Trinity researchers awarded Irish Research Council medals of excellence

Posted on: 11 December 2017

Three Trinity researchers were presented with medals of excellence by the Irish Research Council at an event celebrating 15 years of council. The awards, which recognise top-ranked postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers, were presented to Miriam Cummins, School of Creative Arts; Aisling Heeran, School of Medicine; and Dr Natalia Muñoz-Wolf, School of Biochemistry and Immunology.

Miriam Cummins, PhD candidate in the School of Creative Arts, was awarded the ‘Eda Sagarra Medal of Excellence’ for being the top-ranked postgraduate researcher in the arts, humanities and social sciences category. Her research is in post-secularism, gender performativity and performance in the postcolonial world.

Aisling Heeran, PhD candidate in the School of Medicine, was awarded the ‘Jane Grimson Medal of Excellence’ for being the top-ranked postgraduate researcher in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics category. Heeran’s research is investigating the clinical relevance of the radiation-induced bystander effect in rectal cancer patients.

Dr Natalia Muñoz-Wolf, Research Fellow, School of Biochemistry and Immunology, was awarded the ‘Thomas Mitchell Medal of Excellence’ for being the top-ranked postdoctoral researcher in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics category. Dr Muñoz-Wolf’s research is in investigating determinants of morbidity and mortality in pneumococcal disease.

The ‘Medals of Excellence’ for early-stage researchers have been named after previous Chairs of the Irish Research Council and recognise excellence in the 2017 postgraduate and postdoctoral funding calls run by the Council. The medals recognise achievement in both science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields as well as the arts, humanities and social sciences (AHSS).

The awards were presented as the Council marks 15 years of the Irish Research Council and its forebears, the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences and the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology.

Minister for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development, John Halligan, TD congratulated the Irish Research Council and its forebears  “for 15 years of funding the brightest research talent”.

“Supporting exceptional individual researchers from early-career stage is vital to the health of Ireland’s research eco-system. Ensuring that we have the pipeline for a broad range of expertise future-proofs our higher education and indeed Ireland in a globally-connected world,” he added.

Professor Jane Ohlmeyer, Chair of the Irish Research Council and Director of Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Research Institute, said: “This year is a milestone year for the Irish Research Council and its forebears as we are celebrating 15 years of funding excellent research across all disciplines. Over the past 15 years, the Council have awarded 7,776 researchers across all disciplines of research. Having a vibrant research community – and strong public support for research – is now more important than ever before.”

“I would like to take this opportunity to commend all of the previous Council Chairs, members, Directors and staff of the Irish Research Council and its forbears and would like to wholeheartedly acknowledge their respective contributions to the work of the Council.”

*Cover photo: Linda Doyle, Dean of Research; Dr Natalia Muñoz-Wolf; Aisling Heeran; Miriam Cummins and Professor Jane Ohlmeyer.