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Minister Announces Funding for Ireland’s Young Scientific Talent
Minister for Research and Innovation, Mr Seán Sherlock, TD, has announced €23 million in new funding to help support 40 of Ireland’s most promising young researchers to become fully independent.
The funding, awarded through Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) will help encourage Ireland’s young researchers to remain in Ireland, while also helping to attract excellent young candidates from other countries.
“Funding for researchers at the outset of their careers is an important element of the Government’s strategy for job creation in research and innovation under our Action Plan for Jobs. SFI’s funding schemes for early career researchers help ensure that excellent research with the potential for real economic and societal impact is properly supported in Ireland. Investment like this is important for Ireland’s developing international reputation for excellent research with impact. The 40 research projects being awarded by SFI today demonstrate the enormous talent
and potential that exists among Ireland’s young researchers.”
The €23 million in funding delivered by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, through SFI’s Starting Investigator Research Grant (SIRG) and Career Development Award (CDA) Programmes, will support researchers and post-graduate students working on projects in areas such as sustainable and renewable energy, cancer research, neurological disorders, immunology, microbiology, biotherapeutics and Wireless Networks.
SFI’s Starting Investigator Research Grant (SIRG) provides support for excellent postdoctoral researchers who wish to take steps towards a fully independent research career, while the Career Development Award (CDA) aims to support early and mid-career researchers who already hold a salaried, independent research post and who are looking to expand their research activities.
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Sean Sherlock TD, Minister of State, Department of Enterprise, Jobs & Innovation, Aoife Morrin, Researcher at DCU, Professor Mark Ferguson, Director General Science Foundation Ireland and Chief Scientific Adivisor to the Government
Potential Universal Blood Test for Cancer Discovered Professor Diana Anderson in the lab
Researchers from the University of Bradford have devised a simple blood test that can be used to diagnose whether people have cancer or not. The test will enable doctors to rule out cancer in patients presenting with certain symptoms, saving time and preventing costly and unnecessary invasive
procedures such as colonoscopies and biopsies being carried out. Alternatively, it could be a useful aid for investigating patients who are suspected of having a cancer that is currently hard to diagnose. Early results have shown the method gives a high degree of accuracy diagnosing cancer and pre-cancerous conditions from the blood of patients with melanoma, colon cancer and lung cancer.* The Lymphocyte Genome Sensitivity (LGS) test looks at white blood cells and measures the damage caused to their DNA when subjected to different intensities of ultraviolet light (UVA), which is known to damage DNA. The results of the empirical study show a clear distinction between the damage to the white blood cells from patients with cancer, with pre-cancerous conditions and from healthy patients. Professor Diana Anderson, from the University’s School of Life Sciences led the research. “These are early results completed on three different types of cancer and we accept that more research needs to be done; but these results so far are remarkable,” said Professor Anderson. “Whilst the
Irish Researchers Create Wearable Sensors Using Rubber Bands
Researchers at AMBER, the Science Foundation Ireland funded materials science centre and the School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin, have discovered a method of creating wearable sensors by adding graphene to shop- bought rubber bands; the first time this has ever been achieved worldwide. Researchers at the University of Surrey have also been collaborating on the project. The team, led by Professor Jonathan Coleman, one of the world’s leading nanoscientists, infused rubber bands with graphene, a nano-material derived from pencil lead which made the rubber bands electrically conductive without degrading the mechanical properties of the rubber. Tests showed that, any electrical current flowing through the graphene-infused rubber bands was very strongly affected if the band was stretched. As a result, if the band is attached to clothing, the tiniest movements such as breath and pulse can be sensed.
The discovery opens up a host of possibilities for the development of wearable sensors from rubber, which could be used to monitor blood pressure, joint movement and respiration. Other applications could apply in the automotive industry (sensitive airbags); in robotics, in medical device development (to monitor bodily motion), as early warning systems for cot death in babies or sleep apnoea in adults. They could also be woven into clothing to monitor athletes’ movement or for patients undergoing physical rehabilitation.
Professor Jonathan Coleman, AMBER, said, “Sensors are becoming extremely important in medicine, wellness and exercise, medical device manufacturing, car manufacturing and robotics, among other areas. Biosensors, which are worn on or implanted into the skin, must be made of durable, flexible and stretchable materials that respond to the motion of the wearer. By implanting graphene into rubber, a flexible natural material, we are able to completely change its properties to make it electrically conductive, to develop a completely new type of sensor. Because rubber is available widely and cheaply, this unique discovery will open up major possibilities in sensor manufacturing worldwide.” Corresponding author, Dr Alan Dalton from the University of Surrey continued, “Until now, no such sensor has been produced that meets needs and that can be easily made. It sounds like a simple concept, but our graphene-infused rubber bands could really help to revolutionise certain aspects of healthcare.” The paper, Sensitive, High Strain, High-rate, bodily motion Sensors based on Graphene-Rubber Composites, written by AMBER researchers along with collaborators from the University of Surrey is available at:
http://ilmt.co/PL/jAL
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numbers of people we tested are, in epidemiological terms, quite small, in molecular epidemiological terms, the results are powerful. “We’ve identified significant differences between the healthy volunteers, suspected cancer patients and confirmed cancer patients of mixed ages at a statistically significant level of P<0.001. This means that the possibility of these results happening by chance is 1 in 1000. We believe that this confirms the test’s potential as a diagnostic tool.” A clinical trial is currently underway at Bradford Royal Infirmary investigating the effectiveness of the LGS test in correctly predicting which patients referred by their GPs with suspected colorectal cancer would, or would not, benefit from a colonoscopy – currently the preferred investigation method. *The research is published online in FASEB Journal, the US journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
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BLMA Laboratory Management Training Course
The British Laboratory Managers Association has announced the dates for the next laboratory management training course. It will be held at Brownsover Hall hotel, Rugby on 8th & 9th October 2014. The course which has already been run successfully twice before in 2013 is specifically aimed to help current and aspiring laboratory managers deal with the challenges they face in managing people in a modern day laboratory. Topics covered include: The background against which we manage people in 2014; Practical leadership skills; Communication in the workplace; Working with others; Managing change Group working and small workshops will give the maximum opportunity for the exchange of ideas and to develop solutions with the emphasis on useful techniques that can be applied in day to day work. The sessions will be practical, relevant and fun! Delegates come away with practical plans they can implement. Previous attendees post event comments have included: “Well organised and really useful content; “The content was excellent; “All relevant, especially workshop for change management; “Communication skills and understanding change management were most useful.” For more information on the course, to read a report on previous courses or the BLMA, visit
www.blma.co.uk
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