Threads of Discovery – Lived Experience with heart disease and microplastics
Introduction
Research Area:
Heart Disease
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.
Could plastic pollution raise the risk of heart disease? Tiny plastic particles (micro- and nanoplastics) are everywhere – in air, food, water, and even inside our bodies. Recent studies, including our own, have found these plastics in blood vessel plaques that cause heart attacks and strokes.
We aim to test whether plastics actively damage blood vessels by triggering immune cells, using patient tissue and lab-grown vessels. If there is a link between plastic pollution and heart disease, our research could inform treatments, public health advice, and environmental policy.
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:
Three two-hour meetings a year.
Contact between meetings:
Occasional emails.
Length of involvement:
Months.
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:
Not applicable
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:
Eoin Brennan
University/organisation:
UCD Conway Institute
Contact email:
patientvoice@ucd.ie
Researcher background:
Heart Failure Researcher
Research funder:
Research Ireland
Photo:
Interested in this PPI Opportunity?
Please complete this form and click SUBMIT