Dr Nicola Fletcher Receives ERC Synergy Grant to Develop Novel Technology that could Revolutionise Clinical Diagnostics
Dr Nicola Fletcher is pictured above working with the world’s first commercially available laboratory scale soft x-ray microscope at UCD Conway Institute
The ERC has announced a total of €571 million in funding for 57 projects that will bring leading researchers together to combine their expertise, knowledge and resources to push the boundaries of scientific discovery. The funding is part of the EU’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.
Dr Nicola Fletcher, a veterinary pathologist and infectious disease expert at the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine, is one of two Synergy Grant recipients in Ireland this year. With funding of over €6 million, Dr Fletcher’s collaboration 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, aims to develop and implement innovative x-ray technology for tissue biopsies. This will allow them to visualise tissues at a level of detail not previously possible, a crucial step for understanding the mechanisms of disease.
UCD Vice President for Research, Innovation and Impact, Professor Kate Robson Brown said, 'Congratulations to Dr Fletcher on winning the fourth ERC Synergy Grant for UCD. Her achievement exemplifies the excellence of our researchers who are building strong international collaborations to drive innovation and address global challenges.'
The NanoX Project
Successful treatment of diseases can often rely on restoring the normal structure and function of cells within tissues and organs. However, it is currently challenging to visualise detailed cellular changes within whole tissues in response to disease.
Soft x-ray microscopy is a novel, exciting imaging technique which allows scientists to visualise cells in exquisite detail, but it has yet to be applied to imaging whole tissues. Project NanoX will merge the skillsets of international experts in infectious disease, physics and structural biology to develop new techniques that can image tissue micro-biopsies. Ultimately, the scientific and technological innovations developed and implemented in this project will revolutionise clinical diagnostics and research, providing new ways to characterise, diagnose, and treat a range of diseases in any species at a level of detail.
Ad Astra fellow at UCD School of Veterinary Medicine and a Fellow of the UCD Conway Institute, Dr Nicola Fletcher, said, ‘I am delighted and honoured to receive this ERC synergy grant, which will allow me to work with world leading researchers in the field of soft x-ray microscopy. The UCD Conway Institute is home to the world’s first commercially available laboratory scale soft x-ray microscope, built and designed by Sirius XT Ltd. 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.'
'I am confident that this project will deliver new ways to diagnose and treat a wide range of diseases in humans and animals. 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 any one. This project fits perfectly within One Health and will benefit all species.'
See the full list of ERC Synergy Grant recipients (opens in a new window)here.