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President of Ireland Young Researcher Award for Dr Neil Ferguson

President of Ireland, Mary McAleese welcomed Conway Fellow, Dr Neil Ferguson to Áras an Uachtaráin on December 14th 2010 to receive the Science Foundation Ireland President of Ireland Young Researcher Award (PIYRA) in recognition of his research into human hepatitis B virus (HBV) biology.

Now in its seventh year, PIYRA is one of Science Foundation Ireland’s most prestigious accolades, acknowledging young engineers and scientists who have displayed extraordinary ability and leadership in their particular field.

Dr Ferguson and fellow awardee, Dr Nataša Mitić from NUI Maynooth will receive a total of €1.9 m funding from Science Foundation Ireland to carry out their research.

Speaking at the award ceremony in Áras an Uachtaráin, President Mary McAleese said, “I am delighted to receive this year’s winners, Dr Ferguson and Dr Mitić. These awards are testament to their dedication to investigating infections which cause countless fatalities across the globe each year. The work being carried out by Dr Ferguson and Dr Mitić are just two examples of the groundbreaking research that is being conducted in science facilities across the country. Exceptional talent and pioneering results, such as that of Dr Ferguson and Dr Mitić, continue to position Ireland as a global leader in innovative science research.”

Dr Ferguson is being recognised for his research into human hepatitis B virus (HBV) biology. Using genetic engineering with state-of-the-art biophysical techniques to dissect HBV into its component molecules, he aims to obtain new insights into the mechanism of HBV replication, and to design antiviral therapy that will prevent HBV biomolecules from interacting with partner molecules.

Dr Ferguson said: “My work on HBV has unquestionably been the most challenging and ambitious research of my scientific career and receiving this recognition is the pinnacle of my career to date – but the quest continues unabated. We are effectively trying to scale a scientific ‘Everest’, but the vast scale of human suffering caused by HBV provides a strong incentive to continue. The granting of this award provides vital funds for a team resolute on finding a cure for a virus that causes one million deaths annually.”

Originally hailing from Scotland, Dr Neil Ferguson spent eight years working at the MRC Centre for Protein Engineering in Cambridge, United Kingdom prior to coming to Ireland and UCD Conway Institute in 2008.

Commenting on the awards, Mr John Travers, Director General, Science Foundation Ireland, said: “The SFI PIYRA award was established to position Ireland as a prime location from where young scientific and engineering researchers with exceptional ability could work. SFI’s involvement in this programme continues to ensure the recruitment of young influential researchers to research bodies across the country, and serves to highlight the extraordinary scientific work that the younger generation of researchers are immersed in.”