Student Hub

Welcome to Student Summer Research Awards (SSRA)

Each year over 100 of our undergraduate students undertake supervised eight-week laboratory, clinical, patient-centred or educational research projects as part of the SSRA initiative.

We are delighted to welcome you to the SSRA Programme. This eight-week elective module provides an opportunity for undergraduate students to undertake a supervised research project, with the potential of gaining five ECTS credits towards their degree programme. Projects take place during the third (summer) trimester in a variety of locations within UCD and at our affiliated hospitals.

SSRA is open to students from our undergraduate programmes. Students compete for the SSRA through poster and oral presentations. Presentations are adjudicated by a committee comprising  researchers, clinicians and patient advocates.

Published Research

Have you completed SSRA project in the past and published your work? We are very interested in tracking and collating publications, either full research papers, review articles or conference proceedings, that past SSRA students have contributed to whilst undertaking an SSRA project. You can submit this information HERE

Available Research Projects

You can access SSRA Projects HERE.

Each year, senior researchers from across the School and affiliated clinical sites submit potential student projects to the SSRA committee for consideration. A list of available research projects is compiled on a rolling basis from mid-November each year and will be available here. Students can then contact potential supervisors.

This process connects high-level research to undergraduate students. Our Medicine, Radiography, BHLS and Physiology graduates are encouraged to see themselves not just as future healthcare practitioners but also as researchers and investigative scientists.

  1. The SSRA homepage has an Available Projects window
  2. This window will bring you to a Google page with all available projects in PDF format
  3. Having chosen a project, email the project Supervisor with a brief explanation of your interest in the research. You must include the completed SSRA Student Project Application Form (2024) which can also be found below on the Student Hub Page of the SSRA Website.
  4. Wait for the Supervisor to respond to your email (this can take a few weeks in some instances)
  5. If the Supervisor chooses you, please email the project number and confirmation email from the Supervisor to ssra@ucd.ie
In many cases, the SSRA scheme will provide you with your first experience of either laboratory or clinical based research. This is an invaluable opportunity to develop practical research skills, deepen your understanding of specific aspects of the programme or as a first step towards a career in clinical science.
The SSRA programme may offer a limited number of projects with affiliated charities and patient advocate groups. This strand of the programme, governed by the School's  Patient Advocate Centred Education - Research (PACE-R) initiative, enhances awareness of social responsibility, and the important role of voluntary organisations in advocacy and healthcare research. Establishing such a link at an early career stage will impact the professionalism of our graduates and on your lifelong engagement with patients, patient advocates and charitable organisations.
For the most part, we expect that SSRA projects will be exempt from full UCD ethical review. Various types of projects will fall into this category.
As some projects will require full ethical review by the UCD School of Medicine REC, please allow enough time for this to take place in advance of the project start date.

Further information and relevant Ethics compliance forms for the UCD School of Medicine REC can be found here
Veterinary Medicine students, please visit https://www.ucd.ie/researchethics/about/animalresearchethicscommitte/

 

Funding Body Deadline(S) Further Information
Association of 
Clinical 
Pathologists		 Various projects Welcome to the Association of Clinical Pathologists - The Association of Clinical Pathologists
Wellcome Trust Various projects

Grant funding schemes and guidance | Grant funding | Wellcome

Biomedical Vacation Scholarships | Grant Funding | Wellcome
Health Research 
Board		 Summer Student 
Scholarships (SS) 2024		 https://www.hrb.ie/funding/funding-schemes/all-fundingschemes/grant/summer-student-scholarships-ss-2024
Closing date: TBC 
Pathological Society 
of Great Britain and 
Ireland		 Undergraduate Elective 
Bursary UB0224		 https://www.pathsoc.org/grants_lectures_awards/grants
/38/undergraduate_elective_bursary_ub0222
Closing date: 27 February and 28 April 2024
Irish Cancer Society Irish Cancer Society Summer Studentships

Deadline: 3.00pm, Wednesday 14th February 2024.

*Note: The deadline for queries regarding project eligibility is Thursday 1st February 2024. These can be sent to grants@irishcancer.ie. Project eligibility queries will not be addressed after this date.

 

 

nationalhaemophiliaaward

2024 National Haemophilia Council Medical Students Summer Research

Project Requirements for Haemophilia & Other Related Bleeding Disorders

 

Background

The National Haemophilia Council (NHC) was setup by the Government, under Statutory Instrument mechanism (SI No. 451 of 2004) in response to the recommendations of the Report of the Lindsey Tribunal.  The NHC reports directly to the Minister for Health on all matters concerning the delivery of health care to people in Ireland with Haemophilia or other related Bleeding Disorders.

 

The Council is composed of a Chairperson, together with Medical, Nursing, and other related Health Care professionals, representatives of the Department of Health and two representatives from the patient organisation, the Irish Haemophilia Society.

 

Undergraduate Medical Student Elective

To encourage the involvement of undergraduate medical students in the area of Haemophilia and other related bleeding disorders, the Council decided to create four awards, each of €1,000.00 for student projects in this area. The Council encourages the presentation and / or publication of the completed project at a relevant National and/or International meeting or in a relevant publication.

 

Eligibility

Application can be made by 2nd 3rd 4th and 5th year medical students from any Medical School in Ireland. The Project must be undertaken with guidance and agreement of a Haematology Consultant involved in the provision of comprehensive care to patients with haemophilia or other related bleeding disorders in Ireland. 

 

The Comprehensive Care Centres in Ireland are located in the following Hospitals:

  • National Coagulation Centre, (NCC) St. James’s Hospital, James’s Street, Dublin 8
  • Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin, Cooley Rd, Crumlin, Dublin 12, D12 N512
  • University Hospital Cork, Wilton, Cork

 

The Haemophilia Treatment Centre is located in the following Hospital:

  • University Hospital Galway, Newcastle Rd, Galway, H91 YR71

 

The Medical Students need to get agreement from the appropriate Haemophilia treatment centre before they submit their application to the NHC.

 

 

The contact details for the Consultant Haematologists at the Centres are as follows:

  • Professor Niamh O’Connell, Medical Director, NCC, St. James’s Hospital

Email:        ncc@stjames.ie

 

  • Dr Beatrice Nolan, Consultant Haematologist, CCC, CHI at Crumlin

Email:        beatrice.nolan@childrenshealthireland.ie

 

  • Dr Cleona Duggan, Consultant Haematologist, CCC, University Hospital Cork

Email:        cleona.duggan@hse.ie

 

  • Dr Ruth Gilmore, Consultant Haematologist, HTC University Hospital Galway

Email:        ruth.gilmore@hse.ie

 

Application Requirements

Applications (short curriculum vitae and cover letter describing the potential benefits anticipated from participation) to be submitted in the first instance to the Director of the relevant Haemophilia Comprehensive Care Centre / Haemophilia Treatment Centre. Each centre will be responsible to identify a suitable candidate and agree an abstract for the proposed project.

 

The applicant should submit the agreed abstract, of no more than 500 words, giving an overview of the proposed project to Ms Gráinne Leach, Chief Officer of the National Haemophilia Council by 5pm on Friday 2 February 2024.

Email:              grainne.leach@hse.ie

 

The Council will inform the successful applicants before Friday 15 March 2024.  The decision of the National Haemophilia Council is final.

 

Final Submissions

The report of the completed projects should be submitted to the National Haemophilia Council by the 31 October 2024.

 

Any queries please contact:

Ms Gráinne Leach,

Chief Officer,

National Haemophilia Council,

Health Service Executive,

Mill Lane,

Palmerstown,

Dublin 20, D20 KH63
087 6546463

 

 

 

Thanks to the generosity of the Myles Smith family, the UCD School of Medicine SSRA programme offers a bursary for research excellence in Cardiovascular/Rare Cancer research.
The Alfred Myles Smith Bursary of €1,000 will be made annually for the next seven years for the best project relating to Cardiology, Cardiac surgery, Vascular Surgery, Vascular Medicine, or if there are no suitable cardiovascular projects are available, a project relating to rare cancers will be awarded instead.Projects that fall within the remit of Alfred Myles Smith Bursary will be indicated on projects advertised in the SSRA Student Hub.
Students are encouraged to independently seek out projects related to these topics.
The selection of the successful student/project for this bursary is based on an interview process where shortlisted students each present their research proposal and a three-minute Q&A session with a panel of UCD academics and clinicians.
If you are interested and would like more information on the Alfred Myles Smith Bursary, please email  ssra@ucd.ie
Student Deadline: September 2nd, 2024

An annual award of the “Clare O’Connor Summer Student Scholarship in Respiratory Research” to the value of €2,000, will be made to a UCD medical student for excellence in Respiratory Research (laboratory based) within the UCD Belfield Campus and/or its affiliated University Hospitals.

The Clare O’Connor Summer Student Scholarship in Respiratory Research awards have been created thanks to generous donations by a number of individuals via Prof Muiris X FitzGerald, former Dean of Medicine and founder of the SVUH Cystic Fibrosis Unit.

Dr Clare O’Connor was a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Medicine, UCD and led a major research team at Woodview House from 1981 to 2003. In 2008 she was appointed Graduate School Director in the UCD Conway Institute until her retirement in 2014. Her distinguished research and teaching career centered on applied immunological, biochemical and genetic research on respiratory diseases in conjunction with Professor MX FitzGerald, Professor Seamus Donnelly and other respiratory investigators at St. Vincent’s University Hospital. She secured major research grants in Ireland and from the EU Concerted Action Programmes. She led the Euro Lung Consortium, which involved UCD and the Universities of Edinburgh, Nottingham, Siena and Leiden.

Medical students are highly encouraged to independently seek out projects related to respiratory medicine. If your project falls within that remit, please complete the Clare O'Connor Application Form (SSRA student hub) and submit it to ssra@ucd.ie for review by September 2nd 2024.


Deadline September 2nd 2024.


The selection of the successful student/project for this award is based on an interview process where shortlisted students each present their research projects proposal and a 3 minute question and answer session with a panel of UCD academics and clinicians.

About the Kathleen Lynn Summer Student Scholarship

This annual award is in memory of Dr. Kathleen Lynn (b. 1874-d.1955), a remarkable medical graduate of UCD/St Cecilia at the end of the 19th century. Her extraordinary life is detailed in her biography - Kathleen Lynn: Irishwoman, Patriot, Doctor by Margaret O’hOgartaigh. Dr Lynn was Chief Medical Officer in James Connolly’s Citizen Army, a revolutionary who occupied Dublin’s City Hall in the Easter Week Rising of 1916 and was imprisoned and deported to Britain. Later, she was elected as a Sinn Fein TD in the 1918 and 1923 elections. She performed pioneering medical work in St. Ultan’s Hospital Dublin, which she co-founded with Dr Dorothy Stopford-Price and was a leader in the prevention and care of tuberculosis in children. A Lecture Theatre in the UCD Health Sciences Centre is named in her honour.

The annual award of the “Kathleen Lynn Summer Student Scholarship in the History of Medicine/Humanities in Medicine” to the value of €2,000, will be made to one UCD medical student each year, who is sponsored conjointly by the UCD School of Medicine and the UCD Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland, UCD School of History. (The applicant can work with another School in UCD College of Arts and Humanities).

 

Who is eligible?

Any UCD medical Students enrolled in either the UEM or GEM programmes.

 

How to apply?

UCD medical Students must email the following to: ssra@ucd.ie

 

1. Personal statement detailing your interest in the History of Medicine (250 words maximum). Please include the topic you wish to investigate for your SSRA project and why. Examples of topics include: history of epidemic disease in Ireland (such as polio, 1918 flu pandemic, Tuberculosis (TB)), history of chronic diseases such as cancer, or the history of psychiatry in Ireland. These are examples only to provide applicants with some guidance.

2. Short CV (max 2 pages)    

 

Student applications will be assessed by members of the SSRA Committee and a representative from the UCD Centre for History of Medicine in Ireland. A formal virtual interview process will take place in April and a student will be chosen for the Scholarship.

 

Deadline

Monday, March 4th 2024

 

Questions?

Please contact: ssra@ucd.ie

The annual award of the UCD School of Medicine SSRA Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Medicine scholarship to the value of €2000 will be made to a UCD School of Medicine student for excellence in research relating to the use of AI in human medicine.

Advancements in AI are rapidly reshaping many areas of medicine including Radiography and imaging analysis, cancer research and personalised clinical care, the diagnosis and disease prediction of cardiovascular and respiratory disease to name but a few. AI algorithms and other applications powered by AI are being used to support medical professionals in decision making and in ongoing biomedical research.

Deadline April 24th 2024

Who is eligible?

This scholarship is open to any School of Medicine student including Medicine (UEM, GEM), RUMC, Radiography, BHLS and Physiology. Projects can be in any area of medicine that fall within the remit of AI. Students must register for the 2024 SSRA programme and present their research at the SSRA Poster and Gold Medal events.

How to apply?

Applicants should email the following to: ssra@ucd.ie

  1. Statement on why you and your project should be chosen for this scholarship (300 words maximum). SSRA Project Number must be included.
  2. Short CV (max 1 page)

The selection of the successful student/project for this award is based on an interview process where shortlisted students each present their research projects proposal (5mins) and a 3 minute question and answer session with a panel of UCD academics and clinicians.

This area will contain general information as the programme progresses in 2024.

For further information on the programme, please email ssra@ucd.ie

 

SSRA Launch Slides: SSRA 2024 - Launch

SSRA Forms

 
SSRA Student Project Application Form (2024) 

Form

Due Date

Description
SSRA Induction Book (2024) No due date - For information only This booklet is for student information
SSRA Key Dates (2024) No due date - For information only Key Dates for student information
SSRA Module Registration Form (2024) Friday 24th May 2024 This form should be submitted as a PDF email to ssra@ucd.ie
Alfred Myles Bursary Application Form (2024) n/a This form will only be sent to students with projects that are within the Bursary remit
Abstract Submission Form (2024) 7th August 2024 This form is to be submitted as a portion of your abstract submission
Abstract Guide and Guidelines (2024) n/a This guide MUST be followed to correctly format your Abstract.
Initial Meeting Form (2024) n/a This form should be completed by you and your supervisor at the START of your project. It should be included within your research report (credit students)
SSRA Ethics Conformation Form (2024) 7th August 2024 To be submitted electronically as one PDF with your research report (credit students)
SSRA Research Report Cover Page 7th August 2024

To be included with your Research Report submission, as one PDF
SSRA Research Report Checklist 7th August 2024 To be submitted electronically as one PDF with your research report (credit students)
SSRA Supervisor Review Form For Research Report (2024) 2nd September 2024 For Supervisors Only. Following the completion of your students SSRA project, can you please complete and sign the following assessment form and forward in PDF format to ssra@ucd.ie
Student Testimonial Form (2024) Due on return from your SSRA international Project This form is to be completed and sent as PDF to ssra.international@ucd.ie, must cc ssra@ucd.ie in email. FOR DEAN'S SCHOLARSHIP PROJECTS ONLY
SSRA Module Descriptor MDSA 30280 (2024) No due date - For information only This form is for student information
SSRA Module Requirements for 5 Credit and Audit (2024) No due date - For information only This form is for student information
SSRA Research Report Guidelines Grading Rubric No due date - For information only This document highlights all necessary requirements for the research report
Clare O'Connor Scholarship Application Form (2024) 2nd September 2024 Application for Clare O’Connor Summer Student Scholarship in Respiratory Research 
Kathleen Lynn Scholarship Application Form (2024)  Friday, March 3rd 2023  Application for the Lynn Summer Student Scholarship in the History of Medicine/Humanities in Medicine. 
SSRA Student Project Application Form (2024) No due date for this document This form should be completed and sent to potential Supervisors when applying for projects