The First Physiology Research Festival took place on the 24th and 25th of April 2025, bringing together over 90 participants including undergraduate/postgraduate students, researchers, and academic staff to share and discuss ongoing research in an engaging and interactive manner. This innovative event aimed at fostering a collaborative and supportive research culture within the UCD Medicine Physiology section and was funded by a UCD Research Culture Local Actions, Initiatives and Measures (ReCLAIM) award. The event was organised by Dr. Marie-Victoire Guillot-Sestier, Assoc. Prof John Baugh, and PhD students Mia McCalmont and Darragh Flood, with invaluable support from Lisa Bruton BSc Physiology Programme Manager and Physiology Subject administrator.
Six designs had been submitted for a Physiology Logo competition, open to a vote by all members of the physiology community.
Twenty Four 10-week Research Projects were presented by Stage 4 Undergraduate Students in a 10 min talk followed by questions. The jury was composed of Assoc. Prof John Baugh, Dr Paul Crossey, Dr Claire Robinson, Dr Christopher Shannon and Dr Carol Aherne.
Sixteen Posters from Postgraduate students and post-doctoral researchers were presented in an engaging session. The jury was composed of Prof Paul McLoughlin, Dr Claire Robinson, Dr Lili Li, Dr Julie Freeman, Assoc Prof Albert Smolenski and Dr Marie-Victoire Guillot-Sestier.
Twelve 'My Project in 3 minutes' talks were delivered by Postgraduate students in a concise, accessible and fun way to introduce undergraduates to the variety of research topics within UCD Medicine Physiology subject. The jury was composed of Stage 3 Undergraduate Physiology students under the leadership of Dr Carol Aherne.
Congratulations to the awardees for each category:
The best Stage 4 Research Project Presentation: recognising outstanding data presentation and communication skills was awarded to Ellen Quinn for her talk titled: "The interaction between Syntrophin Beta 1 and RhoGAP6 and its potential implications on RhoA regulation." (Final year project in Assoc Prof Albert Smolenski’s lab).
The best Poster Presentation was awarded to Aoife Blake for her poster titled: ‘Pulmonary vascular leak: In vitro modelling of the microvasculature under flow conditions’ (PhD student in Prof Paul McLoughlin’s lab).
The best 'My Project in 3 Minutes' Talk was awarded to Manh Cuong Vu for his presentation titled: ‘Exploring sex differences in microglia in the context of Alzheimer’s disease through TPRG1 gene knockdown’ (MSc Experimental Physiology student in Dr Guillot-Sestier’s lab).
The UCD Physiology Logo which received the most votes was designed by Fergus Woods (PhD student and Physiology demonstrator). The winning logo was used to make badges distributed to all attendees.
The event was a great success and appreciated by students and staff alike. The Physiology community is looking forward to the next edition of the Physiology Research Festival!