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UCC awards celebrate excellence in research and innovation
A researcher using virtual reality and other cutting-edge technology to improve men's health, a spin-out company revolutionising how seizures are detected in newborns, and a palaeontologist who uncovered a fossil forgery were among the awardees honoured for their contributions to research and innovation at the 2024 University College Cork (UCC) Research and Innovation Awards, held at the Lewis Glucksman Gallery on Thursday, May 29th.
UCC is an internationally competitive, research-led university that plays a key role in the development of Ireland’s knowledge-based economy and provides the insight and understanding of the challenges facing our society. The UCC Research and Innovation Awards embrace this excellence in research, innovation, and entrepreneurial activity, across the entire university research community, spanning all disciplines.
Researchers were awarded across twenty-two categories, five of which recognise specific achievements in entrepreneurship and innovation.
Joint winners of the Research Career Achievement Award were Professor Caitriona O'Driscoll and Professor Alan Dobson. Professor O’ Driscoll was recognised for her pioneering contributions to non-viral RNA drug delivery, leadership in establishing Ireland’s first School of Pharmacy and regulatory science programmes, and her global impact on advanced therapeutics through research, mentorship, and policy engagement. Professor Alan Dobson was awarded for his outstanding and sustained contributions to environmental microbiology, research leadership, and science policy at national and international levels, exemplified by his influential roles across academia, government, and major scientific institutions.
Professor Tom Birkett from UCC’s School of English and Digital Humanities was named Researcher of the Year. Professor Birkett is recognised for research excellence throughout his career, in particular his exceptional work in Old Norse and early medieval studies. He was a recipient of a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant for his project "NORSEMAP" which examined how the image of Vikings has been used in modern times - sometimes by extremist groups - and how we can better understand and track these uses.
Dr Mohamad Saab is the recipient of the Vice President for Research & Innovation Award for Interdisciplinary Research. Based in UCC’s School of Nursing and Midwifery, Dr Saab was awarded for his innovative, high-impact research that uses virtual reality and other cutting-edge technology to improve men's health, particularly around the area of testicular cancer. In 2024, he led three key projects, most notably TRANSCEND-XR, a €6 million project funded by Horizon Europe. This initiative aims to improve how adolescent and young adult testicular cancer survivors understand and manage the long-term effects of treatment, using extended reality (XR) technology.
The UCC 180 Professor Adrian Dixon Prize for Postdoctoral Researcher of the Year was presented to Dr Valentina Rossi from UCC’s School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences (BEES). As a leader in her field, Dr Rossi is recognised for her outstanding contributions to palaeontology, particularly in the study of fossil soft tissues. Since completing her PhD in 2021, Dr Rossi has conducted an exceptional body of research, including a remarkable discovery in 2024 of a fossil forgery, revealed through a careful study using a suite of microbeam analytical techniques, leading to her article in the journal Palaeontology ranked among the top 5% articles of all time, garnering worldwide media coverage.
The award for Spin-out of the Year was awarded to Neurobell. Founded by Dr. Mark O’Sullivan, Dr. Alison O’Shea, and Colm Murphy in 2023, Neurobell is a spin-out from UCC and the Irish Centre for Maternal and Child Health Research (INFANT). The company aims to revolutionise seizure detection in newborns in NICUs, crucial for early intervention in brain injury cases like epilepsy and cerebral palsy. Neurobell is developing a pocket-sized wireless neonatal brain EEG monitor that utilizes embedded edge-AI, enabling seamless and expert-free monitoring, enhancing care without the need for extensive training. In 2024, Neurobell secured a €2.1 million investment led by Furthr VC, Atlantic Bridge, and HBAN MedTech Syndicate, with additional support from Enterprise Ireland and private investors. This funding will advance the development of their AI-powered medical device for real-time seizure detection in newborns, create 12 new jobs, and facilitate clinical studies in the USA.
Professor John F. Cryan, UCC Vice President for Research and Innovation at UCC said: “We are delighted to celebrate the award recipients of this year’s UCC Research and Innovation Awards. Our awardees’ achievements reflect the exceptional research and innovation culture that exists across the UCC campus. The quality of nominations was outstanding and speaks to the creativity, commitment, and impact of our research and innovation community. These awards not only honour individual excellence but also highlight how UCC research and innovation continues to lead and inspire on both a national and international stage."
The Awards are sponsored by PurdyLucey, one of Ireland’s top European Intellectual Property (IP) firms working across Irish, UK, European, US and international markets, and specialising in Life Science, Food Tech, Med Tech, High-Tech and Engineering projects.
The full list of UCC Research & Innovation Awards 2024 winners is:
| Award Category |
Winner |
| Research Career Achievement Award |
Professor Caitriona O'Driscoll Professor Alan Dobson |
| Researcher of the Year |
Professor Tom Birkett |
| Early-Stage Researcher of the Year |
Dr Sanathana Konugolu Venkata Sekar Dr Kian Mintz-Woo |
| Research Team of the Year |
Atlas of the Irish Civil War Research Team: Dr Helene O'Keeffe, Dr John Crowley, Dr Donal Ó Drisceoil, Dr John Borgonovo, Mike Murphy, Dr Andy Bielenberg, John Dorney, Charlie Roche |
| UCC 180 Professor Adrian Dixon PhD Student of the Year |
Niamh Guiry Prakriti Dasgupta |
| Dean of Graduate Studies PhD Student of the Year |
Cathal O'Connor |
| UCC 180 Professor Adrian Dixon Postdoctoral Researcher of the Year |
Dr Valentina Rossi |
| Research Supervisor of the Year |
Professor Guangbo Hao Brian Corbett |
| Research Communicator of the Year |
Dr Michelle McKeown |
| Research Image of the Year |
Brain Pipelines – Dr Jatin Nagpal, Dr María Aburto, Koushika Chandrasekaran, Lorena Morales García, Alexandre Jean Claude Cergneux Panorama Europa - Dr Luigi Lonardo, Professor Fiona Kearney, Claire Halpin |
| Research Support Person of the Year |
Niamh Mundow Jerry Deasy |
| Vice President for Research & Innovation Award for Interdisciplinary Research |
Dr Mohamad Saab |
| Best Publication of the Year - Undergraduate Author |
Ava McCoy |
| Research Award for Open Science |
Dr Lijuan Qian |
| Creating a Culture for Responsible Conduct of Research |
Dr Irene Kavanagh, Dr Aoife Coffey, Professor Orla Lynch, Dr Barry Monaghan, Professor Eric Moore, Professor Ronan Carbery, Professor Yvonne Nolan |
| The President's Award for Research Impacting the Sustainable Development Goals |
CAPACITY Project Team in the Energy, Policy & Modelling Group at MaREI: Professor Brian Ó Gallachóir, Professor Hannah Daly, Dr. Fionn Rogan, Dr. Paul Deane, Dr. Vahid Aryanpur, Dr. Tomas Mac Uidhir, Aisling Murphy, Bakytzhan Suleimenov |
| Engaged Research of the Year |
Hidden Grief Research Project: Dr Sharon Lambert, Dr Daniel O'Callaghan, Aaron Bolger, Mark Wright |
| Invention of the Year |
Raman for Lactate: Ray Burke, Dr Simon Toft Sorenson, Dr Jason Yang, Dr Rekha Gautam, Dr Huihui Lu – Tyndall; Professor Fergus McCarthy – Medicine/INFANT |
| Licence of the Year |
BarraLake: Professor Mark Hutchinson, Professor Philip O'Reilly, Dr John O’Brien, Dr Panos Kyziropoulos |
| Spin-out of the Year |
Neurobell – Dr Mark O’Sullivan, Dr Alison O’Shea, Colm Murphy |
| Consultancy of the Year |
Professor Hannah Daly |
| Start-up of the Year |
PrimaHealth - Danny McEnery |