2022

Biobanking is key to strengthening scientific research in developing countries
The enormous potential for future research of an international standard biobank in Bangladesh was discussed at the Science Summit at the 77 United Nation General Assembly.

MetHealth wins UCD’s 2022 Start-Up of the Year Award
MetHealth, an early-stage start-up focused on transforming obesity care, won the Award, and a €30,000 prize fund, after being declared overall winner of the 2022 UCD VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme. 

First European discovery of a lager yeast parent by UCD scientists
Team led by Conway Fellows have discovered the first European isolates of a yeast that is a parent of the hybrid yeasts used in lager brewing, from soil on the university campus in Belfield

Supporting men's health research 
Thanking all the patients and scientists who support men's health research during Movember and year round.

€3.8M EU funding to develop wearable patch for Type 2 Diabetes
EU consortium led by Prof. David Brayden will design medical delivery system to be worn on the cheek to provide alternative to injections.

Prof. Walter Kolch receives SFI Mentorship Award 2022 
Recognising the outstanding mentorship of more than 50 postdoctoral researchers and more than 40 doctoral students and enabling them to develop their independence early in their careers.

Genomic Data Infrastructure Ireland to support the integration of genomics into healthcare
Professor Denis Shields co-leads a new EU project to support the integration of genomics into healthcare and advance new treatments for patients.

Prof. Catherine Godson resceives award for outstanding achievement in diabetes research
The 2022 Eicosanoid Research Foundation Outstanding Achievement award recognises her work on the vascular complications of diabetes and the resolution of inflammation.  

Prestigious award for UCD team tackling stillbirth prevention
Conway Fellows, Profs. Niamh Nowlan and Fionnuala McAuliffe are leading research on a unique wearable baby movement monitoring system, which they hope will address the urgent need to enable monitoring of babies’ movements in the womb at home, and dramatically reduce stillbirths globally.

Prof. Silke Ryan elected 2022–2023 European Respiratory Society Vice President 
The European Respiratory Society is the largest respiratory society in the world and Prof. Ryan is the first female from Ireland to hold this prestigious role.

2022 UCD Conway Festival Gold Medal for genetic research on tuberculosis in cattle
PhD student, John O’Grady from the UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science was recognised for genetic research into how cattle respond to infection with Mycobacterium bovis, the pathogen that causes bovine tuberculosis. 

New approach to distinguish healthy and diseased cell states using molecular data
Researchers at Systems Biology Ireland have built on their fundamental work to understand cellular gene and protein networks that control the life of cells in a new Nature publication.

Winners of research visualisation competition announced
A research visualisation competition, supported by the UCD Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund, was recently held in the UCD Conway Institute. Participants were asked to create a visualisation of their work that communicated their research message

Researchers use gene editing technology to discover new therapeutics for lung cancer
An international team of scientists led by Assoc. Prof. Rory Johnson have demonstrated for the first time that CRISPR genome-editing technology can be used as a tool to find new gene therapies for lung cancer. 

STEP Through the Looking Glass: Stories Told of Experimental ProcessesMultimedia exhibtion using selected personal and scientific objects as unique and curious ways to spark a conversation and telling a science story by artist, Lorna Donlon.

UCD Team wins an Ideate Ireland Business Competition award
MetHealth, an emerging UCD start-up supported through NovaUCD led by Dr Fiona McGillicuddy is developing a biomarker-based risk-stratification platform

New screening technique identifies potential drug therapy in Alzheimer’s disease
Associate Professor David O’Connell and collaborators at Lund University block the most toxic step in the self-assembly process of amyloid beta proteins to halt the disease process.

Prof. Cormac Taylor receives RAMI Research Award 2021
Winning the biomedical section for leading a translational hypoxic research study in inflammatory bowel disease. 

STEP Through the Looking Glass - Telling Research Stories through Art
Artist, Lorna Donlon will work with 10 researchers and 2 patient advocates from UCD Conway Institute to tell research stories in a very creative way for a touring exhibition.

New research identifies potential drug treatment for advanced eye cancer
Scientific meeting hears small molecules called HDAC inhibitors could be key to treating uveal melanoma

AI_PREMie recognised in UCD Research Impact Competition
Conway Fellows, Professors Patricia Maguire and Fionnuala Ní Áinle are announced as runners-up of the 2021 UCD Research Impact Case Study Competition by UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact Professor Orla Feely.

Four Conway Fellows lead projects funded under North-South Research Programme awards
Professors David Brayden and William Gallagher and Associate Professors Siobhan McClean and Kieran Meade will each led projects under all three strands of this comprehensive funding programme.

Funding announced for 77 Irish Research Council New Foundations projects will positively impact societal issues.
Professor William Gallagher awarded funding to strengthening collaboration in cancer research throughout the island of Ireland.