SBES UCD recipients of SFI President of Ireland Future Research Leaders Awards
President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins has today honoured two School of Biology and Environment Science UCD researchers with the SFI President of Ireland Future Research Leaders Award at a special ceremony in Áras an Uachtaráin, Dublin. The programme recruits and retains outstanding and emerging early career research leaders with exceptional accomplishments in scientific and engineering domains.
Ten awards were given representing an investment of €15 million, with a duration of five years each, and which will support the additional recruitment of 40 research positions, including 18 PhD students, 15 postdocs and seven research assistants. In addition to the three awardees in UCD, there were four in Trinity College Dublin, two in Maynooth University and one in Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS).
Director of Science for Society in Science Foundation Ireland, Dr Ruth Freeman said: “The SFI President of Ireland Future Research Leaders Award recognises outstanding new research leadership and talent. I am delighted to see the ten awardees choosing to come to Ireland to continue their work and congratulate them on their achievements. We are dedicated to supporting research leaders with ideas to drive innovation and assist Ireland and the world in meeting the many challenges we face, from climate change, supporting healthy ageing and understanding the universe.”
The UCD awards support research in health (the development of new therapies for lung cancer by applying the latest genomic technology CRISPR-Cas9), agriculture (utilising drones and artificial intelligence to improve and secure the future of barley production against the onslaught of climate change), and engineering(the design and development of artificial touch/tactile sensors to improve robotic and prosthetic grippers (e.g. artificial hands)).
See (opens in a new window)https://www.sfi.ie/ for details of all ten recipients and their research.
UCD’S Future Research Leaders
Dr Rory Johnson(opens in a new window)View Profile Discovering non-protein-coding vulnerabilities in lung cancer with CRISPR-Cas9 Award value: €1,546,106. Lung cancer is one of the greatest single causes of death in Ireland today, but we still lack effective therapies. This project aims to discover new types of genes that promote lung cancer, develop drugs to inhibit their activity, and therebykill tumours. The project depends on the latest CRISPR-Cas9 “genome-engineering” technology, which allows one to delete genes from a cell’s DNA and thus test thousands of potential drug targets in a single experiment. In summary, this project aims to develop new therapies for lung cancer by applying the latest genomic technologies. |
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“I am delighted to receive the President of Ireland Future Research Leaders award from SFI. It provides for a long-term research programme in crucially important areas of genome engineering, noncoding RNAs and cancer research. I believe that this work will make a positive impact on Irish society, by developing new technologies, fostering scientific talent, and advancing towards more effective treatments for disease.”
Assistant Prof Sónia Negrão(opens in a new window)View Profile Looking into time - how abiotic stress impacts barley production and malting quality Award value: €1,466,217. Barley is the key ingredient for the production of beer and whiskey. Climate change is driving the occurrence of extreme weather events resulting in elevated rainfall that severely adversely affects barley production. These yield reductions will significantly impact the malting industry, with forecasts estimating a sharp rise in beer and whiskey prices. Modern varieties of barley have lost their protection against such environmental conditions, yet heritage barley has these tolerance features. Here we combine advanced genomic techniques with imaging platforms, using drones and artificial intelligence, to quantify the effects ofwaterlogging in heritage varieties and secure future barley production. |
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