St Vincent’s UCD Cancer Centre launched SOAR, its new research capacity-building programme for nurses and health and social care professionals (HSCPs), at the SVHG Nursing & HSCP Cancer Research Symposium on Thursday, 5 November 2026. The event, supported by the Irish Cancer Society, brought together colleagues from across the St Vincent’s UCD Cancer Centre for an afternoon of talks, staff presentations, and posters.
SOAR (Set up, Outreach, Activate, Retain) aims to make research a realistic part of everyday practice for nurses and HSCPs working in cancer care. Our nurses and HSCPs already ask the questions that drive better care. SOAR is designed to give them the time, training, and support to take those questions further.
The programme opened with a moving keynote from Sadhbh Lynam – the daughter of Paul, who was cared for at St Vincent’s University Hospital – which set the tone for an afternoon centred on why research matters to the people we care for. Invited speakers from UCD, Trinity College Dublin, and the Irish Cancer Society shared their experience of building research careers and capacity in nursing, allied health, and social work, offering practical lessons on getting started and keeping going. A staff showcase then highlighted the research and service improvement work already under way across the Cancer Centre, showing that much of the groundwork for a stronger research culture is already in place.
What happens next
The next step in the programme is a research brokerage event, which will connect nurses and HSCPs with academic mentors and collaborators. Research champions will then complete training in February 2027, delivered in partnership with Dr Margaret Barton-Burke, Director of Nursing Research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
To find out more about SOAR, visit the SOAR overview page or email crpo@ucd.ie.
The Cancer Centre thanks the Irish Cancer Society for supporting the symposium, and all speakers, presenters, and attendees who made the day a success.