Research Ireland awards almost €7m to 11 ‘high-risk, high-reward’ UCD research projects
Posted 23 October, 2024
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Pictured, Fionnuala O’Leary, Chief Executive Officer, Children’s Health Foundation; Dr Ruth Freeman, Director, Science for Society at Research Ireland; Minister Patrick O'Donovan TD; and Dr Fiona Freeman
Eleven ‘high-risk, high-reward’ research projects at University College Dublin have received almost €7m in funding from Research Ireland.
The projects are among 40 spread across several institutions that will split a total of €26m in funding under the Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland’s Frontiers for the Future programme.
Investigated will be a wide range of topics, including the drought resilience of bog plants, alternative battery technologies for electric vehicles, and treatments for epilepsy.
The Children’s Health Foundation will fund two of the projects, as well as also co-fund a UCD project led by (opens in a new window)Associate Professor Fiona Freeman that is researching treatments for osteosarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer that that affects children and young adults.
UCD Awardees
- Dr Rebecca Henry, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, Conway Fellow: Investigation of the role of the GDF-15/GFRAL signalling axis in mediating neuroprotective effects in the presence of co-morbid diet-induced obesity and TBI.
- Dr Áine Byrne, UCD School of Mathematics and Statistics: Bridging the gap for mathematical models of gap junctions.
- Prof Cormac Murphy, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, Conway Fellow: Mapping the biochemical steps of microbial PFOA metabolism.
- Associate Prof Niamh O'Sullivan, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, Conway Fellow: Developing novel therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative disease.
- Dr Gary Brennan, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, Conway Fellow: Long non-coding RNA-mediated cellular dysfunction in acquired and genetic epilepsies.
- Associate Prof Eoghan McGarrigle, UCD School of Chemistry: BendZymes – Novel Catalysts for Glyco Applications.
- Associate Prof Vikram Pakrashi, UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering / Dr Michelle Carey, UCD School of Mathematics and Statistics: Energy Harvesting for Monitoring Built Infrastructure : HarMonI.
- Dr Dearbhaile Dooley, UCD School of Medicine, Conway Fellow: Targeting Inflammatory Signaling between Microglia and Astroglia in spinal cord injury.
- Dr Marina Rubini, UCD School of Chemistry: Site-specific chemical modifications of human Interferon-gamma for improved therapeutics.
- Associate Prof Fiona Freeman, Ad Astra Fellow at UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and Conway Fellow / Dr Scheryll Alken, Children’s Health Ireland: Conjugated STING-agonist nanoparticles as novel therapeutic add-on to enhance the therapeutic response of chemotherapy for the treatment of osteosarcoma.
- Dr Leila Negahdar, UCD School of Chemistry: Programming catalytic surface reactions with dynamic kinetic oscillations.
Announcing the funding, Patrick O’Donovan TD, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science said he was pleased to see Research Ireland “support high-risk, high-reward research endeavours”.
“The selected projects, spanning 11 research institutions, bring fresh and innovative ideas that will help boost business and benefit society.”
“I would also like to commend Research Ireland and the Children’s Health Foundation for their great partnership and their focus on advancing children’s health through this funding program. I encourage others to create similar partnerships and collaborations.”
Fionnuala O’Leary, Chief Executive Officer, Children’s Health Foundation, added: “Working with Research Ireland, we are able to leverage the funds our incredible supporters raise, to deliver larger grants for research into childhood diseases. This ensures the tireless efforts of our fundraisers can result in kinder and more gentler treatments for sick children.
“Frontiers for the Future programme plays a key role in enabling us to fund paediatric research with the potential to deliver impact for sick children now and into the future.”
Celine Fitzgerald, Interim Chief Executive Officer, Research Ireland, said the ‘Frontiers for the Future’ programme was helping to build research capacity, expertise and reputation.
“This latest round of grants will support a diverse range of research positions and represents a strong commitment to developing future talent in key areas. It has been a pleasure having Children’s Health Foundation as a funding partner in that drive to strengthen Ireland’s research pipeline.”
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
