2025 Research Impact Awards - Congratulations Prof Ellen Crushell and Dr Mark Pickering

UCD Celebrates Research with Real-World Impact at 2025 Research Impact Awards

UCD announced the winners of the 2025 UCD Research Impact Case Study Competition at a Research Impact Awards Ceremony today, hosted by UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact, Professor Kate Robson Brown.

The annual competition celebrates research from all disciplines that has made a demonstrable and positive difference beyond academia, influencing policy, practice, communities, culture, health, and society more broadly.

This year’s awards recognised an overall winner, an engaged research winner, a newly introduced policy impact winner, and nine finalists. The case studies highlight the breadth, depth and societal relevance of research taking place across the university.

The winner of the new Policy Impact Award is ‘Glycerol intoxication syndrome in young children following consumption of slush ice drinks’ led by Professor Ellen Crushell, UCD School of Medicine and (opens in a new window)Children’s Health Ireland.

Dr Mark Pickering, UCD School of Medicine and UCD Earth Institute was a finalist for his project, Democratising discovery: open, accessible imaging and microscopy tools for all

Congratulations to Prof Ellen Crushell and Dr Mark Pickering.

Speaking at the ceremony, UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact Kate Robson Brown said, “Congratulations to the winners and finalists of the UCD Research Impact Case Study Awards announced today! These awards recognise not only excellent research, but research that actively engages with society and delivers tangible benefits. These case studies demonstrate how UCD researchers are contributing to policy, practice, public understanding and knowledge in meaningful and lasting ways. 

Details of the next round of the Impact Case Study competition will be announced in Spring.

UCD researchers from every College are invited to explore the UCD Impact Toolkit and consider applying for the 2026 Competition. 

The 2025 Research Impact Case Study Competition Winners and finalists are:

Overall Winner

Preparing for Life: Changing children’s life course through an early life parenting programme

Professor Orla Doyle, UCD School of Economics & UCD Geary Institute for Public Policy

Policy Impact Winner (new category for 2025)

Glycerol intoxication syndrome in young children following consumption of slush ice drinks

Dr Ellen Crushell,  UCD School of Medicine and (opens in a new window)Children’s Health Ireland

Engaged Research Winner

Strengthening Public Library Resistance Against Far-Right Agitation

Dr. Páraic Kerrigan and dr. Claire McGuinness, UCD School of Information and Communication Studies

Finalists

Changing the law to protect privately held records relating to Ireland’s abusive institutions
Associate Professor Mark Coen, UCD Sutherland School of Law

Irish Polling Indicator: turning numbers into insight for society and policymakers
Associate Professor Stefan Müller, UCD School of Politics and International Relations

Democratising discovery: open, accessible imaging and microscopy tools for all
Dr Mark Pickering, UCD School of Medicine and UCD Earth Institute

Declines in European birds: why uncomfortable conversations about predators are necessary
Associate Professor Barry J. McMahon, UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science & UCD Earth Institute

Improving quality and patient safety in our healthcare system
Associate Professor Aoife De Brún, UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems

Building homes smarter, faster and greener: Modern Methods of Construction
Associate Professor Daniel McCrum, UCD School of Civil Engineering

From play to policy: a new way for children to reimagine traffic safety using Minecraft
Dr Ungku Norani Sonet, Dr Ítalo Sousa de Sena, Dr Aura-Luciana Istrate, and Professor Francesco Pilla, UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy

AI2Peat: the All-Ireland AI platform powering smarter peatland management
AI2Peat team,(opens in a new window) CeADAR, UCD School of Computer Science, UCD School of Earth Sciences and (opens in a new window)iCRAG

Humanising the algorithm: where data meets compassion to fight pneumonia and sepsis
Professor Patricia B Maguire and Research Scientist, Vanessa Carvalho, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science