Trinity College's Professor Orla Hardiman was named SFI Researcher of the Year
SFI Image of the Year Award Winner. Image: Mariana Oliveira Diniz
Clinical scientist Orla Hardiman was one of several researchers honored at the annual awards ceremony.
Professor Orla Hardiman of Trinity College Dublin (TCD) has been named Irish Researcher of the Year 2022 for his 'outstanding contribution' to our understanding of motor neuron disease and its treatment.
The Science Foundation of Ireland (SFI) today (21st November) announced the winners of its prestigious annual awards at the SFI Science Summit in Limerick. Held in person for the first time in two years, the event recognizes researchers for their contribution to Irish society.
Hardiman, a clinical scientist at TCD, is a leading authority on the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or motor neuron disease. It occurs when specialized nerve cells called motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord stop working properly.
After the award, Hardiman said that understanding the processes that drive neurodegeneration is the "last frontier" of neuroscience.
As scientific scientists aiming to solve the complexities and problems of human neurodegenerative diseases, our panels in Ireland specialize in how to effectively translate laboratory discoveries into new drugs. for patients. . with different disease subtypes," she said.
Our ultimate goal is to ensure that the right and needed drug therapies reach the right patients at the right time.
Professor Philip Nolan, Director General of SFI, said Hardiman, Professor and Director of Neurology at TCD, "has made an outstanding contribution to our understanding, treatment, and care of patients with motor neuron disease".
She is a researcher at FutureNeuro and SFI Adapt Research Center. Hardiman also founded and directed the National Clinical and Research Program for ALS and is the National HSE Clinical Director for Neurology.
"I am especially aware of my privileged function as a female chief in technological know-how and the significance of experiential mentoring of different younger girls as they juggle career, own circle of relatives life and research," added Hardiman.
The winners in the other 8 categories are:
SFI Early Career Researcher of the Year
SFI Early Career Researcher of the YT his award was given to Dr. Claire Gillan of TCD, who is an internationally renowned expert on mental illness. She was the first to show that patients with the obsessive-compulsive disorder tend to form habits – a finding that features in several undergraduate textbooks today.
SFI Commercialisation Award
Dr. Alison Liddy from the University of Galway won the SFI Commercialization Award. Liddy and her team are developing a new treatment for chronic pain without the usual addictive side effects of current treatments. It has the potential to not only transform the lives of chronic pain sufferers but also reduce reliance on prescription drugs.
SFI Best International Engagement Award
This award was presented to Professor Michael Morris of TCD and Amber, the SFI Research Center for Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research. Morris, a Professor of Surface and Interface Chemistry, has been recognized for his long-standing association and engagement with international companies, researchers, and policymakers.
SFI Outstanding Contribution to STEM Communication Award
This award was presented to Midlands Science CEO Jackie Gorman, who has been engaging with young people, parents, and other key STEM stakeholders since 2008. She runs Midlands Science, an education center based in Tullamore, to promote STEM and impact thousands of people every day – with a focus on people from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
SFI Industry Partnership Award
NexSys, led by Professor Andrew Keane of University College Dublin (UCD), won this award. On a mission to decarbonize Ireland's energy system, NexSys brings together researchers from across the island and connects them with key industry partners, policymakers, and communities to solve the challenges of a just transition to carbon. EirGrid and ESB have partnered with NexSys with a commitment to research and innovation for over 15 years.
SFI Mentorship Award
This prize was awarded to Professor Walter Kolch, Head of the Systems Biology Group at UCD, for his role in building a highly interdisciplinary and multinational research environment in Ireland. Kolch has supervised over 50 postdocs and 40 PhD students, providing his team with the tools and infrastructure to develop their independence early in their careers. Several of them have obtained various positions in academia and industry, while some have even started their own businesses.
SFI Engaged Research of the Year Award
Aoife Deane and Professor Brian Ó Gallachóir of MaREI, the SFI Research Center for Energy, Climate and Marine Research at UCC, won the award along with the rest of the Dingle Peninsula 2030 team. Dingle Peninsula in Kerry, the team is working on ways to address critical energy and climate challenges while building societal resilience and capacity.
SFI Research Image of the Year Award
This award was given to Mariana Oliveira Diniz, Ph.D. Candidate at SSPC, SFI Medicines Research Center based at the University of Limerick. In her research, Deniz studies the kinetics of microcrystalline nucleation in different solvents and at different scales.
The photo (pictured) was taken with a camera phone and shows the crystals that formed when a solution of microcrystalline (an antifungal drug used to treat skin infections) in acetonitrile was left to evaporate at room temperature under a fume hood for three days.
