Tony O'Halloran from Coláiste An Spioraid Naoimh, Bishopstown, Cork won the RCSI Award for the ‘Project with the Best Impact on Human Health' at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition in the RDS on Friday 12 January 2018. His winning project was entitled "Applications of Queuing Theory to the Public Orthodontic Treatment System".

The award was presented by Professor Leonie Young, Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, RCSI. Speaking at the awards ceremony Professor Young congratulated Tony on his success. "RCSI is delighted to be associated with the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, in particular the event's role in fostering an interest in human health. This exhibition is a fantastic platform for so many of Ireland's young talented students to develop their ideas and bring them to life on a national stage.

Tony is a very impressive young individual and his project was very informative and grounded in excellent science. It was well thought out and involved sophisticated application of a mathematical theory to gain insights into a public health issue relevant to Ireland."

Describing the project in his own words, winning student Tony O'Halloran said: "My project looks at the applications queuing theory to the Irish Public Orthodontic Treatment System (IPOTS). Queuing Theory is a branch of applied mathematics which uses probability theory and Markov chains to model queues. By creating a model of the IPOTS I was able to simulate the effects of potential policy changes. Currently there are no published methods of doing this other than trial and error. My project creates a highly accurate tool which allows decision makers to make more informed choices regarding public policy in healthcare."

The RCSI award for ‘Project with the Best Impact on Human Health' was awarded to the project with the best potential to impact on any area across the spectrum of human health and supports RCSI's role of developing healthcare leaders who make a difference worldwide and the College's mission to educate, nurture and discover for the benefit of human health.

The 54th BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition attracted 2,031 projects from 4,251 students across the island of Ireland, with every county represented by a submission.

RCSI is ranked among the top 250 (top 2%) of universities worldwide in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (2018) and its research is ranked first in Ireland for citations. It is an international not-for-profit health sciences institution, with its headquarters in Dublin, focused on education and research to drive improvements in human health worldwide. RCSI is a signatory of the Athena SWAN Charter.