Research News
The Irish Research Council (IRC) has announced the results of its 2022/23 Enterprise Partnership Schemes (EPS), which funds postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers to collaborate with an enterprise or employer on a research project of mutual interest.
Approaches to reduce suicide among construction workers in Ireland, the impact of weight regulation on bone metabolism and function in Irish male and female jockeys, and the reality of controlling Covid-19 and other superbug infections in acute hospital settings are among the projects awarded funding under the latest round of the EPS.
More than 鈧8 million will be shared among the selected 79 projects, under the scheme鈥檚 four funding strands: Enterprise Partnership Scheme for Postgraduate researchers; Enterprise Partnership Scheme for Postdoctoral researchers; Employment-Based Postgraduate Programme; and the Google Online Content Safety Scholarship.
Interim Director of the Irish Research Council, Dr Louise Callinan said: 鈥淭his is the 18th year of our Enterprise Partnership Schemes and we鈥檙e delighted at their continued success in linking excellent research talent with enterprise and innovation in Ireland. The projects selected this year focus on highly important topics, such as suicide and disease prevention, health promotion and energy recovery in data centres, and they demonstrate the broad range of cutting-edge research being conducted by high-calibre researchers that solves challenges and creates opportunities for partner enterprises.
鈥淲e鈥檙e also delighted to be partnering with Google Ireland for the second year on the Online Content Safety Scholarship, which is supporting research highly relevant to meeting the ongoing challenge of building a safer and more trusted internet.鈥
EPS Funding Strands
Awardees of the Enterprise Partnership Scheme for Postgraduate researchers and the Employment-Based Postgraduate Programme are to receive funding of 鈧110,000 each, while recipients of the Enterprise Partnership Scheme for Postdoctoral researchers are being awarded funding of 鈧99,000 each.
The Enterprise Partnership Schemes Postgraduate and Postdoctoral strands provide researchers with the opportunity to pursue research in collaboration with enterprise while based at an eligible higher education or research-performing institution.
The Employment-Based Postgraduate Programme enables researchers to pursue research in collaboration with a higher education institution while based in, and employed by, their employment partner.
Google Online Content Safety Scholarship
This is the second year of the Google Online Content Safety Scholarship, which is offered by Google Ireland in partnership with the IRC as a strand of the EPS. The Google Scholarship supports the development of exceptional and innovative research in areas relevant to the challenge of online content safety.
Alexandra Afroditi Asimakopoulou, from 小鸟体育 School of Psychology, is this year鈥檚 successful awardee under this programme. She was awarded funding for her project titled 鈥楾he malleability of memory in online misinformation: The role of emotional state in both believing and remembering fake news.鈥
Alysha Allsman/Marsh's Library (French): Huguenot kinship networks in Early Modern France: transcription and analysis of the 脡lie Bouh茅reau correspondence (1662-1685)
Catherine Ann Cullen/Poetry Ireland (Literatures): After Zozimus: Dublin鈥檚 Forgotten Street Poets and Tenement Balladeers (Subtitle: Reclaiming the neglected spoken word artists of the city tenements, including Joseph Sadler, whose performances on street corners and along Dublin鈥檚 Quays from c1850-1870 have been all but forgotten, and encompassing other street poets who, like Sadler, have not previously been the subject of academic study)
Ciara Mahon/Jigsaw (Psychology): BE REAL: Evaluating the impact of a novel self-compassion school-based programme to improve adolescent body image and mental health
Cl铆odhna Bair茅ad/Housing Agency (Equality Studies): Scale, forms and mechanisms of social housing inclusion and exclusion: interpreting administrative data on social housing waiting lists in Ireland between 2013 and 2021
Dervla MacManus/RIAI (Equality Studies): Gender Equity in Irish Architecture: Where are Ireland鈥檚 Women Architects?
ValentinaTonelotto/Breakthrough Cancer Research (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology): Accelerating the route towards metastatic uveal melanoma diagnosis and treatment: cysteinyl leukotriene receptor signalling & uveal melanoma extracellular vesicles as novel therapeutic targets and biomarkers
Wei Zhang/Intel Ireland Ltd (Colloid and Nanochemistry): Isolation, characterization and biological impacts of recycling silica nanoparticles
Brian Rice/Environmental Protection Agency (Biodiversity Conservation): Restoration of Native Oyster (Ostrea edulis) Reefs Along Dublin鈥檚 Coastline Using Artificial Reef Technology
Davin Cronly/Arran Chemical Company Limited (Organic Chemistry): BROADEN - Development of Continuous In-Situ Bromination Protocols and their Application in the Synthesis of Drugs and their Building Blocks
Emmanuel Bogacz/Intel Research & Development Ireland Limited (Theoretical Physics): Theory and Simulation of Magnetic Tunnel Junctions for Neuromorphic Computing
Kirsten Dowd/Intel Research & Development Ireland Limited (Astronomy and Space Science): Near Infrared Photo-absorption in Plasmas for Astrophysical and Industrial Applications
Laura Gunning/Glanbia Ireland DAC (Food and Beverage Engineering): Characterisation of Whey Protein Digestibility for Improving Elderly Nutrition
Lea Sch盲fer/Irish Cancer Society (Cell Biology): Investigating the role of the APOBEC3 family of cytidine deaminases in high-grade serous ovarian cancer
Louise Keegan/Alvarius Pharmaceuticals (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology): Evaluating the therapeutic potential of psychedelic agents for the treatment of heroin addiction
Michael Connolly/eco-Mova Teo (Mechanical Engineering): Aerodynamic Design and CFD Analysis of Environmentally-Friendly Trailers for Electric Vehicles, including Structural & Material Optimisation
Paul Nolan/LEO Pharma (Organic Chemistry): The Preparation of Densely Functionalised Chiral Pyrrolidines by the Asymmetric [3+2] Cycloaddition Reaction and Their Application in Organocatalysis
Rachel Murphy/Jigsaw (Psychology): Reducing Loneliness and Mental Health Difficulties in Young People: Development of a Peer Support Strategy for Use in Youth Mental Health Services
Sharon Etokhana/AkiDwA (Law): The Commodification Crisis: An Appraisal of the Law, Practice and Policy on Sex Trafficking of Migrant Women and Girls in Ireland
Yazeed Kelly/Alvarius Pharmaceuticals (Cell Biology): Investigating Addiction and Psychedelic Treatments in a Human Cerebral Organoid Model
Alexandra Bogdanovic/APC Ltd (Chemical Engineering): Development of a platform for the purification of viral vector systems for the manufacture of vaccines and gene therapies
Andr茅a de Paiva Erdos/RKD Architects (Psychology): Learning Landscapes - using cognitive science insights on episodic memorization in the design of university spaces
Ann Ryan/Tusla (Equality Studies): Developing Survivor Lead Child Abuse Intervention and Practice: The EU Victims Directive, Retrospective Child Sexual Abuse Disclosure and Social Work Procedure
Catherine Mc Ginn/Dawn Farm Foods Ltd (Food and Beverage Engineering): The use of emerging processing technologies to produce clean label fermented meats
Christopher Leckey/Irish Rugby Football Union (Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing): AI and Injury: The Development of Machine Learning Solutions to Non-Contact Injury Risk Prediction, Mitigation and Management in Rugby Union
Victoria McCarthy/Kerry County Council (Cultural Studies): How to measure landscape treasure? Historic Kerry designed landscapes: spatial analysis and planning policy
See the full list of awardees at