Technologies to License

University College Dublin has a portfolio of opportunities available for licensing by industry. These opportunities are listed under the following sectoral areas:

Agriculture and Food

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Energy and Environment

Life Sciences & Veterinary Medicine

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Physical Sciences

Knowledge Transfer Team

The members of the UCD Knowledge Transfer team which is based at NovaUCD are:

Dr Ciaran O’Beirne

Manager, Knowledge Transfer

t: +353 1 716 3713
e: ciaran.obeirne@ucd.ie

Dr Ciaran O’Beirne is the Manager, Technology Transfer and heads up the team responsible for identifying, protecting and commercialising intellectual property (IP) arising from UCD research projects either through licensing and/or new venture creation.

Ciaran also plays a lead role in business development activities and in negotiating IP terms in various agreements between UCD and industry partners.

Ciaran’s career has included working as a Pharmaceutical Assessor with the Irish Medicines Board, as a Research Scientist in Abbott Laboratories and as the Assistant Director for Product Evaluations with the American Dental Association.

Ciaran graduated with a PhD in Biochemistry from Trinity College Dublin and an MBA from the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.

Ciaran is the Manager, Technology Transfer and heads up the team responsible for identifying, protecting and commercialising intellectual property arising from UCD research projects either through licensing and/or new venture creation.

Dr Stephen Donoghue

Case Manager, Knowledge Transfer, Environment

t: +353 1 716 3720

e: stephen.donoghue@ucd.ie

Stephen is responsible for managing the identification, protection and commercialisation of University College Dublin research outputs within the environment area.

He is responsible for fostering the development of a strong Intellectual Property (IP) pipeline in this research space by supporting researchers at grant proposal stages and in drafting business plans and commercialisation roadmaps to ensure that the resulting IP is commercialised via licensing and/or start-up creation to achieve maximum strategic impact.

Stephen previously occupied a couple of positions at Swansea University, including technology transfer officer and IP & Commercialisation Research Manager. At Swansea Stephen helped to develop a diverse range of technologies including cleantech, GMOs, biopesticides and several modelling and medical technologies. He also led on the first investment by the VC firm IP Group in Swansea University technology.

Prior to his technology commercialisation experience Stephen had worked for Novozymes and Knoll Pharmaceuticals in the UK.

Stephen graduated with a BSc in Biotechnology from Dublin City University and has obtained postgraduate degrees in Toxicology and Pathology from the University of Leicester. After his PhD Stephen completed postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard and UCD. He also completed a LLB from Griffith College Dublin and has been a guest lecturer on a couple of LLM courses related to technology and law.

Dr Stacey Kelly

Case Manager, Knowledge Transfer, Agriculture, Food and Veterinary Science

t: +353 1 716 3705
e: stacey.kelly@ucd.ie

Stacey is responsible for managing the identification, protection and commercialisation of University College Dublin research outputs within the food, agriculture and veterinary research areas.

She is responsible for fostering the development of a strong Intellectual Property (IP) pipeline in the above research areas by supporting researchers at grant proposal stages and in drafting business plans and commercialisation roadmaps to ensure that the resulting IP is commercialised via licensing and/or start-up creation to achieve maximum strategic impact.

Stacey previously worked as a research scientist with Food for Health Ireland, a multi-party collaborative programme incorporating expertise from four leading academic institutes (UCC, UCD, Teagasc and UL) in association with four industry partners (Carbery Group, Dairygold Food Ingredients Ltd, Glanbia plc and Kerry Group plc) to develop new functional food ingredients and products from milk-derived bioactive.

Prior to this ,she worked as a patent scientist with Oriflame R&D where she supported the identification of IP arising from NPD projects alongside the patent activity of a dedicated skin research team. She has previous experience working with the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory in the genotyping of scrapie susceptibility SNPs within the Irish sheep flock.

Stacey graduated with a BSc in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Dublin Institute of Technology and a PhD in Immunology with Trinity College Dublin.

Stacey is a Case Manager for Technology Transfer and is responsible for managing the identification, protection and commercialisation of UCD research outputs within the food, agriculture and veterinary research areas.

Dr Hugh Hayden

Case Manager, Knowledge Transfer, Physical Sciences and Engineering

t: +353 1 716 3725
e: hugh.hayden@ucd.ie

Hugh is responsible for managing the identification, protection and commercialisation of UCD research outputs within the physical sciences and engineering research areas.

He is responsible for fostering the development of a strong Intellectual Property (IP) pipeline in these research areas by supporting researchers at grant proposal stages and in drafting business plans and commercialisation roadmaps to ensure that the resulting IP is commercialised via licensing and/or start-up creation to achieve maximum strategic impact.

With over 15 years of experience in the material science R&D, including developing a number of patents and technology which were licenced to various industry sectors (automotive, aerospace, ceramics) Hugh has extensive experience in technology development of IP from the university sector.

Hugh has previously worked in UCD in a large European project involving over 300 SMEs and start-ups across North West Europe, working with key stakeholders to develop new products and markets. This involved working with the start-ups and SMEs on product development activities, including, validations and certification, market assessments, supporting business plans etc.

Hugh’s extensive technology transfer experience includes spinning out a start-up from an academic centre which developed novel smart-coatings and working with industry centres on product and process improvement.

Hugh graduated with a PhD from Trinity College Dublin in Material Science and with an MBA from Dublin City University

Hugh is a Case Manager for Technology Transfer and is responsible for managing the identification, protection and commercialisation of UCD research outputs within the physical sciences and engineering research areas.

Róisín Scallan

Case Manager, Knowledge Transfer, MedTech

Róisín is responsible for managing the identification, protection and commercialisation of University College Dublin research outputs within the medical technology area.

With over 30 years experience working in health and technology, 20 years of which were spent as a clinician in Ireland and overseas. Róisín has significant experience in medical technology innovation, supporting the commercialisation of medical technology across a range of clinical applications and technology types.

She led a medtech digital health startup, held positions in the Health Products Regulatory Authority and has worked with both state agencies and startups as a medtech consultant. Experienced in the evaluation of emerging technology for commercial feasibility from a clinical, technical, commercial and regulatory perspective, she has been an invited member of the Enterprise Ireland Medtech panel for several years. Róisin is also a board member of Microfinance Ireland.

Róisín is an alumna of the BioInnovate National Medtech Training Fellowship Programme, holds postgraduate diplomas in BioInnovation (NUIG), Biomechanics (Strathclyde), is a Chartered Physiotherapist and graduated from Trinity College Dublin with an MSc in Bioengineering.

Róisín has been a guest lecturer on Imperial College London MSc in International Health Management, and has delivered lectures to peers as a clinical expert in musculoskeletal medicine and rehabilitation.

Dr Ena Walsh

Life Sciences

t: +353 1 716 3706
e: ena.walsh@ucd.ie

Ena is responsible for managing the identification, protection and commercialisation of University College Dublin research outputs within the life sciences area.

She is responsible for the development and negotiation of licensing opportunities with industry. She plays a key role in fostering the development of a strong Intellectual Property portfolio and high-tech spin-out companies from the University by supporting the business plan and commercialisation roadmap development by advising on how licensed University intellectual property can have a maximum strategic impact and by supporting fund-raising for early-stage ventures.

With over 25 years experience in the life science area, 15 years of which were spent in the international pharmaceutical industry, Ena has significant senior management experience in both multinationals and startups. Ena held product and business development roles in Elan Corporation, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals and the start-up, PharmaNeuroBoost.

As a consultant, she supported Irish and international companies and Universities in the development and commercialisation of life science technologies in the pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostic sectors. Ena has also worked with agencies (Enterprise Ireland, Forfas, Invest Northern Ireland and InterTrade Ireland) and Venture Capital firms. Ena was a founding member and Chairperson (2001-2004) of BioConnect Ireland.

Ena is a Case Manager for Technology Transfer and is responsible for managing the identification, protection and commercialisation of UCD research outputs within the life sciences area.

Dr Tony Donnelly

Case Manager, Knowledge Transfer, ICT

t:+35317163727

e: tony.donnelly@ucd.ie

Tony is a Case Manager for Technology Transfer and is responsible for managing the identification, protection and commercialisation of UCD research outputs within the ICT research area.

Tony graduated with a BSc in Experimental Physics from UCD and a PhD in Physics from Trinity College Dublin. Tony has worked for over 10 years in academic and industry research environments. During an academic research career Tony co-authored over twenty research articles in the area of photonics, plasma light sources and nanomaterials and examined the commercial feasibility for several different laser-based processes. He secured over €300k in R&D funding to develop academic research outputs towards industry relevant technologies.

Tony has also worked with several different R&D intensive companies including a French SME developing process solutions for the semiconductor industry, an Irish SME developing wearable RFID payment technologies and a UCD spin-out developing the world’s first commercial soft x-ray microscope for 3D structural imaging of biological cells.

Tony is responsible for fostering the development of a strong Intellectual Property (IP) pipeline in the ICT research area by supporting researchers at grant proposal stages and in drafting business plans and commercialisation roadmaps to ensure that the resulting IP is commercialised via licensing and/or start-up creation to achieve maximum strategic impact.

License Now

UCD also has a number of opportunities that are available for licensing on a non-exclusive basis for a relatively small one-time payment via one page, non-negotiable licence agreement. Please contact a member of the Technology Transfer team to discuss.