Researchers secured funding for projects covering a range of topics including Autism Spectrum Disorder, COVID-19, and rural business communities
The Irish Research Council has today announced €24.6m in funding for new research projects under the Irish Research Council (IRC)’s flagship Government of Ireland programmes. The investment will fund 294 awards in total, namely 214 postgraduate scholarships and 80 postdoctoral fellowships.
Three researchers from South East Technological University (SETU) secured funding under the Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scheme. The programme is unique in the Irish research landscape funding individual awards for bottom-up, non-directed, excellent research across all disciplines.
Announcing the funding awards, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD, said: “I am delighted to announce this investment for a new generation of postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers under the Irish Research Council’s Government of Ireland programmes. These awards will support the development of the next generation of excellent researchers in Ireland, as they pursue new knowledge at the cutting edge of a wide range of disciplines.
This investment recognises the huge potential of Ireland’s early-career researchers, and it will support the development of skills, knowledge and innovation that will meet the challenges of today and the future”.
AFUN Intervention: User centric Augmented Reality Application and Monitoring/Assessment platform to engage children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in physical activity to enhance their FUNdamental motor skills, fitness and wellbeing is the title of Mark Power’s research project supervised by Dr Sara Kennedy, Department of Nursing & Health Care.
DEFEND - Design and Evaluation of First-line COVID-19 respiratory defence by immune-Enhancing Nano- Decoys is the title of Ali Taha Ozdemir’s research project supervised by Dr Laurence Fitzhenry, Department of Science.
Engaging Rural Business Communities: Broker Influence on Socio-Economic Development is the title of Joseph Foley’s research project supervised by Dr Leana Reinl & Dr Tomás Dwyer, Department of Management and Organisation.
Congratulating the awardees, Dr Geraldine Canny, SETU Head of Research, said “I'm delighted to see that the successful research projects encompass societally relevant topics in healthcare and economic development. This will enable SETU to build capacity in strategically important areas of research. On behalf of the office of the Vice President of Research, Innovation and Graduate Studies, Dr Tom O'Toole and I would like to wish the awardees and supervisors every success with their innovative projects.”
Project Abstracts
AFUN Intervention: User centric Augmented Reality Application and Monitoring/Assessment platform to engage children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in physical activity to enhance their FUNdamental motor skills, fitness and wellbeing: Mark Power’s research project supervised by Dr Sara Kennedy, Department of Nursing & Health Care.
Children with autism typically have lower levels of physical activity than neurotypical children. For children with autism, increasing physical activity (PA) has numerous benefits, including enhanced motor skills, social interaction, and physical fitness. Technology may be a creative way to promote participation since children with autism have trouble engaging in PA. When Augmented Reality technology is utilised to support PA, children with autism can participate in PA in an enjoyable, interactive, and aesthetically pleasing way. This study will focus on the design, development, and validation of an AR interactive fitness technology application and a supporting data analytics platform. The objective is to promote PA participation among children with autism. The platform for the AR application will provide an AR Fitness interactive technology application and solution to support children with autism in their daily exercise regimens, as well as exercise monitoring datasets that can be used to track, forecast, and plan an individual's pertinent personal exercise trajectory.
DEFEND - Design and Evaluation of First-line COVID-19 respiratory defence by immune-Enhancing Nano- Decoys: Ali Taha Ozdemir’s research project supervised by Dr Laurence Fitzhenry, Department of Science.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the COVID-19 has claimed millions of lives and continues to threaten many. Economically, it is currently driving many countries into a recession and millions of people have become unemployed. SARSCoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19, and it is primarily transmitted when people breathe in air contaminated by respiratory droplets and small airborne particles. Corona viruses consists of crown-like protrusions on its surface called ‘Corona’, meaning crown in Latin. These extensions are spike proteins and play an important role during the infection. SARSCoV-2 uses these structures to attach itself to the host cell, in turn leading to entry into the host human cell leading to COVID-19 Disease. This project aims to develop engineered nanodecoys in the form of ‘nanospheres’. When delivered to the respiratory system, nanodecoys will release a molecule called an enzyme inhibitor, while binding to and neutralizing coronavirus, in a way that will preventing its attachment to cells in our respiratory system. When loaded with potential antiviral drugs (TMPRSS2), nanodecoys can also deliver therapeutics directly to the lungs. With the aid of nanodecoy therapy, the immune system will have a better chance to clear the virus and repair the damaged tissue. Creating this window of opportunity is especially important because old people with reduced immune capacity and healthcare professionals in contact with the virus for longer periods of time are at higher risk for serious infection. As such, giving the immune system this extra assistance could reduce the severity of the infection and potentially reduce fatalities.
Engaging Rural Business Communities: Broker Influence on Socio-Economic Development: Joseph Foley’s research project supervised by Dr Leana Reinl & Dr Tomás Dwyer, Department of Management and Organisation.
Most rural businesses are micro firms, employing less than ten employees with an annual turnover below two million euro. These owner-manager led firms dominate the rural business landscape. Successful rural businesses are highly embedded in their communities and overcome resource challenges through engagement with networks to pursue development opportunities. While ubiquitous with knowledge transfer, optimised social networks need close contacts and external ties. Many rural business networks are narrowly embedded in their localities which restricts development. What is often required to spur development are brokers to bring external information flows inward from their wide contact bases to complement internal know-how. Brokers, as central network actors, connect local and external ties. Knowing who to connect with and how to connect them, they bridge weak tie relationships, activating the social capitals of previously distant actors. Brokers achieve this through bonding, bridging, and linking social capital. Bonding long-standing relationships based on history, culture and values builds trust. Where trust exists, bridging and linking can yield valuable information. Yet despite the importance of such a role, the influence of the broker is poorly understood in a rural micro firm context. The research contribution will include an empirically informed socio-economic broker framework of rural business community development. It is also clear from a policy perspective that the socio-economic development of rural regions is of increasing importance post-pandemic due to changes in consumption and production patterns, remote working habits, and forms of mobility. It is becoming clear that these all-open new opportunities for sustainable growth in rural regions.