Fourteen researchers from Trinity College Dublin have been awarded funding under the Research Ireland Frontiers for the Future programme. Their projects span diverse disciplines, addressing challenges in quantum systems, climate change, sustainable energy, medicine, and more.

Key Projects and Objectives

  • Michael Monaghan (Engineering): Developing advanced microscopy tools to study immune cell stiffness, linking it to behaviour and metabolism, to inform biomaterial design.
  • David Igoe (Engineering): Innovating soil-structure interaction models for offshore wind turbines to reduce risks and costs in wind energy development.
  • Binh-Son Hua (Computer Science): Creating photorealistic 3D content from text inputs using deep language understanding to make high-quality 3D content more accessible.
  • Silvia Caldararu (Natural Sciences): Modelling how plants and ecosystems adapt to environmental changes, improving predictions of climate change impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems.
  • Margaret Jackson (Natural Sciences): Mapping sediments of the former British-Irish Ice Sheet to enhance ice-sheet models and improve sea-level projections for community adaptation.
  • Larisa Florea (Chemistry): Combining 3D manufacturing and soft materials to create micro-tools with remote-controlled movement for applications like targeted drug delivery.
  • Aisling Dunne (Biochemistry and Immunology, Medicine): Exploring cell and tissue biopsies to validate potential new treatments for inflammatory diseases such as Irritable Bowel Disorder (IBD).
  • Graeme Watson (Chemistry): Investigating fluoride-ion batteries as a cost-effective, higher-capacity alternative to lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage.
  • Andrei Parnachev (Mathematics): Studying interactions within quantum systems to uncover the behaviour of strongly coupled particles, advancing fundamental physics.
  • Pete Akers (Natural Sciences): Analysing ancient peat bog plants to reconstruct drought histories and understand the resilience of bogs, critical for carbon storage and biodiversity.
  • Cormac McGuinness (Physics): Designing multifunctional molecules for nanodevices, enabling applications such as highly specific sensors or “electronic noses”.
  • Joanna McGouran (Chemistry): Developing innovative drug probes that detect and monitor drug activity more effectively, improving targeted treatments.
  • Mary Canavan (Biochemistry and Immunology, Medicine): Investigating Tissue Resident Memory T cells (TRMs) to understand their role in Rheumatoid Arthritis and disease flare-ups.

Recognition of Excellence

Prof Sinéad Ryan, Dean of Research at Trinity, said:

"I congratulate all the Trinity awardees. The breadth of disciplines represented reflects the research excellence across our university. These projects address pressing environmental, health, and technological challenges, and I look forward to seeing their progress in the coming years."

Government Endorsement

Patrick O’Donovan, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, added:

"I am delighted to announce the Research Ireland Frontiers for the Future projects. These high-risk, high-reward initiatives bring innovative ideas that will benefit business and society."

Funding and Duration

The funded projects, distributed across 12 research institutions, will run for two to four years, with individual grants ranging from approximately €580,000 to €825,000.