Research Ireland fellowships to support enterprise-engaged research

Research addressing sustainable aviation, elite sport performance, and therapies for vision loss among 46 projects funded.

Research Ireland has today announced €4.4 million to support 46 fellowships across all disciplines under its Enterprise Fellowship programme. This co-funded programme enables researchers to gain experience beyond academic settings through defined research collaborations, while providing enterprise partners with access to academic knowledge and skills relevant to their interests.

Dr. Diarmuid O’Brien, CEO of Research Ireland, commented:

The high level of participation in the Research Ireland Enterprise Fellowship programme illustrates a strong appetite across disciplines and sectors for meaningful collaboration between academia and enterprise. This investment supports the mobility and development of research talent by giving researchers experience across both academic and enterprise settings, and enabling the flow of knowledge and skills in both directions. Through these awards, we are supporting the development of solutions to real-world challenges while strengthening connections across Ireland’s research and innovation ecosystem. This is delivering on our recently launched strategy’s ambition to grow Ireland’s talent base, economy, and society.

The 2025 programme was delivered through two streams – a partnership stream, and a placement stream – each designed to support different modes of research in collaboration with enterprise partners.

The partnership stream supports researchers to undertake full-time research in an eligible research body while working in close partnership with enterprise. 15 proposals were awarded under the partnership stream, with a total investment of €1.3 million.

Some of this year’s partnership stream awardees include:

• Loriane Murphy (South East Technological University), who will work with Green Restoration Ireland Cooperative Society Ltd. to assess the health of Irish peatlands through analysing soil biodiversity, supporting improved restoration efforts and sustainable land management practices; 

• De Van Vo (University of Limerick), who will work with Eli Lilly & Co to co-design interactive simulations that support inclusive, inquiry-based STEAM education in post-primary schools; 

• Tess McCann (University College Dublin), who will work with Fighting Blindness to study the mechanisms that lead to retinal regeneration, supporting the future development of therapies for vision loss. 

Under the Placement stream, 31 awards were made, representing a total investment of €3.1 million. The placement stream enables researchers to pursue research on placement with enterprise partners worldwide. 

Some of this year’s Placement stream awardees include: 

• Conall McNamara (Trinity College Dublin), who will work with SMBC Aviation Capital to assess the policy, economic and environmental impacts of sustainable aviation fuels, supporting evidence-based pathways to low-carbon aviation; 

• Andrew McGeever (Atlantic Technological University), who will work with Orreco Ltd. to assess how factors such as sleep, competition and sex-specific differences influence recovery and inflammation biomarkers in athletes, improving understanding of injury risk; 

• Grace Colley (Dublin City University), who will work with AstraZeneca to use AI to identify and prioritise digital biomarkers to support personalised cancer treatment; 

• Ehren Dixon (Tyndall National Institute), who will work with Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) to improve biosensor performance diagnostics, supporting the development of reliable sensors across environmental, healthcare and industrial settings; 

• Cydney Thompson (Maynooth University), who will work with HIV Ireland to develop a community-led national archive shaped and governed by people impacted by the ongoing HIV and AIDS epidemic in Ireland.  

40 distinct enterprise partners are supporting this year’s awardees, and span small, medium and large enterprises, both indigenous and international, as well as not-for-profit bodies and charities. 

The 46 awardees stem from 13 institutions nationwide: Atlantic Technological University (1), Dublin City University (5), Maynooth University (3), RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences (4), South East Technological University (2), Teagasc (1), Technological University Dublin (2), Trinity College Dublin (5), Tyndall National Institute (2), University College Cork (4), University College Dublin (10), University of Galway (5), University of Limerick (2). 

A full list of awardees and project titles is available below.