Supporting Research Excellence

The School aims to create an environment which supports world class translational research by providing excellent laboratory and clinical facilities resourced with expert support staff that includes post-doctoral fellows, research nurses, laboratory technicians, data managers and administrative staff.

The School provides considerable financial and organisational support to our investigators and their teams to allow them compete for external research funding.

An independent research track record is a key requirement for most new academic staff appointments and the School has provided strong supports to assist the establishment of new research groups by incoming senior investigators. #

Modern Research Laboratories

Our staff have access to over 15,000 M2 of modern research laboratory space within the UCD Health Science Centre, the UCD Charles Institute and the UCD Conway Institute.  These facilities are in addition to undergraduate teaching laboratories and support teams pursuing fundamental biomedical research.

UCD Clinical Research Centre

To support our translational medicine ambition, the School has established modern clinical research facilities at our two main teaching hospitals (Mater Misericordiae University Hospital and St Vincent's University Hospital). The UCD Clinical Research Centre facilities are available for clinician scientists to undertake investigator-led or industry-led observational and investigational clinical studies.

A cohort of experienced research nurses, data managers and laboratory technicians are available for deployment on approved studies. Biobank facilities, consultation and minor procedures rooms are available subject to schedule constraints and laboratory facilities are available for sample preparation and rountine instrumental analysis. The UCD Clinical Research Centre also provides expert support in protocol study design, ethics and regulatory approval as well as study,data  and patient management.

The UCD Clinical Research Centre has been in operation for five years and is Ireland's first academic centre to be approved by the Irish Medicines Board for clinical trials.

Find out more about the UCD Clinical Research Centre.

UCD Medicine Research (UCD MR)

As part of our strategy to drive research productivity, the School is assembling a coherent set of supports to assist high calibre groups of investigators achieve their full potential. 

UCD Medicine Research is led by Dr Paddy Mallon, Associate Dean for Research & Innovation and aims to act as a central hub to connect our dispersed group of investigators to practical University support for grant writing, programme management, industry liaison and international collaborations.

UCD Health Sciences Centre

UCD Clinical Research Centre

UCD Conway Institute

UCD Charles Institute of Dermatology
Updated Research and Professional Development Plan

Research and Professional Development Planning (RPDP) is integral to the Structured PhD programme at UCD.  The purpose of such planning is to ensure that our graduate researchers’ work is clearly focused on achieving their research and professional development goals. Engaging with the RPDP will aid the trajectory of PhD research and their training and development as a researcher.

Please be aware that UCD Graduate Studies has a new updated version of the Research and Professional Development Planning document (RPDP).  This document is now one of the mandatory ones that the Transfer Assessment Panel will base its judgement on when determining if a PhD student progresses from Stage 1 to Stage 2 of a Doctoral programme, or a Research Master’s Degree Student transfers to a PhD Programme.   

Further information on the Research and Professional Development Planning can be found on the UCD Graduate Studies website.