Ross McKiernan, a HRB-funded PhD Scholar at RCSI, was recently awarded a Centennial Medal and a travelling studentship by the National University of Ireland (NUI) for his research on epilepsy.

His project on 'Cell and Molecular Pathogenesis of Experimental Epilepsy' investigates the gene-based regulation of neuronal cell death, and seizures in experimental epilepsy with a view to identifying novel therapeutics for the treatment of this common neurological disorder. The funding will enable Ross to carry out research contributing towards his PhD at the Robert S. Dow Neurobiology Laboratories, Legacy Research, Portland, Oregon.

Established in 1910, the Travelling Studentship Scheme is open to NUI graduates in all branches of the Sciences. It aims to encourage the most able students in the NUI to pursue research towards doctoral degrees in centres of excellence abroad.

Professor Kevin Nolan, Head of the School of Postgraduate Studies at RCSI, said: “I am delighted to see Ross receive this much deserved award. It is a credit to himself, and his supervisor, Dr David Henshall, as well as being testament to the success of the HRB funded PhD Scholars programme, introduced two years ago.”

Other RCSI students who were the recipients of NUI awards were Jan Griffin, third prize in the Dr H. H. Stewart Medical Scholarship in Pharmacology; Rory O’Donohue, third prize in the Dr H. H. Stewart Medical Scholarship in Psychiatry; Benjamin Dunne, second prize in the Dr H. H. Stewart medical Scholarship in Surgery and Emma Daly, first prize in the Dr H. H. Stewart Medical Scholarship in Physiotherapy.