The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions are the European Union’s reference programme for doctoral education and postdoctoral training. The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions fund excellent research and innovation and equip researchers at all stages of their career with new knowledge and skills, through mobility across borders and exposure to different sectors and disciplines. MSCA are open to all domains of research and innovation and encourage international cooperation to set-up strategic collaborations.

See below a list of the supervisors particularly interested in hosting MSCA PF candidates. 

Name of Supervisor 

Research Areas 

Proposed Projects 

Postdoctoral Fellow Expertise 

Dr. Sinéad Hynes 

Improving the daily function and quality of life of people with neurological conditions, with particular focus on those living with multiple sclerosis and dementia, as well as those who support them.  Keywords: multiple sclerosis; rehabilitation; public and patient involvement; cognition; caregivers 

To study and to establish clinical outcomes of iCOB-MS in relation to daily life and cognition.  COB-MS is the first known research project of cognitive rehabilitation through an individualized cognitive intervention that is measured by and taught through focusing on occupational participation, i.e. the participants will have nonpharmacological treatment for cognition focusing on the aspects of their own daily life that are important to them (e.g. work) and hence findings and recommendations from the COB-MS provides strong rationale for the iCOB-MS study. 

Strong communication skills; background in a health-related area; strong written and communication skills; ability to work well with team and patient population groups; flexibility; understanding of the needs of those with progressive MS.

Prof. Caroline McIntosh 

Diabetic Foot Disease and Diabetic Foot Ulcers: wound healing, tissue viability and tissue repair, peripheral arterial disease, prevention of foot disease, psychosocial factors, motivational interviewing, randomised controlled trials of novel intervention for wound healing or prevention of foot ulcers, systematic reviews. 

Can early detection of microangiopathy play a role in preventing diabetic foot ulcers?  

Clinical background 

Endocrine Resistance in Breast Cancer 

Targeting UPR to overcome endocrine resistance in breast cancer 

Genomics, epigenetics and bioinformatics 

Dr. Cynthia Coleman 

Harnessing the basic biology of adult progenitor cells to understand the aetiology of pathology and to develop novel therapeutics. Active research investigations include examining the aetiology of diabetes-induced osteopathy  and investigating the efficacy of coral as a bone graph substitute  

This project aims to create a good manufacturing practice (GMP)-grade process supporting mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) expansion on novel coral-based scaffolds for orthopaedic applications. This research will address the following objectives:  1) Expand and characterize MSCs on coral carriers; 2) Assess the in vivo osteogenic capacity of MSCs following expansion on coral carriers.   

Primary mammalian cell culture, understanding of progenitor cells, understanding of osteogenesis, familiarity with bioreactors 

Dr. Declan McKernan 

Regulation of inflammation. The role of neuroinflammation in neurodegeneration. The role of inflammation in psychosis. 

 

 

Prof. David Finn 

Chronic pain; Stress; Anxiety; Depression; Cannabinoids; Endocannabinoid System; Brain; Neuroscience; Neuropharmacology; Preclinical; Clinical and Translational Research. 

(1) Analgesic and anti-inflammatory potential of cannabinoids and other novel drugs and associated neurochemical/molecular mechanisms of action(2) Identifying brain regions involved in analgesia(3) Exploring the relationship between stress, fear and pain: the role of the endogenous cannabinoid and/or opioid receptor systems(4) Co-morbidity of pain and stress-related psychiatric disorders (e.g. anxiety, depression)(5) Novel drug delivery systems for analgesics, including cannabinoids(6) Development of new animal models and biomaterials-based approaches for understanding and treating pain. 

Expertise in preclinical (i.e. basic science, rodent models) or human/clinical pain research, or related areas (e.g. neuropharmacology, psychopharmacology, neurophysiology etc).