Provost Thanks the Emer Casey Foundation for Support for Ovarian Cancer Research in Trinity

Posted on: 30 January 2013

TCD Provost Dr Patrick Prendergast recently welcomed the representatives of the Emer Casey Foundation to Trinity to thank them for support for ovarian cancer research in Trinity. 

The Emer Casey Foundation is dedicated to funding research into ovarian/endometrial cancer in order to improve the lives of women diagnosed with the disease. The Foundation was established in 2006 following the death of Emer Casey. Emer was the youngest of a family of five daughters and she had just recently qualified as a solicitor at Matheson Ormsby Prentice in Dublin when she became ill. She was diagnosed with ovarian/endometrial cancer in February 2006 and died on June 10th 2006 aged only 28. Since then, Emer’s family, friends and work colleagues at Matheson have been working on behalf of the Foundation. To date the Foundation has raised in excess of €700,000.

Dr Cara Martin, TCD; Ms Marie O’Brien, A&L Goodbody, formerly with Matheson; Mr Paraic Madigan, Matheson; Mr Brendan Casey; Provost Dr Patrick Prendergast; Ms Julie Casey; Mrs Juliette Casey; Dr Sharon O’Toole, TCD; Professor Orla Sheils, TCD;   Professor John O’Leary, TCD; Mr Nick Sparrow, TCD.

Almost €500,000 of the total amount raised has been used to fund the Trinity College based research consortium, DISCOVARY, headed by Professor John O’Leary, Professor of Pathology at Trinity College Dublin, Consultant Histopathologist at St James’s, Dublin and Director of Pathology at the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital. The consortium includes researchers in several Irish and international institutions dedicated to working towards understanding and treating ovarian and endometrial cancer.

Professor O’Leary said: “The support of the Emer Casey Foundation has been crucial to the success of DISCOVARY. Behind it there is a strong commitment of Emer’s loving family and Matheson law firm to help find solutions to tackle ovarian cancer. We are grateful to the Emer Casey Foundation to putting resources that enable us to do this research that is bringing results.”