Researchers at Maynooth University are to receive €4.8 million in funding to tackle a range of challenges, including crop resilience, water pollution, artificial intelligence, DNA and rising sea levels.
The funding is being awarded under Science Foundation Ireland’s Frontiers for the Future Programme.
Almost €2 million will be awarded to two separate projects led by researchers in the Department of Biology, Dr Fiona Walsh and Dr Karen English, with a further €2.9 million awarded to seven projects across a range of disciplines.
Dr Walsh’s research project looks at how antibiotic-resistant genes work to prevent antibiotics from working properly, with a view to designing new targets for new drug treatment.
The project led by Dr English focuses on a cell-based therapy – mesenchymal stromal cells – that is being investigated as a treatment for patients suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome. The research aims to understand why some patients respond while others do not and will focus on developing ways to enhance the cell therapy.
"Not only will these grants support research in important areas for Irish society, they will also fund 216 people in varying research positions across 10 Higher Education Institutes to further develop their research careers," said Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris. "We are investing in talent."
