Four UCD early-career researchers receive coveted ERC Starting Grants
4 September 2025
Clockwise from top left: Dr Graham Benham, Dr Mary O'Keeffe, Dr Kevin Daly and Dr Lucía Tiscornia
Four early-career academics from UCD have received prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grants to support their research.
The awardees will each receive over €1.5 million for their respective research projects, which explore the topics of long-term pain, criminal governance, infectious livestock disease and wave technology.
The recipients are among 478 early-career researchers selected by the ERC from across Europe. A total funding of €761 million was awarded to help them launch their own projects, build research teams and pursue promising ideas.
(opens in a new window)Dr Mary O’Keeffe from the UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science was awarded for her project PainSupportLink, which will explore the links between social disadvantage and chronic pain.
“Long-term pain doesn’t just hurt, it can take over your whole life – from sleep and movement to friendships and hobbies,” explained Dr O’Keeffe.
“This project is about connecting medical treatment with real-world support, to give people a fairer chance to live well with less pain. The research will be co-designed with patients and tested in a clinical trial, and if successful, will deliver a scalable model of equitable, people-centred care that could be adapted across health services in Ireland and beyond.”
(opens in a new window)Dr Lucía Tiscornia from the UCD School of Politics and International Relations received the grant for her project CRIMLATAM, which will explore how criminal organisations such as gangs, mafias and drug cartels operate in Argentina, Chile and Costa Rica.
“CRIMLATAM aims to show how criminal groups adapt and operate in unexpected environments,” said Dr Tiscornia.
“The project will improve our understanding of one of the most persistent challenges for democracies today and aims to demonstrate that governments can make choices that reduce the societal impact of criminal organisations.”
(opens in a new window)Dr Kevin Daly from the UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science was awarded for his project HERDPATH, which will use DNA molecules from thousands-of-years-old sheep and goat remains to reveal how infectious diseases adapted to their hosts and how livestock adapted in return.
“Animal-specific diseases have been neglected in our studies of how pathogens have affected human societies,” said Dr Daly.
“The project will shed light on how the diseases that blight livestock farming societies today evolved and adapted, allowing us to identify genetic targets for breeding disease-resistant animals and potentially new ways to proactively fight infectious livestock disease.”
(opens in a new window)Dr Graham Benham from the UCD School of Mathematics and Statistics received the grant for SurFSUP, a project that investigates wave-driven propulsion – the way in which a floating body, such as a water snake, propels itself forward by generating surface waves.
“Wave-driven propulsion has the potential to revolutionise engineering applications,” Dr Benham explained.
“The SurFSUP project will reveal how we can harness waves for propulsion, with the goal of unlocking new technologies for sustainable transport, environmental cleanup, and smart farming.”
To date, UCD has secured 39 main ERC grants under the Horizon Europe Programme – approximately 45 per cent of the national ERC total for the programme.
“Congratulations to the four UCD academics who have received ERC Starting Grants,” said Professor Kate Robson Brown, UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact.
“Their innovative projects promise to make major contributions to their fields and address critical scientific and societal challenges. We look forward to following the progress of these outstanding researchers.”
By: Rebecca Hastings, Digital Journalist, UCD University Relations
To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie
