Doonbeg student researches cancer drugs

A YOUNG West Clare man is playing an important part in a major cancer research project in the UK.
On graduating from Trinity College with a degree in medicinal chemistry last November, Alan Healy from Carrowmore North in Doonbeg was awarded a gold medal, which is presented to students who achieve top firsts in their degree.
Alan, who attended primary school at Clohanes National School and secondary school at St Joseph’s, Spanish Point, is currently continuing his studies in Scotland.
He is pursuing a Masters at University of Edinburgh in biomedical science, specialising in cancer biology. Later this year, he will enrol at University of St Andrew’s, where he will research a PHD in Novel Anti Cancer Drug Design.
St Andrew’s is the oldest university in Scotland, with international renown for both research and education of undergraduates and postgraduates. Alan’s masters and PHD are funded by Cancer Research UK.
“Their idea is that in the first year you learn all about cancer biology. Then for the PHD, the idea is you are meant to come up with a new target for cancer because at the moment everyone is working on the same targets,” Alan explained to The Clare Champion.
“They are trying to promote new ideas,” he added.
His research work involves attempting to come up with new drugs, which will help the body to offset cancer.
“It’s the very, very beginning of drug discovery. You’re trying to find out what’s gone wrong in the body and can you target it with a drug to try and help it. It’s finding something you believe is very important in what’s wrong with cancer and then how can we affect that,” Alan said.
Long before Alan studied at third level he was interested in the sciences.
“I was always interested in science at secondary school in Spanish Point. I did chemistry, physics, biology and maths,” he recalled.
Unfortunately, in 2006 Alan was struck down with meningitis, which afforded him an unwanted insight into patient care. He was treated at Ennis General Hospital.
“I got meningitis and it was quite severe. I was on a ventilator for four days,” Alan, who was 17 at the time, recalled.
“The doctors said that if I’d been taken to Limerick, I wouldn’t have survived. I’ve no real memory of it. I went unconscious at home and didn’t wake up for about five days. I had cerebral agitation, which is a swelling of the brain and causes you to do all sorts of things that you don’t know about. I was very lucky,” he says.
Before leaving hospital one of the nurses who treated Alan enquired what he intended studying at university.
“When I said I was going to study medicinal chemistry she said ‘come back in five years with a cure to cancer,’” he said.
Once he starts studying at St Andrew’s in April, Alan, whose parents are Michelle and Richard Healy, will have three and a half years of research ahead of him.
“I think I’ll travel for a few years when I finish with whatever work I can get in different countries. I’d love to settle back in Ireland but work is very limited in Ireland in my area. There’s a lot of pharmaceutical companies who I’d work for but they do development, not research. Most countries have government-based research openings but Ireland doesn’t,” Alan, who returned to Scotland on Wednesday, noted.