SFI Frontiers for the Future Programme to the value of €42m
A total of 62 grants valued at €42 million will be awarded to support research across 13 higher education institutions through Science Foundation Ireland’s Frontiers for the Future Programme.
Through the funding, 197 research positions will be supported, including 68 postdoctoral positions, 87 PhD students and 37 research assistants and other positions.
The programme was funded in collaboration with the Children’s Health Foundation (CHF) and Geological Survey Ireland (GSI).
The funding will allow Sheila McBreen of University College Dublin to build and launch a new Irish satellite to detect gamma-ray bursts, advancing the field of astrophysics, as well as building research capacity in the Irish space sector. Collaborators on this grant will include the European Space Agency and NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre.
While Robert Forster, Dublin City University, aims to create wire-free technology to treat conditions such as Parkinson’s, chronic pain and epilepsy. Current technology used to treat such conditions must be connected by wires to a power supply making the devices large and requiring regular charging, so removing the wires will lead to improved treatment options for patients.
Audrey Morley, University of Galway, will use the funding to pioneer a new approach to assess past climate change effects in the Arctic, providing a basis to resolve current climate debates on the stability of our global climate. This project is co-funded by Geological Survey Ireland.
Michael McAuliffe, Munster Technological University, aims to develop a low-cost, easy-to-use imaging system for identifying different types of microplastics. The hope is that the device will allow simpler and more widespread monitoring of microplastics which present a growing threat to marine life and human health.
A number of other research bodies will undertake projects, including the Children’s Health Ireland (CHI), Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Tyndall National Institute (TNI), and University College Cork (UCC).
“A key action of SFI’s strategy is to deliver 140 investigator grants every year to support excellent research and to attract top talent,” said Prof Philip Nolan, director general of Science Foundation Ireland. “The Frontiers for the Future programme is the primary mechanism to achieve this goal. It is vital that we invest in excellent and innovative research in Ireland. I would like to thank the Children’s Health Foundation and Geological Survey Ireland for collaborating on this programme with SFI, allowing us to fund projects which will have a significant impact in key areas.”
“Children’s Health Foundation is a proud partner of the Frontiers for the Future programme and is delighted to co-fund paediatric research projects that will benefit sick children throughout Ireland,” said Hugh Kane, interim chief executive, Children’s Health Foundation. “Working with SFI, we are able to leverage the funds we raise to deliver larger grants for research into childhood diseases and to develop kinder and more gentle treatments for sick children. Frontiers for the Future Programme plays a key role in enabling us to fund paediatric researchers in a highly innovative, collaborative manner with the potential to deliver impact whilst also providing opportunities for high-risk, high-reward research projects.”
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