September

 University of Galway hosts the 49th Sir Peter Freyer Memorial Lecture and Surgical Symposium, the largest Surgical Conference in Ireland this weekend.   The event offers a unique platform for healthcare professionals to present their research and clinical work and allows for merging of both scientific and clinical information.   The symposium is named in memory of the Galway-born surgeon, Sir Peter Freyer, who performed the first successful surgical operation to remove an enlarged prostate in 1900.     This year’s gathering will offer a forum to discuss the future of surgical training in Ireland and the implications of Sláintecare, the Government’s 10-year programme which was launched in 2018 to transform our health and social care services.   The symposium will hear keynote addresses from leading surgeons from America and Ireland, a focus on regionalisation, surgical care delivery and training and research and education sessions across the various surgical subspecialties.    Professor Keith Lillemoe, Surgeon-in-Chief and Chief of the Department of Surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and the W. Gerald Austin Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, will deliver the Memorial Lecture on Friday September 6th. Professor Lillemoe is also a Senior Director of the American Board of Surgery and in 2015 was inducted into the John Hopkins Society of Scholars. His lecture will be on the surgical leadership and mentoring in the modern era.     Professor Ronan Cahill is Professor of Surgery at University College Dublin and the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital. He is also Director of the Centre for Precision Surgery and the Digital Surgery Unit at UCD. He will deliver the State of the Art Lecture on Saturday September 7th.     Professor of Surgery at University of Galway, Dr Michael Kerin, who is hosting the event, said: “We are delighted to welcome Professor Lillemoe and Professor Cahill to our University and to this symposium. Their impactful work focuses on delivering high quality surgical care and achieving best outcomes for patients in the modern era, encompassing issues related to service provision, surgical training and support and gender equality in healthcare. Both lectures at the centre-point of a comprehensive programme showcasing some of the finest surgical research in this country.    “This conference signals the start of the academic year, and has been a mainstay of the National Academic Surgical Platform with input from a diverse group of consultants and trainees across all specialties in Irish surgery. We anticipate an enriching experience and engaging discussions aimed at shaping the future of surgical practice and education within our community, which will be invaluable in fostering collaboration and innovation in the surgical specialities.”   The full programme of events for the conference is available at https://freyer.ie/    Ends   

A University of Galway researcher whose work focuses on therapies for cancers of the brain has been awarded a prestigious €1.5million grant by the European Research Council. Dr Catalina Vallejo Giraldo, School of Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, is also based at CÚRAM Research Centre for Medical Devices, funded by Taighde Éireann - Research Ireland, where her research combines biomaterials, brain mechanobiology and medicine to develop new targeted brain treatments. Dr Vallejo Giraldo’s €1.5million award is an ERC Starting Grant - given to talented early-career scientists who are embarking on independent work and show clear potential to be a research leader. Her current research is investigating cell-cell interactions in the brain and how they are influenced by the interplay within the cell environment, as well as altering the signals in the brain that manipulate cell fate. This research has the potential to develop and improve neuro-oncology therapies. The ERC Starter Grant will allow Dr Vallejo Giraldo to focus on the development of a new cancer therapy using a soft gel that contains a cancer fighting drug and is patterned with narrow channels to encourage the entry of cancer cells. Once inside, the cancer cells become trapped and compressed, disrupting their DNA repair mechanisms and rendering them susceptible to damage. This approach will improve drug-radiation effectiveness and allow localised therapy of brain cancer. Dr Catalina Vallejo Giraldo said: “Available drugs are only partially effective, and they work by damaging cancer cell DNA in combination with radiotherapy. In response, cancer cells ramp-up DNA repair processes, rendering these treatments largely ineffective. Mechanical deformation of the nucleus may transiently render cells highly susceptible to DNA damage and may represent a powerful adjunct approach for the treatment of brain tumours, where resistance to conventional DNA-targeting therapies is a significant contributor to therapy failure." Dr Vallejo Giraldo’s PhD training under Professor Manus Biggs, University of Galway lecturer with the College of Science and Engineering and researcher at CÚRAM, and subsequent postdoctoral work, have given her the experience of interacting with and leading multidisciplinary teams that involve members from academia, industry and the clinic including Universidad EIA, Colombia; Imperial College London; Cardiff University, UK; Neurent Medical, Galway; and the Mayo Clinic in the US. Dr Vallejo Giraldo added: “This is an enormous opportunity to work on a project I have been building towards for the last few years while training talented PhD students and post-doctoral researchers. I am exceptionally fortunate and grateful to have found great support from collaborators and mentors around the globe, as well as from University of Galway, CÚRAM, the different research centres, and my Biomedical Engineering discipline. I am particularly grateful to Dr Manus Biggs for his continued support.” Professor Biggs said: “The research that Dr Vallejo Giraldo will carry out with the support of this grant builds upon her previous work on neural biomaterials. Her findings have revealed a crucial necessity to expand upon our current understanding of the fundamentals of the mechanobiology of neural cells to develop novel biomaterials platforms that will expediate clinical translation pathways. I’m extremely proud of what she has been able to accomplish and look forward to Catalina making a significant impact with her future work.” Professor Abhay Pandit, Scientific Director of CÚRAM, said: "We are immensely proud of Dr Vallejo Giraldo and all of our graduates and their accomplishments in both academia and industry. CÚRAM provides high-quality training opportunities that is of great importance to the medtech talent pipeline, and our graduates are adding significantly to Ireland's research environment. The interdisciplinary nature of Dr Vallejo Giraldo’s work is an excellent example of how CÚRAM works to foster collaboration and excellence in research.” EU Research Commissioner Iliana Ivanova said: “The European Commission is proud to support the curiosity and passion of our early-career talent under our Horizon Europe programme. The new ERC Starting Grants winners aim to deepen our understanding of the world. Their creativity is vital to finding solutions to some of the most pressing societal challenges. In this call, I am happy to see one of the highest shares of female grantees to date, a trend that I hope will continue. Congratulations to all!” Ends

Researchers at University of Galway have revealed some of the lived experiences of undergraduate students before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. The report examines barriers to inclusion experienced by different student groups, including international students, those from an ethnic minority, students with disabilities and LGBT+ students. All students were undergraduate students in the College of Business, Public Policy and Law at the University of Galway. The report addresses undergraduate student experiences both before and during the Covid-19 pandemic, with data gathered from 2018 to 2021 through online surveys, individual interviews and focus groups. In total, 1391 students contributed to the research. Dean of Students, Professor Ciara Meehan, launched the report, and said: “The young people who went through education during the pandemic demonstrated enormous achievements and resilience. Every one of them should recognise this and remember that it will stand to them in time. As a University, it is important for us to engage with our students, to hear their voice and to respond appropriately. The pandemic was a unique challenge for us all and we are grateful to our research team of Dr Shivaun Qunilivan and Lucy Ann Buckley for working to record the experiences of our students and offer learnings.” Dr Shivaun Quinlivan, joint lead of the Inclusive Learning at University of Galway project and co-author of the report, said: “In order to improve inclusion, we first have to understand the barriers to inclusion and participation experienced by students at the University of Galway.  We felt it was really important to engage with our students, and hear their voice – this will enable us to take steps to address the issues they face. We hope the lasting legacy of this research will be to improve the learning experience for all our students.” Key findings: A significant majority of students surveyed prior to the pandemic considered their learning environment to be inclusive. In many cases, staff were praised for their commitment and support, and students emphasised that staff were approachable and helpful. Students had different views on the impact of the pandemic, but a significant majority identified negative effects on their learning, including social isolation, decreased motivation, greater anxiety, difficulties accessing learning resources and increased workload. In one survey with second year students, conducted during the pandemic, nearly three quarters of respondents considered that Covid-19 had made their learning environment less inclusive. Racism was not identified as a major difficulty, though some students had negative experiences. Many international students, and also students in large classes, emphasised how difficult it could be to get to know other students, leading to loneliness and isolation. Some international students also highlighted instances of culture shock, leading both to social and learning difficulties. Students who were carers identified the need for greater flexibility in relation to course deadlines and participation, the need to schedule classes and events at accessible times, and difficulties related to childcare that impacted their learning. Students with disabilities raised a range of issues regarding accessibility, including issues relating to physical infrastructure and learning materials. However, they also identified significant positive supports in their learning environment, particularly from the University’s Disability Support Service. Students with disabilities were also more likely to feel excluded at social events. LGBT+ students identified issues related to inclusive language, visibility and representation. Multiple students highlighted the importance of teaching staff using correct pronouns or inviting students to indicate their pronouns in teaching contexts. Some students identified ways in which the learning environment could exclude those who were socially or economically disadvantaged. This included a failure to appreciate the financial strain some students were under, scheduling classes after 5pm (when students needed to work), and in some cases stereotypical assumptions and statements. The report was prepared by the Inclusive Learning in the College of Business, Public Policy and Law project team, led by Dr Shivaun Quinlivan and Professor Lucy-Ann Buckley, with research by Dr Dinali Wijeratne. Recommendations: The report made a range of recommendations for the University, some of which are already acted upon, including the development of an anti-racism policy; reasonable accommodation policy; training on issues related to equality, diversity and inclusion. The report also urged measures to promote accessibility; regular student culture surveys; reduction in class sizes where possible; social events to encourage inclusion and address student isolation; additional resourcing for key support services; and enhanced data gathering and monitoring. Ends  

University of Galway appoints Interim Deputy President and Registrar    University of Galway has today announced Professor Becky Whay is to take up the role of Interim Deputy President and Registrar.   The University’s Governing Authority - Údarás na hOllscoile confirmed Professor Whay’s appointment. The confirmation follows the announcement on July 4th that Professor Peter McHugh was taking on the role of Interim President following the departure of Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh who stepped down as President after six and half years in the role. Professor McHugh begins his term as Interim President on September 7th and Professor Whay begins her role as Interim Deputy President and Registrar on September 9th.             Professor Peter McHugh, incoming Interim President of University of Galway, said: “It is a great pleasure to announce the appointment of Professor Becky Whay, who not only has a very distinguished academic record as a researcher and educator, but has been an outstanding asset to University of Galway as Vice-President International since 2019. We are confident that Becky’s expertise, vision, and collaborative approach will greatly benefit our community.” Professor Whay said: “It is a real privilege to have been appointed Interim Deputy President and Registrar and I look forward to the challenges as well as the opportunities ahead, both in supporting our academics and ensuring the highest standards for our students, as well as helping in the continuing development of our university for the public good.”        Bio of Professor Whay As Interim Deputy President and Registrar, Professor Whay is a member of the University Management Team and Academic Council; deputises for the President in his absence; and has overarching responsibility for academic strategy, academic promotions, and academic quality.    Professor Becky Whay joined University of Galway in 2019 when appointed Vice-President International. In May 2024, she was reappointed to that role for a second five-year term, with much of the focus on leading out Global Galway 2.0, on our International Strategy, which will be central to our University of Galway Strategy 2030 and on the second phase of our European University Network - ENLIGHT.    Professor Becky Whay previously worked at the University of Bristol, which is part of the prestigious Russell Group of universities and is ranked 55th in the world and 5th in the UK for Research, under the QS World Rankings. She also held the post of Director of Internationalisation for the Faculty of Health Sciences at University of Bristol, a large, research intensive faculty supporting the University’s medical, dental and veterinary schools. Under her directorship the faculty grew its international student population, increased the levels of international research collaboration and saw significant growth in international institutional partnerships. At the same time, she shared the Head of School responsibilities for Bristol Veterinary School and led the School through a period of substantial change culminating in a bid for American Veterinary Medical Association accreditation.   Professor Whay has an international reputation for her research into dairy cattle and working equine welfare and works in areas of the world where human animal interdependency is critical to family livelihoods. She was the inaugural President of the International Society for the Study of Lameness in Ruminants and has Chaired the Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law Veterinary Association. In 2015, she was recipient of the CEVA Farm Animal Welfare of the Year award.   Ends

Professor Caroline McGregor has been appointed as the new Director of the Institute for Lifecourse and Society (ILAS) at University of Galway. Professor McGregor is Director of Social Work at the University and a Senior Research Fellow at the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre where she led a number of projects with colleagues on themes of state care, past and present; child protection and family support; and youth civic and political engagement. She has also worked as a SFI investigator within CÚRAM Irish Medical Device Research Centre on projects including impact orientation. Professor McGregor takes up the role in September for a four-year period, and her appointment follows the retirement of Professor Pat Dolan, who held the position from 2013-2023. The Institute for Lifecourse and Society (ILAS) is a specially designated multidisciplinary research institute in applied social sciences which aims to contribute scientific and practical awareness of human capacity and potential from infancy to older age and to advance the lives of people who face issues with older age, living with disability, and for children, youth and parents who are vulnerable in social and other contexts. President of University of Galway, Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, said: “I would like to extend my best wishes to Professor McGregor for the future of the work at the Institute for Lifecourse and Society at the University, as well as the ongoing work of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre. Professor McGregor has extensive experience of academic-professional partnerships and has a particular interest in leading and advancing practice based and community engaged research in her role as Institute Director and we look forward to seeing the impact of this in the future. “I would like to take the opportunity to thank Professor Pat Dolan, the former Director of ILAS, and to Professor Kieran Walsh, for his leadership of ILAS as Interim Director, since September 2023.” Welcoming her appointment, Professor McGregor said: “I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead the Institute for Lifecourse and Society. I am looking forward to working with institute colleagues in the College of Arts, Social Science and Celtic Studies, College of Business Public Policy and Law and from across the University to achieve the ambitious goals of the ILAS to achieve equity across the lifecourse through its integrated research, practice and education, policy and community engagement activities.“ Ends

University of Galway has launched a new archive recognising the different lived experiences of the Irish Traveller community, including challenges the community faced since the 1960s and the importance of the Traveller voice to educate and increase understanding of the history and culture of the community. The Mincéirs Archives, which will be digitised and available to the public, was launched today by Irish Traveller human rights activist Dr Mary Warde Moriarty and University of Galway President Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh. The collection focuses on Irish Travellers from the 1960s when Ireland transformed socially, economically and culturally and how this impacted on the nomadic indigenous community, as well as the dawn of the Traveller rights movement in Ireland and Europe. The Mincéirs Archives is the first step to embedding Traveller history and culture throughout the teaching, learning and research activities at the University.             Dr Mary Warde Moriarty said: “It is great to officially launch the Mincéirs Archives as I know it will act as an anchor that supports the promotion and embedding of Traveller history and culture throughout the teaching and learning activities of University of Galway. As a Traveller woman, I am proud to have materials that document some of my early activities advocating for Traveller rights included in the archives. I feel it’s very important that everyone learns about Traveller history and culture as it supports greater understanding between all communities. I hope that the archives will be also play a major role with supporting the promotion of Traveller history and culture in local primary and secondary schools.”              University of Galway President, Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, said: “At University of Galway, we are a university for the public good, with a shared vision, shaped by our values with a proud history of promoting Traveller history and culture. As a learning institution, we learn from all our communities and are the better for it. The Mincéirs Archives goes to the heart of this work in promoting Traveller history and culture that align with our values, particularly the importance which we place on respect and openness. The contents of the archives and most importantly the Traveller voice has guided our efforts as we provide a culture that creates opportunities for all members of our university community to learn more about - and to learn from - Traveller history and culture.” Material related to Traveller human rights, education, employment, accommodation, music, folklore and photographs of the community form part of the archive. It includes official documentation such as the Report of the Commission on Itinerancy [1963], the work of Sister Colette O’Dwyer in Traveller education and training from the late 1960s onwards, the National Association of Training Centres for Travelling People, the National Federation of Irish Travelling People, the European Centre for Travellers, as well as a range of material relating to community development and activism across the country. There is also a range of correspondence, photographs and other material from Travellers themselves, reflecting their lived experiences. The Archive is augmented with material from existing archival collections. These include photographs and music collected in Ireland in 1952 by the American couple Jean Ritchie and George Pickow, similar material from the Joe Burke collection relating to county Galway, England and the USA, as well as photographs taken in the 1890s by Patrick Lyons of a Traveller camp near Ballyhaunis, County Mayo. The Mincéirs Archives project began in November 2021 as part of the celebrations which followed on from the 175th anniversary of the foundation of the University in 1845, as Queen’s College. Led by Owen Ward, the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Programme Manager for Race Equality at the University, and Kieran Hoare, Archivist at University of Galway Library, the research and digitisation of the Mincéirs Archives was one of six projects sponsored by the Office of the President through a special fund to record and share the institutional history of the University. As part of embedding Traveller history and culture throughout the teaching, learning and research activities at the University, the Office of the Vice-President for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is leading a project to diversify curricula. The aim is to enhance and embed the perspectives from the global south, nomadism, indigenous and black studies, including resources from the Mincéirs Archives, into wider academia across the University.             Monica Crump, University of Galway Librarian, said: "The University of Galway Library is delighted to host the Mincéirs Archives, and in particular to enable students and researchers to learn about Traveller history and culture through their own voice and lived experience, greatly enhancing our existing archival collections. Through new strategies of acquisition and outreach, we are committed to diversifying our collections as well as the ways in which people can access them. The Mincéirs Archive will bring a greater understanding of Traveller history and culture to homes and schools across the country.  We are confident that this digital resource will become embedded in teaching and learning activities across campus and are looking forward to a continued partnership with the community and to seeing this collection grow."             Owen Ward, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Programme Manager for Race Equality at University of Galway, said: “This initiative marks a significant milestone in the history of University of Galway and solidifies its position as a leader for Irish Traveller inclusivity cross higher education and wider society. By making the Mincéirs Archives accessible to everyone, we are taking a big step toward honouring the history and strength of Irish Travellers and building a more just and equitable future. We look forward to working closely with the Irish Traveller community to continue to expand the archives while ensuring that the lived experiences of Irish Travellers are central to this important work.” University of Galway welcomes public donations of resources related to Irish Travellers to the Mincéirs Archives, including photographs, videos, audio recordings, papers, notes, books, and posters. Material can be donated to the archives temporarily and once digitised can be returned to the owner. For more information to donate to the archives please contact Owen Ward at owenpatrick.ward@universityofgalway.ie or at https://library.universityofgalway.ie/mincéirs-archives/. Ends