June 2015 PRESIDENT HIGGINS RECEIVES RECIPIENT OF THE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND YOUNG RESEARCHER AWARD

NUI Galway based researcher Dr. Elaine Dunleavy receives €1 million funding from Science Foundation Ireland 

President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, has today received Dr Elaine Dunleavy, NUI Galway, as the recipient of the Science Foundation Ireland President of Ireland Young Researcher Award (PIYRA) at Áras an Uachtaráin.

Accepting the award, Dr. Dunleavy said, “It is a great honour to receive this award which will enable me to recruit talented researchers and further my research effort in stem cell biology. My approach will utilise genetic manipulations in fruit fly stem cells, combined with state-of-the-art high-resolution imaging, to investigate genes and molecules that impact stem cell identity. This research will drive the development of stem cell therapies and the use of regenerative medicine to improve diagnosis and treatment of an aging population in Ireland.”

Dr. Dunleavy’s award will support her research in the field of genetics and will focus on gaining an increased understanding of how stem cells divide. Using state-of-the-art cell imaging techniques, data generated from this research will substantially improve our knowledge of mechanisms of genome stability in stem cells with implications for fertility, reproduction, aging, cancer and regenerative medicine.

Commenting on the award, Professor Mark Ferguson, Director General of Science Foundation Ireland and Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of Ireland, said, “PIYRA recognises outstanding researchers who, early in their careers, have shown exceptional potential to become a research leader of the future and achieved significant research accomplishments in areas of fundamental national and international importance. This initiative is one of Science Foundation Ireland’s programmes to support a new generation of top-tier early career researchers and assist them to build internationally competitive research careers in Ireland.”

PIYRA is Science Foundation Ireland's most esteemed award for researchers who have shown exceptional promise as possible future leaders in international research and are known for excellence in their field. Awardees are selected on the basis of exceptional accomplishments in science and engineering and on the basis of creative research projects that have attracted international acclaim.

ENDS