PREVIOUSLY SUCCESSFUL RESEARCHERS

Dr Mark Coughlan, Lecturer/Assistant Professor (Ad Astra Fellow) School of Earth Sciences, University College Dublin

Mark did a Postdoc in UCD from April 2020 to March 2022 in the UCD School of Civil Engineering He was successful in securing an Irish Research Council Enterprise Partnership Scheme Posdoctoral Fellowship in 2019 and has since moved into a lectureship in UCD

"My experience has been an immensely positive and nurturing one Being an Award Holder gave me the opportunity to meaningfully collaborate with a supportive industry partner in developing research that was immediately applicable to current, real-world challenges The Award allowed me the freedom to foster further research collaborations with national research centres and expand my network across academia and industry. Being an Award Holder has given me the research experience, diversity and independence to reach a professional maturity necessary to achieve my long-term career goals"

Lynne was successful in securing an Irish Research Council Enterprise Partnership Scheme Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2014 and has since moved into a lectureship in UCD where she continues to use her link with the industry partner in her research

“I applied for this fellowship while working as a Research Associate in Human Assisted Reproduction Ireland (HARI) My IRC project ‘Molecular assessment of cryopreserved ovarian tissue and in vitro culture of primordial follicles and oocytes’, with HARI as my enterprise partner, allowed me to bridge the gap between clinical and biomolecular research. Obtaining this fellowship has significantly enhanced my academic career It enabled me to prepare high impact publications in the field of reproductive biology It allowed me to develop international collaborators, further developing my professional maturity. It facilitated my participation in high quality international and national conferences, which significantly enhanced my academic profile Since receiving this fellowship I have obtained an Assistant Professor position in the UCD School of Medicine In addition, I have received two IRC New Foundation Awards and over €300,000 in industry linked funding, including a Merck Serono Grant for Fertility Innovation and a SFI Technology Innovation Development Award As such, this fellowship was imperative for my development as an independent researcher”

Mohammad spent two years in UCD as a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, funded by the Irish Research Council His research focus was mainly on computer simulation of bio-materials. He was then awarded an SFI Industry Fellowship with ALMAC Discovery in Belfast, NI

“Towards the end of this research experience, I introduced the idea of an SFI industry fellowship to my academic host and asked him for valuable links with industry in our field of interest. He suggested a pharmaceutical company, ALMAC Discovery, and encouraged me to get in touch with [our contact there] Discussing different subjects with him, based on the experiences I had gathered by then, we were able to perfectly match my potential and expertise to their research efforts on drug discovery I prepared the proposal under their supervision applied for the fellowship and started my exciting experience at ALMAC, located in Belfast (NIR) In this environment I am involved in several projects aimed at finding drug compositions for cancer treatment. As a computational chemist, I joined a team focused on the prediction of the best suitable compound possible by means of in-silico studies Our unit is then supposed to share the results with the chemistry and biology groups which eventually test the proposed compound making use of in-vitro and in-vivo systems for a complete evaluation At ALMAC, I got acquainted with industry challenges, their problem-solving methodology and mindset I believe this experience combined with the chance of developing a network within the industrial realm will help me get a solid academic career and start potential university-industry collaboration in the near future Notwithstanding that for someone who wants to join the industrial research this one year adventure is also a great opportunity to develop the skills which many companies require”

Fariha Shaikh, Senior Lecturer, Dept of English Literature, University Birmingham

Fariha was a Postdoc in the School of English, Drama and Film in UCD and successfully secured an internship with the Irish Research Council in 2017 She is now based in the Dept of English Literature at the University of Birmingham.

"The IRC advertised for positions through their IRC mailing list Their internships are advertised to their fellows and not to those funded by other organisations I undertook a range of work while at the IRC, from data analysis, to writing position papers and strategy statements, helping with evaluation panels and organising career training events Other postdoc interns also worked in communications and on EU reports I started the IRC internship when I was five months into my one-year postdoc At the time, I knew that I needed more time to secure a book contract with a publisher and I knew that the chances of getting a full-time academic position were slim - the statistics speak for themselves Working at the IRC would both give me the time that I needed to develop a book proposal and give me experience of working in a research-related area. The internship gave me a clear understand of how national funding bodies work and the kinds of challenges facing universities and research environment in Ireland more broadly It also gave me time to think through my current book proposal and make way with my second project, and ultimately my current job."

Isaac has been working in the area of laser and plasma physics since 2009 He joined UCD in 2015 as a postdoctoral researcher and in 2017 secured a contract on an Enterprise Ireland Innovation Partnership Programme (IPP) project with SiriusXT, a UCD spin-out company based in Sandyford and is currently still working there

“I followed on from this work by winning an SFI Industry Fellowship to work directly with SiriusXT on optimising the source stability for their soft X-ray microscope. This was a natural progression as the IPP was fruitful and I felt that to further my industrial experience would enhance my skill set and further my expertise The fellowship gives you the freedom to join cutting edge industry in a role you can set, doing research which benefits the company with minimum risk, and gives you scope to gain direct expertise typically not available working within the bounds of traditional postdoctoral roles SiriusXT grew out of the Spectroscope research group in UCD which made them very easy to approach about the fellowship but the benefit of gaining an expert for minimal cost on a project designed in discussion with their team was very welcome I am now at the end of this SFI contract and SiriusXT have approached me about staying on with them directly as one of their science team I have gained invaluable experience working in an industrial setting, expanded my CV, gotten to share my expertise with the team I'm working with, and have had the time under this project to continue working on publications and undertake postdoctoral training courses through UCD and externally”

Mary is currently leading the HRB funded 3-year Hip FORGE project (Hip Fracture Outcome Recording and Geographic Equality) and Food Engineering, University College Dublin

"Through my work on the committee of the Irish Hip Fracture Database, I became aware of challenges including the absence of longer term recovery information within the audit. I began to work with Prof Catherine Blake and Dr Caitriona Cunningham, experienced hip fracture researchers in UCD, to design a package of work to address these challenges We collaborated with the National Office of Clinical Audit, clinicians, international partners and methodological experts to refine the proposal I chose to target the Health Research Board 'Applying Research into Policy and Practice' (ARPP) Postdoctoral Fellowship as it could support my career development as an academic physiotherapist as well as my goal to develop practical impactful solutions. I was awarded this fellowship in 2020 and started in the UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science in 2021 Holding this award has allowed me to develop my collaborations across Ireland and internationally, leading to ideas and concrete plans for future research proposals that aim to improve hip fracture care In practical terms, it has given me experience in managing a project budget, timeline and deliverables while also providing flexibility to pursue training in project management and specific research methods The ARPP Fellowship has a focus on professional development which I particularly value, and I have been supported with this by my mentor and the UCD Research Careers team."

Ming spent two years in UCD as a Postdoctoral Fellow Level II in the UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering and was then awarded the SFI Industry RD&I Fellowship in 2021

"Being an award holder of the SFI Industry RD&I Fellowship 2021, I had the great opportunity to collaborate with one of the biggest dairy industry partners in Ireland and to propose a framework of activities aimed at developing and employing Process Analytical Technology (PAT) for dairy processing applications while increasing future collaborative opportunities between academia and industry. This research has a direct impact on enhancing in-line quality control of dairy processing in the dairy industry with strong potential to reduce energy consumption and produce more consistent final products Therefore, this research work will also help the wider Irish dairy industry to achieve the overall goal of becoming a favoured supplier for high value-added foods and growing export markets in the face of tough international competition This project will be a stepping stone for long term collaboration between academia and industry My expertise in PAT and the experiences gained in dairy processing from this project will facilitate the establishment of a collaborative partnership between academia and industry including other food, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries for future collaborations in the research and development of dairy PAT”