Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD, has today announced an investment of €7.9 million in 80 research projects under the Irish Research Council’s enterprise programmes. Seven projects in partnership with RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences have been funded under the programmes.

Through these co-funded programmes, postgraduate or postd—octoral researchers develop new, advanced knowledge and skills linked with industry and employer needs. The Enterprise Partnership Scheme provides researchers with the opportunity to pursue full time research in collaboration with an enterprise partner while based at a higher education institution, while the Employment-Based Postgraduate Programme supports researchers to undertake research based in and employed by their employment partner.

RCSI projects awarded funding under the IRC’s enterprise schemes this year are:

Enterprise Partnership Scheme – Postgraduate 

• Jen Balfe, Division of Population Health Sciences, will conduct a study of the experience of fertility and maternity care for people with cystic fibrosis. The project is, supported by Cystic Fibrosis Ireland with Dr Aisling Walsh as the RCSI supervisor.
• Dr Olga Piskareva, Department of Anatomy and Regenerative Medicine, will supervise two projects:
  — Erin Coll, , will investigate modelling the tumour immune microenvironment in drug-resistant neuroblastoma using a 3D spheroid tumour-on-a-chip model, supported by the Conor Foley Neuroblastoma Cancer Research Foundation.
  — Ronya Struck, will research advanced humanised 3D in vitro systems for modelling immune response and testing novel therapies for children with neuroblastoma. This project is also in partnership with the Conor Foley Neuroblastoma Cancer Research Foundation.
• Alejandra Rodriguez-Sosa, School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, will investigate the application and functional validation of a Machine-leArninG based approach for identification of Novel therapEutic Targets in Colorectal cancer – MAGNET. The enterprise partner is Novartis Ireland and Dr Sudipto Das is the RCSI supervisor.
• Claire Sweeney, Molecular Medicine, will investigate the unlocking the therapeutic potential of quinoa for treatment of intestinal inflammation. Supported by Glanbia Ireland DAC, the RCSI supervisor is Dr Stephen Keely.

Enterprise Partnership Scheme – Postdoctoral

• Dr Sukhraj Pal Singh Dhami, School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, will conduct research into Coagulation-Cancer crosstalk to understand the role of low molecular weight heparin in breast cancer metastasis. Supported by enterprise partner LEO Pharma with Dr Jamie O'Sullivan as the RCSI supervisor.

Employment-Based Postgraduate Programme

• In partnership with RCSI School of Physiotherapy and supervised by Prof. Frances Horgan, Joyce O'Riordan, based at HSE South, will study Improving Quality of Life for Palliative Care Patients and their caregivers with an early and ongoing personalised rehabilitative physiotherapy programme in a primary care setting.

Announcing the investment today, the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD, said: “Talent and innovation are key priorities of my department and will be increasingly important to build a sustainable 21st century economy. This investment will further boost the skills and knowledge pipeline for innovation in industry and employers. I am delighted to see both multinational companies and indigenous industry reflected in this year’s enterprise awards. I want to acknowledge the co-funding that partners are bringing to the awards, indeed the public-private partnership dimension to the programmes brings higher education institutions, industry and employers together and cultivates longer-term collaborations of benefit to all.”

Professor Fergal O’Brien, Director of Research and Innovation, RCSI, said: “Working in close partnership with enterprise, including public-sector agencies and non-governmental organisations, is central to our translational research strategy at RCSI. I welcome the co-funding announced today by Minister Harris under the Irish Research Council’s enterprise programmes which will facilitate seven important collaborative health research projects. I congratulate the successful recipients, and I look forward to outcomes of their research that will inform future care for people with Cystic Fibrosis, neuroblastoma, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, intestinal inflammation, and those in palliative care.”

Enterprise or employment partners interested in participating in the next phase of the programme should contact RCSI’s Innovation Team to discuss partnership opportunities within RCSI.

Benefits of enterprise/employer research collaborations 
A survey conducted by the IRC of past and current partners confirmed the key benefits of these funding programmes for enterprise and employers.

The most cited reason for engaging with the IRC’s enterprise programmes among survey respondents was to “facilitate research relevant to business and operation needs”, with the second most cited reason being because they “offer excellent value for money, maximising shared benefits”.

Commenting today on the announcement of the latest round of awards, Peter Brown, Director of the IRC, said: “Ensuring the benefits of new knowledge and talent, across all disciplines, are shared as widely as possible is a key part of our mandate, and our enterprise programmes have always been a key part of our funding portfolio. Whether supporting the expansion of R&D in large-scale industry, boosting SMEs or helping to drive social or cultural innovation, the schemes provide a range of benefits for all participants. The contexts for researchers to make new discoveries and apply state-of-the-art knowledge go well beyond academia, and the diversity of organisational partners in this year’s cohort of awards is testament to the opportunities that are being grasped by enterprise, employers, the awardees and their host institutions.”

Visit the Irish Research Council website for additional key findings from their survey.