17th June 2015
Minister English today announced funding of €1.5 million to support twenty new industry–academia research projects through SFI’s Industry Fellowship Programme. The programme places academic researchers in companies and industry researchers in Irish Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) to conduct research and to stimulate knowledge transfer between academia and industry.
Science Foundation Ireland supported research projects focus on research critical care monitoring for patients, aquaculture, drug delivery and medical devices
The programme is delivered by the Department of Jobs through Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). Announcing the funding, Minister English said, “Fostering strategic collaboration between companies and academic researchers is a key element of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs and the SFI Industry Fellowship programme is a key initiative in this regard. Leveraging the combination of cutting-edge research talent and leading industry expertise has the potential to deliver significant economic benefit through the commercialisation of research, new investment opportunities for industry and growth in STEM sector jobs. This type of collaboration is also an important contributor to Ireland’s credentials as a global research leader.”
The twenty projects announced involve both major multinational and small Irish companies in areas such as medicine and pharmaceuticals, materials science, data management, agriculture and aquaculture. Companies participating include AbbVie, Cellix Ltd, Genentech, Intel Ireland Ltd, Marine Harvest, Merck Millipore, Perkin Elmer, Pilot Photonics Ltd, Second Genome, Sigmoid Pharma and Tullow Oil.
Professor Mark Ferguson, Director General of Science Foundation Ireland and Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of Ireland said, “Most of the researchers funded by SFI programmes in the HEIs in Ireland progress to careers in the private sector. The SFI Industry Fellowship Programme offers them the possibility to conduct research in a company for a year to experience the commercial research environment. The company benefits by having highly trained researchers address research problems of importance and relevance to them, and by building links to relevant research groups in Irish HEIs. The SFI Industry Fellowship programme is of value to all companies: both large and small, and is key for strengthening the research eco-system and encouraging the movement of talented people between academia and industry. I am delighted that we have funded 20 SFI industry Fellowships across diverse companies and encourage more applications to the current call.”
Examples of projects supported:
- Dr Dorota Wencel from Dublin City University will partnerwith BlueBridge Technologies Ltd on the development of a critical care monitor for vulnerable patients.
- Dr Eugene Mahon from University College Dublin will partner with Sigmoid Pharma to advance state-of-the-art oral drug delivery.
- Dr Nicola Piana Agostinetti from the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies will partner with Tullow Oil on shallow crustal exploration using passive seismics to bridge the gap between academic research and industrial-scale applications.
- Dr Philip McGinity from University College Dublin will partner with Marine Harvest on a project focused on Salmon aquaculture and the environment.
SFI is now accepting applications from Researchers in Irish HEIs to partner with companies in Ireland and abroad under the 2015 SFI Industry Fellowship Programme. The purpose of the Industry Fellowship programme is to facilitate the bi-directional movement of academic and industry researchers. Fellowships can be awarded to academic researchers wishing to spend time in industry worldwide and to individuals from industry anywhere in the world (including Ireland) wishing to spend time in an eligible Irish Research Body. Fellowships of up to €120,000 - either full-time or part-time - are available. Industry Fellowship academic applicants can be at any level from Postdoctoral Researchers up to Professor. Industry applicants may be either based in Ireland or abroad. More information is available at www.sfi.ie
For further information, please contact:
Alva O’Cleirigh, Science Foundation Ireland, 087 9152553 or Niamh Bradley 01 607 3228
Piaras Kelly/David Callaghan, Edelman Piaras.kelly@edelman.com / David.Callaghan@edelman.com
01 678 9333
Notes to Editor:
SFI Industry Fellowship Programme Recipients
Lead Applicant | Academic Partner | Industry Partner | Proposal Title |
Marcus Claesson | UCC | Second Genome | Enhancing the potential of metatranscriptomics for elucidating the role of differential gene expression of lesional bacteria in inflammatory bowel disease |
Maciej Dobrzynski | UCD | AstraZeneca R&D | Discovery Sciences | Computational and experimental study of drug response variability in a collection of breast cancer cell lines cultured in 3D assays |
Philip McGinnity | UCC | Marine Harvest | Salmon Aquaculture and the Environment: An exploration by industry and academia of opportunities for collaborative research (primarily farm wild interactions) providing evidence based science to ensure credible methodologies for certification. |
Mark Tangney | UCC | Perkin Elmer | Bacteria, Tumours and Imaging |
Peter Fleming | TCD | Merck Millipore | Evaluating the effect of new poly (vinylidene fluoride) material characteristics on the structural properties of membranes produced via phase inversion |
David Duffy | UCD | Genentech | Single-cell RNA-seq of in vivo islet cell transdifferentiation: a systems medicine approach to future diabetes treatment strategies. |
Sean O'Duill | DCU | Pilot Photonics Ltd | Design of transmitters for Terabit/s capacity optical networks |
Nan Zhang | UCD | Cellix Ltd. | Development of cost-effective microfluidic flow cytometer using microinjection molding |
Anthony Ryan | TCD | SuprTecBox | Development and validation of data management modules and analysis pipelines for a Biobank Information Management System |
Eugene Mahon | UCD | Sigmoid Pharma | Multiparticulate Technology Development for Enhanced Oral Delivery of Pharmaceuticals |
Nicola Piana Agostinetti | DIAS | Geophysical Technology and Operations, Tullow Oil plc | Shallow crustal exploration using passive seismics: bridging the gap between academic research and industrial-scale applications |
Dorota Wencel | DCU | BlueBridge Technologies Ltd. | Development of a critical care monitor for vulnerable patients |
Martyn Pemble | TNI | IBM TJ Watson Research Center | Microcontact Printing of Organic Monolayers for the Selective Placement of Carbon Nanotubes |
Anna Rotondo | DCU | Intel Ireland Ltd | Simulation-based decision support systems for optimal operational management of black box manufacturing systems components |
Francesco Caiazza | UCD | Alaunus Bioscience | Developing Multiplex Substrate Profiling by Mass Spectrometry as a prognostic tool for colorectal cancer |
Graham O'Mahony | UCC | AbbVie | Process Transfer and Optimisation of an Extrusion/Spheronisation Process |
Gerard Wall | NUIG | Snowy Range Instruments | Development of a SERS-based point-of-care immunosensor incorporating recombinant antibodies |
Maria Chiara Leva | TCD | McAleer | The development of an integrated risk register for process safety performance improvement: A participatory trial |
Nora Balfe | TCD | Irish Rail | Identification of leading indicators for railway driver operations |
Lorena Monzon | TCD | Stryker Instruments | Surface Modification of Stryker Surgical Tools - MOST |
About Science Foundation Ireland
SFI funds oriented basic and applied research in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) which promotes and assists the development and competitiveness of industry, enterprise and employment in Ireland. The Foundation also promotes and supports the study of, education in and engagement with, STEM and promotes an awareness and understanding of the value of STEM to society and in particular to the growth of the economy. See www.sfi.ie
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