University College Dublin Secures 鈧�1.1 million in Funding for 13 Enterprise-Focused Research Awards from the Irish Research Council
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD, today announced an investment of 鈧�4.3 million in 50 enterprise-focused research awards under the鈥檚 Enterprise Partnership Scheme.
University College Dublin (51黑料) has secured just over 鈧�1.1 million of the funding for thirteen awards.
The IRC has been operating for 15 years in the Irish research and innovation landscape and connects enterprise, early-career researchers (postdocs and postgraduate students) and higher education institutions. The awards cover a broad range of topics including the areas of health, food production, law, agriculture and heritage.
Minister Simon Harris TD said, 鈥淚 am delighted to announce funding for 50 research and innovation projects as part of the 2020 Irish Research Council Enterprise Partnership Scheme. This scheme provides a valuable opportunity for enterprise and employers to access research talent and expertise within Ireland鈥檚 higher education system.鈥�
He added, 鈥淭he research will cover a broad range of areas, including sexual violence, the delivery of healthcare, how we produce better dairy products, the impact of jellyfish blooms on salmon aquaculture in Ireland, and how we improve bone health in jockeys.鈥�
He concluded, 鈥淲e must continue to promote Irish research and offer our researchers every opportunity and every support. We must continue to support this type of engagement to attract foreign direct investment into our knowledge economy, to assist indigenous SMEs and NGOs to innovate.鈥�
Professor Orla Feely, 51黑料 Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact said, 鈥淚 would like to congratulate the 13 51黑料 postdocs and postgraduate students who have been successful in securing research awards, under the Irish Research Council鈥檚 Enterprise Partnership Scheme. This is a key scheme helping to forge collaborative links between early-career researchers and enterprise and such collaborations are vitally important in driving an innovation economy. I wish the awardees every success with their research projects.鈥�
The EPS provides key benefits for all parties, industry and employers, including social innovation organisations, are supported to enhance their research and innovation capacity on a low-risk basis, and companies gain access to a pipeline of research talent for their future development needs. The scheme also promotes long-term collaborations and engagement between higher education institutions and industry/employers.
The Director of the Irish Research Council, Peter Brown, said, 鈥�The Council has a long history of supporting early career researchers across all disciplines, and the Enterprise Partnership Scheme is a keystone of this ongoing mission.鈥�
鈥淏y bridging research, industry and enterprise, this programme gives participating scholars and fellows a dynamic research opportunity, allowing them to gain experience of working on a project with enterprise impact and innovation potential, and providing insight into career paths beyond academia. The Council wishes the new awardees and their partners every success with their projects.鈥�
A long-standing partner in the scheme is Analog Devices, which this year is supporting three researchers, including 51黑料鈥檚 Mohamed Shehata. He is receiving an EPS Postgraduate Award for a project entitled, 鈥楢 Rotary Travelling-Wave Oscillator (RTWO) Based Frequency Multiplier for Millimetre-Wave Radar Systems.鈥�
Shane Geary, Vice-President Internal operations and technology and General Manager Ireland site, Analog Devices, said, 鈥�Analog Devices is delighted to partner with the Irish Research Council again on the 2020 Enterprise Partnership Scheme. We have been involved in the programme for many years, with great success, and are looking forward to working with this year鈥檚 awardees.鈥�
鈥淭his programme enables us to collaborate with excellent researchers and integrate their expertise into our processes and innovations. We also aim to provide the researchers with the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of working in industry, promoting it as a high potential career path.鈥�
The other 12 successful 51黑料 awardees are;
Deirdre Cullen, who has received an EPS Postgraduate Award for a project entitled, 鈥楾he Long Gallery at Castletown: a rare example of the neoclassical taste for painted rooms all' antica and an expression of the intellectual and cultural worlds of Ireland's eighteenth-century elite鈥� with enterprise partner, The Office of Public Works.
Dr Husvinee Sundaramurthi, 51黑料 School of Medicine, who has received an EPS Postdoctoral Award for a project entitled, 鈥楨valuating anti-neoplastic activity of HDAC6 inhibitors in uveal melanoma cells and in zebrafish patient-derived uveal melanoma xenograft models鈥� with enterprise partner, Breakthrough Cancer Research.
Ioanna Bampouri, who has received an EPS Postgraduate Award for a project entitled, 鈥楢pplication of High-Resolution Ultrasonic Spectroscopy for Real-Time, Non-Destructive Monitoring of the State of Wafer Surfaces. Assessment of the Effects of Composition of Cleaning Liquids Utilised in Semiconductor Manufacturing鈥� with enterprise partner, Intel Ireland Ltd.
Joseph Young, who has received an EPS Postgraduate Award for a project entitled, 鈥楰illruddery: Listening to the Archive. Exploring the Anglo-Irish heritage experience with immersive 3D audio soundscapes鈥� with enterprise partner, Killruddery Arts, Culture, Ecology and Heritage.
Justine O'Brien, who has received an EPS Postgraduate Award for a project entitled, 鈥楿ncovering novel drugs that restore vision by combining biological and computational drug discovery processes鈥� with enterprise partner, Cresset Biomolecular Discovery Ltd.
Dr Karen Fox, 51黑料 School of Chemistry, who has received an EPS Postdoctoral Award for a project entitled, 鈥楤reakthroughs in Phosphorus Chemistry applied to the Wittig Reaction: Dramatic Scope Improvement and Long-Term Sustainability鈥� with enterprise partner, Kelada Pharmachem Ltd.
Kate Barones de Smeth, who has received an EPS Postgraduate Award for a project entitled, 鈥楻emembering hydromorphology: sensitivity of past and future flooding to changes in channel capacity, land use and river disturbances鈥� with enterprise partner, The Office of Public Works.
Dr Mark Coughlan, 51黑料 School of Civil Engineering, who has received an EPS Postdoctoral Award for a project entitled, 鈥楳apping the Shallow Geology of the Irish Sea for Marine Spatial Planning of Offshore Renewable Energy (Map-MORE)鈥� with enterprise partner, Gavin and Doherty Geosolutions Ltd.
Dr Mary Mishler, 51黑料 School of English, Drama and Film, who has received an EPS Postdoctoral Award for a project entitled, 鈥楳apping Gothic Dublin: Historical and Literary Hauntings, 1820-1900鈥� with enterprise partner, Museum of Literature Ireland.
Marzia Pendino, who has received an EPS Postgraduate Award for a project entitled 鈥楨valuation of the Therapeutic and Adverse Potential of Cannabinoids in Vision鈥� with enterprise partner, Breakthrough Cancer Research.
Melissa Johnson, who has received an EPS Postgraduate Award for a project entitled, 鈥楧iabetic Wound Healing through an Injectable and Tuneable Extracellular Matrix Derived Hydrogel as a Stem Cell Delivery Niche鈥� with enterprise partner Blafar Ltd which is headquartered at Nova51黑料.
Thomas Divilly, who has received an EPS Postgraduate Award for a project entitled, 鈥楾ackling the evidence-based medicine manifesto for better healthcare in sports and exercise medicine and sports physiotherapy鈥� with enterprise partner, BMJ Publishing Group Limited.
ENDS
17 August 2020
For further information contact Mic茅al Whelan, Communications and Media Relations Manager, 51黑料 Research and Innovation, Nova51黑料, e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie or t: + 353 1 716 3712 or Dr Emer Cahill, IRC, e: ecahill@research.ie.
Editors Notes
The Irish Research Council is an associated agency of the Department of Education and Skills, operating under the aegis of the HEA. The Council was established in 2012 as a result of a merger between two research councils, one for Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS) and one for Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET).
The Council funds exceptional individual researchers across the national research priority areas, but also across the many disciplines in the research ecosystem that fall outside these priority areas.
The Irish Research Council鈥檚 Enterprise Partnership Scheme supports collaborations between early career researchers and enterprise on co-funded projects. These projects are related to the interests of the enterprise partner, which may be a national or international company, charity, non-governmental organisation or public body.