In a further drive to progress Ireland’s science research agenda, Minister for Research and Innovation, Mr Séan Sherlock TD, has today (Friday) announced Government funding of €12.3 million for early-career scientific researchers to carry out pioneering work in Ireland.
The funding will be provided over the next four years through the Government’s science agency, Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), through its ‘Starting Investigator Research Grant’ (SIRG) programme. The SFI funding will support a total of 44 researchers and postgraduate students working in areas of relevance to Irish enterprise that include energy, nanomaterials, electricity, cancer research, marine ecology, tissue engineering, cystic fibrosis and immunology amongst others.
Announcing the investment, Minister Sherlock said: “Whilst in recent years we have developed an internationally recognised credible research base here in Ireland it is still essential that we continue to provide for our future economic growth and job creation by establishing a competitive advantage for Irish enterprise through our scientific excellence.”
“We as a Government are determined to ensure that the very best young scientific talent is given compelling reasons to either stay in Ireland or to locate from abroad to conduct top-class research here.
“I am delighted to see that this round of SIRG awards also marks the first co-funding arrangement with the international Marie Curie COFUND scheme, which aims to expand national research programmes and encourage greater transnational mobility. Such a partnership exemplifies the increasingly collaborative and international nature of research activity in Ireland today”, Minister Sherlock added.
Welcoming Minister Sherlock’s announcement, Dr Stephen Simpson, Director of Life Sciences at Science Foundation Ireland, said: “The SIRG programme illustrates a strong and sustained commitment to nurturing the leading researchers of tomorrow. A dedicated ‘early intervention’ scheme such as this helps to pave the way for progression towards commercialisation of ideas at a later stage in the researchers’ careers.”
The award recipients are based in the following 9 Higher Education Institutions:
Cork Institute of Technology; Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies; NUI Galway; Trinity College Dublin; Tyndall National Institute, Cork, NUI Maynooth; National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training; University College Dublin; University College Cork .
Today’s announcement took place in Tyndall National Institute, Cork.
Photographs to follow.
Ends
For further information, please contact:
Alva O’Cleirigh, SFI. Tel: +353 1 607 3249 / +353 87 9152553 / Email: Alva.O'Cleirigh@sfi.ie / Twitter: twitter.com/scienceirel
Roisin McCann, Press Officer, Dept. of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation +353 1 6312222/ +353 87 2594144
Note for Editors:
Science Foundation Ireland Starting Investigator Research Grant (SIRG) 2012 - Full List of Recipients and Institutions [Funding is for 22 awards recipients + 1 postgraduate student per award]
Institution | New Investigator | Research Area | Research Title |
CIT | Dr. Ian O'Driscoll | Optoelectronics, semiconductors | Ultrashort pulse generation in InAs quantum dots |
DIAS | Dr. Nicola Agostinetti | Seismic imaging, geothermal energy | Seismic imaging and monitoring of the upper crust: exploring the potential low-enthalpy geothermal resources of Ireland |
NUIG | Dr. Manus Biggs | Neuroscience, biomaterials | Engineering neuroelectrodes for deep brain stimulation through biomimetic conducting polymers |
NUIG | Dr. Cindy Smith | Marine ecology, microbiology | Molecular Microbial Ecology of Ammonia Oxidation in Coastal Bay Sediments |
TCD | Dr. Kristin K. Nicodemus | Schizophrenia, systems biology | Systems biology approach to elucidate the genetic architecture of schizophrenia: synthesis of genomics, structural/functional magnetic resonance imaging and cognition. |
TCD | Dr. Shane Bergin | Nanomaterials, graphene | Surface Energetics of Low Dimensional Nanostructures |
TCD | Dr. Mark Ahearne | Tissue engineering, corneal replacement | Development of a Novel Stem Cell based Approach for Corneal Tissue Engineering |
TNI | Dr. Ivana Savic | Thermoelectrics, modelling | Thermoelectric properties odf complex bulk materials from first principles |
TNI | Dr. Robert J. Young | Nanomaterials, quantum memory | Quantum dot molecules for single-photon memory |
UCD | Dr. Eoghan McGarrigle | Glycoscience, organic chemistry | Towards the Development of 21st Century Synthetic Methods for Glycoscience: Catalyst-Controlled Stereoselective Glycosylation |
UCD | Dr. Judith Coppinger | Therapeutics, cystic fibrosis | Characterisation of Hsp90 trafficking pathways in Cystic Fibrosis. |
UCD | David Croucher | Breast cancer, systems biology | Crosstalk between ErbB2 and breast cancer associated receptor tyrosine kinases in resistance to ErbB2 targeted therapies |
NIBRT | Dr. Jonathan Bones | Proteomics, bioprocessing | A Multi-Omics Investigation to Decipher the Role of Altered Bioprocessing on the Quality of Therapeutic Proteins – Is the Product Really the Process? |
TCD | Dr. Sinead Corr | Immunology, inflammation | Exploration of the role of microRNA (miR)-21 in gut homeostasis and disease. |
TNI | Dr. Jian Zhao | Signal processing, optical communications | Digital Signal Processing based Optical Communication Systems |
TNI | Dr. Peter Ossieur | Photonic systems, energy efficiency | Towards Green Photonic Ultra High-Speed Transceivers |
TCD | Dr. Plamen Stamenov | Spintronics, magnetic materials | Development of High-Field, Real-Time Point Contact Andreev Reflection Techniques and Studies of Spin Polarisation and Propagation in Novel Materials |
NUIM | Dr. Bryan Hennelly | Spectroscopy, cancer diagnosis/blood analysis | Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy and Optical Tweezers for Diagnosis of Cancer and for Multicomponent Blood Analysis |
UCD | Dr. Run Long | Photovoltaics, modelling | Excitation energy and charge transfer dynamics in new light harvesting photovoltaic materials from theoretical simulation |
UCC | Dr. Marcus J. Claesson | Inflammation, bowel disease | Molecular diagnostics and metatranscriptomics of colonic bacteria in inflammatory bowel disease |
NUIG | Dr. Martin O'Halloran | Microwave imaging, breast cancer | Microwave Imaging for the Detection and Classification of Early-Stage Breast Cancer |
TNI | Dr. Damien Thompson | Regenerative medicine, protein engineering | Engineering Multivalent Proteins for Regenerative Medicine (EMPoRiuM) |