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NatPro executive director Dr Gaia Scalabrino attended the launch of Bioeconomy Ireland Week 2022 on Monday 17th October.

Dr Gaia Scalabrino spoke with Silicon Republic about how to achieve start-up success.

Prof Helen Sheridan and Dr Gaia Scalabrino presented NatPro research at the Cashel Arts Festival 2022 which took place from 15th to 18th September in Cashel, Co. Tipperary.

A large delegation of NatPro researchers attended the 70th International Congress and Annual Meeting of the Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research (GA), participating in both oral and poster presentations.

The NatPro team have been attending international conferences this year as face to face events have made a comeback.

Dr Helen Sheridan speaks to Silicon Republic about the work she is doing on the boglands of Ireland and the importance of citizen science.

Congratulations to the winners of the first Natures Pharmacy NatPro awards at this years SciFest@College STEM fair, held in TUS Midlands in Athlone on 6th April.

NatPro is delighted to collaborate on Irelands Knowledge Centre for Carbon and Climate (IKC3), an innovative climate action multi-million euro project awarded under the Human Capital Initiative (HCI), as announced by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris.

NatPro founder and Academic Director Dr. Helen Sheridan was privileged to be invited to give an ‘inspirational lecture’ today, to the students and staff at The Women’s University of Multan in Pakistan, to mark the ‘International Day of Women and Girls in Science’. The lecture entitled ‘It’s the Journey that counts, not the Destination. Reflections and insights on a maternal and academic odyssey’, reflects Helen’s scientific and personal journey from being a childhood scientist, to a Trinity Academic and a founder of the TCD NatPro Centre.

NatPro, the Trinity Centre for Natural Products Research, based at the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, is delighted to have been awarded Green Certification by My Green Lab."NatPro worked hard to find ways that they could green their lab and did an outstanding job, achieving a Green Level certification. NatPro is the second lab in Ireland to achieve our highest level of certification and we look forward to supporting the dozens of other Irish labs currently in the program. And for those wanting to make your lab more sustainable – come join the My Green Lab Community!" said Dr Rachael Relph, Chief Sustainability Officer at My Green Lab. This undertaking, inspired by TCD’s commitment to promote green practices, follows on from NatPro team effort with support from colleagues in the School, TCD Sustainability Office, TCD Green Lab Committee and across College. Professor Yvonne Buckley, incoming VP Biodiversity and Climate Action, said "Laboratory research has contributed solutions to many global challenges and it is inspiring to see labs expand their positive impact by increasing the sustainability of their world-class research. I heartily congratulate the NatPro Lab team on their outstanding achievement in providing innovative natural products research together with reducing their impact on the environment."

NatPro offers a module on the Boglands of Ireland to second level schools. Developed to flexibly integrate into a school’s Transition Year Programme, it is designed to communicate the importance of the bogland ecosystem and the potential of naturally occurring molecules to treat disease. The module recognises the historical, cultural and economic significance of the bogs in Ireland while educating on the increasingly acknowledged importance of the bogs in environmental protection and the need to consider peatlands in the development of climate change strategy and policy. The biodiversity of the bog habitat is unique. The module looks at biodiversity through the lens of medicine discovery and the importance of natural products as sources of leads for the drug development pipeline. The module is designed to be cross-disciplinary integrating history and geography with art and science and incorporates opportunities for discussion, workshops and practical elements. A special thank you to the Transition Year students of Sacred Heart School, Tullamore for inspiring us to name this module MindBOGgling while participating in a workshop with visiting NatPro researchers.

NatPro Directors Helen Sheridan and Gaia Scalabrino were recently interviewed by journalists from The Medicine Maker website to discuss the Trinity Centre for Natural Products Research (NatPro) and explain how nature can create molecules that go beyond the human imagination

Armed with records detailing how to make a love potion from the roots of tormentil and tales of the broadleaf plantain given healing properties by St. Patrick himself, what can a group of Trinity researchers at the NatPro Centre learn about the therapeutic benefits of plants and herbs from the written records of school children growing up in 1930’s Ireland?Join NatPro researchers Peter O Connell and Isa Woulfe for this free online event to celebrate EU Researchers Night 2021 When: Thursday 23 September 19:30 - 20:30 IST. Please click on the image to brought to our registration page

The Nature’s Pharmacy NatPro award will be open to all second level student this coming academic year.Regional Awards will be presented at three SciFest@College 2022 venues: Athlone IT, Carlow IT and LIT Thurles The Nature’s Pharmacy NatPro award shall be bestowed to the SciFest project that best exhibits: 1. Using scientific thought and imagination to find a positive and innovative solution to a challenge or an unanswered question related to, but not limited to, subjects of agricultural science, physics, biology, chemistry and scientific literacy in relation to Irish boglands or plants or medicinal cures. 2. Using creativity and technical skills to form experimentation or research data to answer a clear hypothesis or research question. 3. A clear understanding of the project undertaken

NatPro director Professor Helen Sheridan was invited to give a keynote lecture at the recent 69th International Congress and Annual Meeting of the Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research. Professor Sheridans talk titled Unlocking Natures Pharmacy from plant to product: An academic odyssey gave a review of her career to date culminating in the establishment of the NatPro Centre for Natural Products Research in 2020

Dr. Junying Liu a Marie Skłodowska Curie Career FIT research fellow based in the NatPro Centre for Natural Products Research was selected to present work related to her research titled Exploiting algal cell factories with systems biology for biopharmaceutical production at the recent European Conference on Marine Natural Products held recently in Galway

NatPro directors Dr. Helen Sheridan and Dr. Gaia Scalabrino along with Postdoctoral Research Fellows Dr. Junying Liu and Dr. Shipra Nagar are interviewed by Sylvia Thompson of the Irish Times

NatPro, the new Trinity Centre for Natural Products Research, based at the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, attended the 1st meeting of the National Bioeconomy Forum. Minister of State in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Martin Heydon T.D., along with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD, today provided the opening addresses of the National Bioeconomy Forum.The National Bioeconomy Forum aims to promote, support and advocate for the sustainable development of the Bioeconomy in Ireland in line with the progression of a circular economy, climate action and a climate-neutral, sustainable and innovative agri-food sector.

This publication highlights Trinitys achievements during Dr. Patrick Prendergasts tenure as Provost, 2011-21. The report features activities in education, research, innovation, global relations, philanthropy, capital development, sustainability, student experience, sports, and more. Dr. Sheridan shares her research on unlocking the potential of natural products for transformative health and societal gain

NatPro researchers have recently published a review article in Current Research in Biotechnology titled "The antiviral potential of algal-derived macromolecules". Authored by Dr. Junying Liu and Dr. Ismael Obaidi the article, with contributions from Dr. Shipra Nagar, Dr. Gaia Scalabrino and Prof. Helen Sheridan, examines the anti-viral potential of a range of polysaccharides, lectins, terpenes, alkaloids, carotenoids and sterols isolated from marine based micro- and macroalgae. This work reviews the most recent research on natural algae-derived macromolecules with antiviral activity towards prevalent viral infections and demonstrates how far the search for new bioactive compounds has progressed to bring such agents to market. This open access article is available at the following link J.Liu, I. Obaidi , S. Nagar, G. Scalabrino, H. Sheridan, . "The antiviral potential of algal-derived macromolecules". Current Research in Biotechnology. 2021, vol 3, p. 120-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crbiot.2021.04.003

NatPro, the new Trinity Centre for Natural Products Research, based at the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, was selected by SFI to take part in a pilot cohort undertaking a training in lean start-up methodologies, which concluded in June 2021. Prof. Helen Sheridan and Dr Gaia Scalabrino underwent the entrepreneurial training, which was carried out by the US National Science Foundation (NSF). NatPro was among 20 teams selected nationwide. Lean methodologies are set to accelerate the pathway from research to start-up.

Official launch of NatPro Centre for Natural Products Research

TCD Panel Discussion on My Green Lab

TCD Green Week – NatPro on Green Lab panel discussion

NATURE Reviews Drug Discovery, 2021, p1 - 17

Bogland project

Interview on Mooney Goes Wild, RTE RADIO 1