PAT Smullen’s work in aid of cancer research has been acknowledged by the creation of a prestigious academic position in University College Dublin named after the former champion jockey who passed away three years ago.

The Pat Smullen Chair in Pancreatic Cancer will anchor expertise in pancreatic research in Ireland with the ambition of creating a global centre of excellence for treatment and research of this form of cancer which has one of the poorest outcomes.

Smullen, who was nine times champion jockey, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March 2018. Adopting a positive attitude that had been the trademark of his professional career, he overcame the odds to live for another two and a half years. During that time he not only raised awareness of the condition but he spearheaded a campaign which raised €2.6 million for Cancer Trials Ireland over a single weekend in September 2019. An additional €367,000 has since been raised.

“The position will receive €900,000 (€180,000 per annum) in funding over five years from Cancer Trials Ireland’s Pat Smullen Pancreatic Cancer Fund, with matching funding for the role from the HSE National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP),” said Eibhlín Mulroe, CEO of Cancer Trials Ireland. “University College Dublin will then take over Cancer Trials Ireland funding contribution to continue the partnership with the HSE NCCP.”

The new Chair will share their time between their clinical work as a treating physician at St Vincent’s University Hospital – the national surgical centre for pancreatic cancer – and their research work at University College Dublin (UCD). At UCD, they will work to identify, attract, open and monitor new pancreatic cancer trials for patients in Ireland. The role will shortly be advertised widely, both at home and abroad.

Paying tribute to Smullen, Mulroe added: “His legacy lives on and the fund he created has now provided new treatment options for 174 patients with pancreatic cancer, at no cost to themselves, or to the State.”

Professor Ray McDermott was Smullen’s treating doctor and he commented: “This is a huge step forward towards making Ireland a global leader in pancreatic cancer research and treatment.

“A position like this is intended to attract a world expert in the disease, who, in turn, will garner the attention of other leading clinicians wishing to work jointly and develop partnerships.

“Pharmaceutical companies developing treatments in this space will also want to get involved and I have no doubt that Irish patients will reap the rewards of this exciting development in the near future.

“I commend the vision of Cancer Trials Ireland, University College Dublin, the HSE National Cancer Control Programme and, most of all, Pat’s wife, Frances Crowley, in coming together to make all of this possible.”

Crowley added: “The Pat Smullen Pancreatic Cancer Fund has already brought new treatment options to people in Ireland that weren’t there in 2019. Now, just four years later, one trial has concluded, another has just opened, a third will open in the coming months, while a fourth is in the pipeline for late 2023/early 2024.

“Thanks to the unswerving support of the racing community, Pat’s friends, and many others whose lives have been affected by pancreatic cancer, we are able to make the long-term funding commitment that the Pat Smullen Chair in Pancreatic Cancer needs. We are very excited for the future.”

Web: www.cancertrials.ie