nd April for lived experience partners and researchers. Find out more below.
Pancreatic cancer is difficult to treat. We need new therapies to improve outcomes for patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. We are interested in the role of a protein called IRE1 in pancreatic cancer. When IRE1 is switched on, it promotes tumour growth in some cancer types. However, we do not know what IRE1 does in pancreatic cancer. A drug has been developed that switches off IRE1. Our research aims to determine if this drug would be useful to treat pancreatic cancer.
This communication is part of a project funded by UCD STEM Challenge Fund called “Threads of Discovery: Weaving Patients into Biomedical Research” driven by the Patient Voice in Health Research network in UCD Conway Institute. As part of this initiative, we are looking for partners with a lived experience of different disease areas to collaborate with researchers within UCD Conway Institute.
We will be hosting an introductory meeting on Wednesday 22nd April for lived experience partners and researchers. This will be in person, and will be a day to get to know each other, to learn a bit about public and patient involvement (PPI), to set expectations, and to have a chat.
We hope through this initiative that long-term partnerships will be established. However, if at the end of the day you think this isn’t for you, that is absolutely fine. You won’t be locked into something you don’t want to be involved in! This is all exploratory.
Opportunity for:
Involvement Opportunity Details
Time
Time commitment:
One hour approximately every 6-12 months
Contact between meetings:
Occasional emails.
Length of involvement:
Up to two years.
Start date for involvement:
22/04/2026
Logistics
Where?
If online, explain how:
Flexible to suit the needs of the PPI partner
If in person, explain where:
Flexible to suit the needs of the PPI partner
Other ways of communicating:
N/A
Funding available for:
If no funding available, explain why:
Travel expenses and time for the event on 22nd April will be reimbursed.
No budget is available for follow-on meetings but we will ensure to incorporate funding into future projects.
Other Information
Stage of the research study/ programme:
Grant application writing
Is this opportunity for PPI in a PhD:
No
Closing date to contact researchers:
22/04/2026
Research Team
Contact person:
Claire Robinson
University/organisation:
UCD Conway Institute
Contact email:
patientvoice@ucd.ie
Researcher background:
Pancreatic Cancer Research
Research funder:
Breakthrough Cancer Research
Photo:
Interested in this PPI Opportunity?
Please complete this form and click SUBMIT