SFI Strategic Partnership Award for UCD Researchers
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Innovation and Science, Patrick O’Donovan TD, has announced a Science Foundation Ireland Strategic Partnership Award of €1.4 million to researchers at UCD.
The award will, over four years, fund a project titled ‘Bio-inspired particle architecture delivery technologies (Bio-PADT)’, led by Professor Kenneth Dawson, Director of the Centre for Bionano Interactions (CBNI) at UCD School of Chemistry, Professor Yan Yan, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, and Professors Grace Mulcahy and David Brayden, UCD School of Veterinary Medicine, all UCD Conway Institute Fellows.
Bio-PADT is a partnership between UCD and (opens in a new window)Marigot Ltd., spearheading the development of reliable platforms for micronutrient delivery.
Announcing the funding, Minister O’Donovan said: “I am delighted to announce this funding to the Bio-PADT research project – an excellent example of collaborative research bridging industry and academia. The Government is committed to supporting cutting-edge research that will bring both societal and economic benefits, and I am excited to see the potential of the Bio-PADT programme to transform the bionanoscience industry.”
Micronutrient deficiency is known to have profound impacts on human and animal health. Bio-PADT will explore opportunities to produce more effective and inexpensive food supplements, through sustainably harvested and naturally derived materials, such as seaweed-based particulate materials.
UCD Vice President for Research, Innovation and Impact, Professor Kate Robson Brown said, “This partnership combines UCD's advanced research strengths and strong links with industry to further our understanding of how Marine-derived raw materials can contribute to health and nutrition. The SFI Strategic Partnership Programme is pivotal in supporting research initiatives of scale with strong potential for delivering economic and societal impact, we are delighted to strengthen our relationship with Marigot Ltd under the programme and look forward to seeing the outcomes of this collaborative project.”
Pictured above (left-right): Professor Grace Mulcahy, PI, Dr Aisling McEvoy, Director of Enterprise Partnerships at SFI, Shane O’Connell, Head of Innovation, Marigot Ltd, Professors Kenneth Dawson & Yan Yan, Project Co-Leads & Professor David Brayden, PI