Government allocates €14.6m to early career researchers under SFI-IRC Pathway programme

Twenty-five projects backed across multiple disciplines

Life

Dr Ruth Freeman, SFI, with Pathway awardee, Dr Sujit Jung Karki, UCD School of Agriculture & Food Science

An investigation into the link between the microbiome and the developing brain, and the exploration of the habitability of Jupiter’s moons are among two projects among 25 to receive support through the SFI-IRC Pathway programme for early-stage researchers.

The SFI-IRC Pathway programme is a collaborative initiative between Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and the Irish Research Council (IRC) worth €14.6 million to back early-career research across all disciplines and to encourage a cohesive research ecosystem in Ireland. 

Commenting on the awards, Dr Ruth Freeman, director, science for society at Science Foundation Ireland, said: “We are delighted to work in partnership with our colleagues in the IRC to deliver the SFI-IRC Pathway programme. It provides targeted support to early-career researchers who will use the funding to pursue independent research at the frontiers of knowledge. Investment in these projects will generate novel discoveries and insights across diverse research topics, from environmental sustainability to disease treatment and prevention, to wireless network security.”

The awards will enable postdoctoral researchers to develop their career pathway and transition to become independent research leaders. The funding, covering a four-year period, will provide additional support for a postgraduate student who will be primarily supervised by the awardee.

Minister for Further & Higher Education, Research, Innovation & Science, Patrick O’Donovan said: “This Pathway funding will help facilitate a defined journey from post-doctoral research to independent researcher. Bridging this gap is a challenging but critical milestone, and the research selected for investment will address key challenges and opportunities, ranging from new therapies for Parkinsons to the development of sustainable supercapacitors.”

The 25 research projects will be funded through 13 research bodies, including Trinity College Dublin, Maynooth University, University College Cork, Tyndall National Institute, University College Dublin, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, and The National Institute for Bioprocessing Research & Training.

TechCentral Reporters

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