UCD early career researchers part of €14.6m SFI-IRC Pathway investment
Posted 11 July, 2024
UCD awardee Dr Sujit Jung Karki with Dr Ruth Freeman, SFI, at UCD Rosemount Environmental Research Station Credit: Carl Gibney
Eight early career researchers at University College Dublin are among more than two dozen receiving €14.6 million investment under the (opens in a new window)SFI-IRC Pathway programme.
The 25 research projects, funded through 13 research bodies, have been awarded financial support covering a four-year period that will see their postdoctoral awardees transition into independent research leaders.
The funding will also provide additional support for a postgraduate student who will be primarily supervised by the awardee.
The eight UCD projects funded are:
- (opens in a new window)Dr Despina Bazou, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science - 'Extramedullary disease in Multiple Myeloma: Finding new therapeutic targets by dissecting the cell heterogeneity with an integrated transcriptomic and proteomic analysis'.
- (opens in a new window)Dr Judith Evers, Ad Astra Fellow, UCD School of Veterinary Medicine - 'Closed-loop cortical stimulation for Parkinson's disease'.
- Dr Sean Kelly, UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering - 'PLAS-ME: Plasma for Agriculture Sustainability through Manure Enhancement'.
- (opens in a new window)Dr Darren O'Connell, UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science - 'The genomics of adaptation in a hyper-diverse genus of bees: the past, present and future of important wild pollinators'.
- Dr Qian Xu, UCD School of Medicine - 'A multi-therapeutic strategy for diabetic wound healing based on the injectable ECM-Mimetic hydrogel delivery of tailored ADSC-derived exosomes'.
- Dr Chinmoy Kundu, UCD School of Electrical and Electronics Engineering - 'Designing secure integrated sensing and communication systems for next-generation wireless networks (SECURE-ISAC)'.
- (opens in a new window)Dr Sujit Jung Karki, UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science - 'REVBY: Ramularia collo-cygni Effector Virulence in BarleY'.
- Dr XianXian Zhao, UCD School of Electrical and Electronics Engineering - 'Electromagnetic Transient Modelling and Stability Analysis of a Wind and PV Dominated Irish Power System for 2030 and Beyond'.
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Patrick O’Donovan TD said the SFI-IRC Pathway programme provided a “defined journey from post-doctoral research to independent researcher”.
“Bridging this gap is a challenging but critical milestone, and the research selected for investment will address key challenges and opportunities, ranging from new therapies for Parkinsons to the development of sustainable supercapacitors.”
Commenting on the awards, Dr Ruth Freeman, Director, Science for Society at Science Foundation Ireland, added: “[The SFI-IRC Pathway programme] provides targeted support to early-career researchers who will use the funding to pursue independent research at the frontiers of knowledge.
“Investment in these projects will generate novel discoveries and insights across diverse research topics, from environmental sustainability to disease treatment and prevention, to wireless network security.”
The SFI-IRC Pathway programme is a collaborative initiative between Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and the Irish Research Council (IRC) to support early-career research across all disciplines and to encourage a cohesive research ecosystem in Ireland.
By: David Kearns, Digital Journalist / Media Officer, UCD University Relations (with materials from Emma Loughney, UCD Research and Innovation)
To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie
