Impact Case Studies

(opens in a new window)Professor Paula Bourke

The race is on to find new and effective ways of treating antimicrobial resistant pathogens, which represent a major threat to the health of patients undergoing surgery for medical implants. Bacterial infection is one of the most common problems associated with such surgery, compounded by the absence of new antibiotics to take up the battle. But a tripartite team involving researchers at UCD and QUB and at Jefferson University in Philadelphia are pioneering new approaches. Plasma is the fourth state of matter (the others are solid, liquid and gas. The researchers are using a combination of the direct application of cold plasma and plasma functionalised liquids. Liquids such as water or saline, can be exposed to a plasma in order to generate particular chemical characteristics, and are under investigation for a range of applications including infection control and cancer therapy. Although still in its early days, if the research is successful it could revolutionise outcomes, vastly improving the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of people each year and providing a new tool in the ongoing battle against antibiotic resistant microorganisms.

Read the full case study here: Professor Paula Bourke

(opens in a new window)Professor Francis Butler & Dr Kevin Hunt

Food safety is vitally important to the wellbeing of a community and setting standards to prevent the spread of microbial contamination is an important role for regulators. But regulators across the world have found it far more difficult to set standards for viral than for bacterial contamination. At a biological level, the main difference between the two is that while bacteria are free-living cells that can live inside or outside a body, viruses are a non-living collection of molecules that need a host to survive.

Now new technologies and approaches are opening the door to an increased awareness of viruses, their identification and assessment of the risks they pose to human health. Researchers in the UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering, in conjunction with the Marine Institute, have helped to improve understanding of the difficulties and limitation of existing techniques used to measure viral contamination in a single species – in this instance Norovirus in oysters – and made an important contribution to the debate on how meaningful standards can be set and monitored for viral contamination in foods.

Read the Full case study here: Professor Francis Butler and Dr Kevin Hunt

(opens in a new window)Professor Aoife Gowen

Water is the most abundant molecule in the known Universe and it is vital for life, yet we understand precious little about it.  Professor Aoife Gowen is changing that thanks to her expertise in a branch of science called hyperspectral imaging, which looks at minute changes within molecules as they interact.
Her current project, which secured prestigious European Research Council funding, is examining how water interacts with surfaces and how that can affect import-ant processes such as the breakdown over time of materials grafted into the body to repair bone. She is also applying her expertise to help improve the diagnosis of prostate cancer in patient samples and to monitor the growth of bacteria on surfaces.

You can read the full case study here: Professor Aoife Gowen

(opens in a new window)Professor Da-Wen Sun

We all know the importance of eating fresh food, but could frozen food be just as good for us? That depends on how quickly and effectively the food has been frozen, and whether its nutrients have been protected on its journey to us. Professor Da-Wen Sun, Professor of Food and Biosystems Engineering at UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering, has written key textbooks for the food industry and has received many international accolades for his work on refrigeration and freezing technologies.
He has developed a method that uses ultrasound during freezing to make the process more effective, lessening damage caused by ice crystals and protecting nutrients within foods. The method is now under consideration by academic and industry food researchers, and could ultimately help to protect nutrients in food processing and storage and improve human health through more effective nutrition.

You can read the full case study here: Professor Da-Wen Sun

(opens in a new window)Dr. Fionnuala Murphy

When you figure out the environmental cost of making something, do you take everything into account? Dr Fionnuala Murphy at UCD School of Biosystems & Food Engineering takes a close look at various processes that use bio-based materials - from generating biofuels to making products from algae and agricultural and plastic wastes - and finds the true environmental cost across the life-cycle of those processes.
Dr Murphy’s work has already helped to move towards more sustainable sources for bio-fuel generation and, through major European projects, she is contributing to the development of a more sustainable bioeconomy that reduces levels of agri-food waste by using it for higher value products.

You can read the full case study here: Dr Fionnuala Murphy

(opens in a new window)Dr. Tom Curran

Waste can cause problems. When fats, oils, grease and sanitary products congeal in a sewer, it can build ‘fatbergs’ that slow and clog sewers, resulting in backed up pipes, environmental damage and expensive and dangerous operations to clear the blockage. Dr Tom Curran at UCD is making strides in the fight against fatbergs, working on prevention and detection. His research has shown high levels of compliance among businesses to prevent fatbergs, which saves Dublin millions of Euros each year in sewer management and wastewater treatment costs.

You can read the full case study here: Dr Tom Curran