A TARBERT doctor has been honoured as one of six of the country's brightest young cancer researchers by President Mary McAleese this week.

Dr Patrick Kiely — a son of Patrick and Anne Kiely — received a prestigious Irish Cancer Society Research Fellowship Award presented by President McAleese in a special ceremony in Áras an Uachtarán for his discoveries in the area of secondary cancers.

€1 million was committed altogether by the Irish Cancer Society through the awards, in this, their inaugural year, to supporting the careers of the six young researchers honoured.

A graduate of Tarbert Comprehensive school in 1994, Dr Kiely now works at the BioSciences Institute at University College Cork, where his investigation has focused over the past few years on how cancer cells break away from primary tumours to form secondary growths in the body.

"Secondary tumours are what ultimately kills patients and so I feel that the best way to improve patient survival is to try to prevent cancers from spreading," Dr Kiely said.

"We are delighted with this new scheme which has attracted huge numbers of applicants from dedicated and enthusiastic researchers who are keen to dedicate themselves to cancer research," Professor Clíona O'Farrelly, Chairperson of the Cancer Research Committee with the Irish Cancer Society, said.

"It was particularly challenging to select just six candidates to receive the awards, but we are optimistic that with additional funding we may be able to expand this scheme," she added.

- DÓNAL NOLAN