Coveted ERC Synergy Grant awarded for groundbreaking soft x-ray approach to tissue biopsies
Posted 5 November, 2024
Dr Nicola Fletcher is pictured working with the world’s first commercially available laboratory scale soft x-ray microscope at UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research. Credit: Jason Clarke Photography
A UCD researcher is one of only two Ireland-based recipients to be awarded this year a coveted (opens in a new window)European Research Council (ERC) Synergy Grant.
Veterinary pathologist and infectious disease expert (opens in a new window)Dr Nicola Fletcher will receive over €6m in funding for her groundbreaking project NanoX, which aims to understand the pathophysiology of hepatitis E infections using soft x-ray microscopy.
“Congratulations to Dr Fletcher on winning the fourth ERC Synergy Grant for UCD,” said Professor Kate Robson Brown, UCD Vice President for Research, Innovation and Impact.
“Her achievement exemplifies the excellence of our researchers who are building strong international collaborations to drive innovation and address global challenges.”
Soft x-ray microscopy is a new imaging technique allowing the visualisation of cells in great detail, but it has not yet been applied to imaging whole tissues.
NanoX seeks to merge the skillsets of international experts in infectious disease, physics and structural biology to develop new techniques that can image tissue micro-biopsies.
Dr Fletcher at UCD Conway Institute. Credit: Jason Clarke Photography
"I am confident that this project will deliver new ways to diagnose and treat a wide range of diseases in humans and animals,” said Dr Fletcher, Ad Astra fellow at UCD School of Veterinary Medicine and a Fellow of the UCD Conway Institute.
“I’m passionate about One Health, the idea that animal, human and environmental health are all linked and we must consider all of them when trying to improve the health of anyone. This project fits perfectly within One Health and will benefit all species.”
Adding: “The UCD Conway Institute is home to the world’s first commercially available laboratory scale soft x-ray microscope, built and designed by (opens in a new window)Sirius XT. Together with the University of Heidelberg and the Diamond Light Source in Oxford, we have the state-of-the-art facilities we need to develop new ways to image tissue biopsies in exquisite detail. This will allow us to characterise diseases at the cellular level.”
For NanoX, Dr Fletcher will work with Dr Venera Weinhardt at the University of Heidelberg in Germany and Professor Maria Harkiolaki at the UK’s national synchrotron light source science facility, Diamond Light Source Limited.
The ERC has announced a total of €571 million in funding for (opens in a new window)the latest 57 projects awarded Synergy Grants.
Part of the EU’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme, these grants are designed to bring leading researchers together to combine their expertise, knowledge and resources to push the boundaries of scientific discovery.
Dr Fletcher is one of two Synergy Grant recipients in Ireland this year and is the fourth UCD researcher to be named a recipient.
In total, Ireland has received six Synergy Grants since they were introduced in 2012. Previous grantees include Professor Emma Teeling, Dr Claire Harnett and Professor Padraig Dunne.
EU Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Iliana Ivanova, said: “Innovation thrives on collaboration, especially when tackling the pressing scientific challenges of our time. The ERC Synergy Grants work with Horizon Europe funding to connect brilliant minds across borders and disciplines, enabling them to push the frontiers of knowledge together.”
President of the European Research Council, Professor Maria Leptin, added: “It is so inspiring to see how the Synergy Grants bring together remarkable researchers from many disciplines, countries and even continents, united by their ambition to tackle difficult research questions.”
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
