RCPI Awards Two Rheumatology Gainshare Fellowships

The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland is delighted to announce two Rheumatology Gainshare Fellowships which have been awarded to Sharon Cowley and Brona Dinneen.

The Research and Subspecialty Training Fellowship Programme for Higher Specialist Training (HST) Rheumatology Trainees was established by RCPI, The Irish Society for Rheumatology and the HSE National Clinical Programme for Rheumatology. It offers trainees in their final year of Higher Specialist Training the opportunity to gain experience in international rheumatology centres of excellence or participate in subspecialty research or advanced training in Ireland.

We would like to offer our congratulations to Sharon Cowley and Brona Dinneen, the recipients of the fellowships for 2022, who were selected after a competitive interview process.

Sharon Cowley

Rheumatology Gainshare Fellowship recipient

Dr Cowley’s research will examine the use of vascular ultrasound in polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis. The aim of the research is to determine the prevalence of subclinical vasculitis in polymyalgia rheumatica patients, to assess the utility of ultrasound in monitoring response to treatment and predicting flares in GCA patients and to correlate novel inflammatory markers with these findings.

Brona Dinneen

Rheumatology Gainshare Fellowship recipient

Dr Dinneen’s research will focus on cardiovascular complications and cardiac manifestations in axial spondyloarthropathy patients. The research will be based out of St James's Hospital, coinciding with Dr Dinnen’s final year of the Rheumatology/GIM HST.