The winners of the prestigious 2022 Science Foundation Ireland Awards were revealed at the annual SFI Science Summit. Joined by over 500 leading members of the Irish research community, SFI is celebrated the contribution researchers have made to our society and economy.
UCD academics were recognised with two awards:
SFI Industry Partnership Award 2022: NexSys led by Professor Andrew Keane, UCD Energy Institute. The core mission of NexSys, is to decarbonise our energy system. Importantly, NexSys brings together researchers from across the island, with key industry partners, policy-makers and communities to resolve the challenges of a just transition to a decarbonised system. EirGrid and ESB have partnered with NexSys with a commitment to research and innovation for over 15 years.
SFI Mentorship Award 2022: Professor Walter Kolch, Director of Systems Biology Ireland at UCD. Ever since its inception in 2009, SBI has hosted over 260 team members including 105 researchers, 63 postgraduate students, 12 clinician scientists, 36 management and admin staff, and 46 research support staff from over 35 countries. Prof. Kolch has supervised over 50 postdocs and over 40 doctoral students providing his team with the tools and infrastructure to develop their independence at early in their careers several of whom have secured various positions in academia and industry, some even starting their own companies.
Acknowledging the award winners Prof Philip Nolan, Director General, Science Foundation Ireland, said: “I want to congratulate all the award recipients. The SFI Awards recognise exceptional achievements within our research community, and the ways in which research contributes to our wellbeing and our environmental, social and economic development and sustainability. These awards reflect the dedication and determination of our researchers as they work to discover new knowledge, to innovate, and to make the world a better place. The awardees are truly inspiring.
“I would like to congratulate Prof Orla Hardiman as the 2022 SFI Researcher of the Year. She has made an outstanding contribution to our understanding of, and the treatment and care of people with motor neurone disease. It is wonderful to acknowledge her achievements and the achievements of researchers across all in our Higher Education Institutions and the wider research ecosystem.”
UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact, Professor Orla Feely said: "I would like to congratulate Professor Andrew Keane and the NexSys team on winning this year’s SFI Industry Partnership Award. This collaboration between industry and academia is addressing the vital challenge of transitioning the energy system to net zero carbon emissions, developing new technologies and solutions for equitable, sustainable energy supply for all society.
"I also congratulate Professor Walter Kolch, recipient of this year's SFI Mentorship Award. Professor Kolch has built a highly interdisciplinary and multinational research environment where academics can thrive and develop their careers. He has demonstrated a strong commitment to nurturing the intellectual and professional growth of his mentees, as well as their broader personal development and the equality and diversity of his teams."
The 2022 SFI 'Researcher of the Year' Awards winners were:
SFI Researcher of the Year 2022: Professor Orla Hardiman, Trinity College Dublin. Prof Hardiman is a clinician scientist and a world authority on the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)/ Motor Neuron Disease (MND). ALS/MND. Prof. Hardiman is a professor of neurology and the Head of the Academic Unit of Neurology at Trinity College Dublin and leads the SFI Precision ALS Spoke. She is a researcher at the FutureNeuro and ADAPT SFI Research Centres. She is the founder and director of the National Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)/ Motor Neuron Disease (MND) Clinical and Research Programme, and the HSE National Clinical Lead for Neurology.
SFI Early Career Researcher of the Year: Dr Claire Gillan, Trinity College Dublin. Dr Gillan is an internationally renowned expert on mental illnesses, and was the first to show that patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have tendencies to form habits, a ground-breaking discovery in OCD that features in several undergraduate textbooks today.
SFI Commercialisation Award: Dr Alison Liddy, University of Galway. Dr Liddy and her team are developing a novel, disruptive, treatment for chronic pain without the usual addictive side-effects current treatments possess. This advancement has the potential not only for a transformative impact on the lives of those suffering from chronic pain but also has the potential to reduce the significant negative societal impact associated with prescription drug addiction.
SFI Best International Engagement Award: Prof. Michael Morris, Trinity College Dublin. AMBER, the SFI Research Centre for Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research In recognition of his long-standing association and engagement with international companies, researchers, and policy makers. Prof Morris is a professor of Surface and Interface Chemistry at Trinity College Dublin and the director of AMBER, the SFI Research Centre for Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research, who has spearheaded the facility for the last 7 years. Prof. Morris is the first European scientist to be awarded three or more awards from the Semiconductor Research Council in the United States He has promoted the circular economy internationally and has engaged with researchers and policy makers in the United States, Turkey, Switzerland and the UK and is a member of the European Materials Characterisation. He is the lead PI on DeMANS, an MSCA programme on developing printable biopolymers which involve companies and universities across Europe as well as New Zealand and Australia.
SFI Outstanding Contribution to STEM Communication Award: Ms. Jackie Gorman, CEO, Midlands Science Ms. Gorman has been engaging and educating young people, parents, youth groups and leaders, schools, industry representatives, local government and key stakeholders since 2008. Jackie has been steering Midlands Science, through impactful, creative and innovative work in promoting STEM and impacts over 16,000 people directly every year and with specific efforts to engage with those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
SFI Engaged Research of the Year Award: Ms Aoife Deane, Public Engagement Manager and Prof. Brian Ó Gallachóir, Director, MaREI the SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine Research, UCC and the Dingle Peninsula 2030 team MaREI’s transdisciplinary research group at the University College Cork is harnessing the community spirit on the Dingle Peninsula to advance a groundbreaking engaged research initiative called Dingle Peninsula 2030. This initiative is co-producing solutions with the community to address critical energy and climate challenges while also building societal resilience and capacity. MaREI has established a diverse multi-disciplinary research team combining expertise from energy engineering (Prof. Brian Ó Gallachóir, Dr Connor McGookin), sociology (Dr Clare Watson, Dr Evan Boyle), and community engagement (MaREI Public Engagement Manager, Aoife Deane), who work in a deeply embedded way with the community partners in the Dingle Peninsula 2030 team.
SFI Research Image of the Year Award: Image title: A spring garden of griseoflowers Recipient: Mariana Oliveira Diniz, PhD student, SSPC, SFI Research Centre for Pharmaceuticals, University of Limerick Description: Griseofulvin is a drug with wide interest in the pharmaceutical field as it is used as an antifungal antibiotic to treat skin infections. Griseofulvin was first isolated from Penicillium griseofulvum in 1939 and became the first clinical oral antifungal approved to be used in 1950. For its relevance, griseofulvin is listed on the List of Essential Medicines of the World Health Organization (WHO). In my PhD research, I investigate the nucleation kinetics of griseofulvin in different solvents and different scales. These crystals were formed when a solution of griseofulvin in acetonitrile was left to evaporate at room temperature on a fume hood for 3 days. This image was captured by a phone camera without any further treatment.
