Trinity to host Rinn Quantum and Rinn Advanced Therapies

Posted on: 10 June 2026

The Trinity-hosted pair will operate within the Rinn enhanced national research network for the next eight years and have received combined Research Ireland funding of approximately €90 million, with more to be leveraged from industry and other sources. The new network reflects a change in the scale and breadth of collaboration, governance, and funding, to support a more coordinated and internationally engaged research system with the aim of delivering national and international impact.

Rinn Advanced Therapies is focused on the development, biomanufacturing, and translation of personalised advanced cellular immune therapeutics (ACITs), which are expected to make up 10% of all medicines by 2035 and have wide ranging applications including in treating cancer and autoimmune diseases. Rinn Quantum, meanwhile, seeks to establish Ireland as a global leader in quantum science by focusing research on six strategic themes: quantum foundations; networks; control and energetics; computation and simulation; HPC integration; and societal impact.

Additionally, Trinity will play an important role in the Rinn Artificial Intelligence Centre as a coordinating institution along with four others. Rinn Artificial Intelligence has two main goals: to advance foundational cutting-edge research in Data Science and AI, and to pursue open, international, and inter- and transdisciplinary research aimed at studying, designing, and implementing strategies to address societal challenges.

Welcoming the news, Dr Linda Doyle, Provost of Trinity, said: “I am delighted that Trinity College Dublin has been chosen to host Rinn Advanced Therapies and Rinn Quantum, as well as co-hosting Rinn Artificial Intelligence.

“The focus of these centres could not be more timely or significant. Cellular immune therapies, quantum technologies and artificial intelligence are areas of vital importance globally, impacting on people’s lives in so many ways. I am proud that Trinity will be at the heart of research underpinning developments in these fields.

“I want to congratulate everyone who contributed to the development of these successful funding proposals. It is an outstanding achievement and a reflection of the strong ambition, academic brilliance and collaborative spirit of Trinity’s research community.

“In addition, Trinity researchers will serve as principal investigators in each of the other four research centres which reflects the breadth and quality of our research.

“Our strategic plan commits us to an intensification of research and these new centres are a key part of that ambition. Their value lies in the deep partnerships they foster with other Irish universities and industry partners, as well as the fantastic opportunities they provide for so many PhD students and researchers.

 “Investment in students and investment in research is, fundamentally, investment in Ireland, and that is part of the impact of these research centres.”

At the announcement of the seven new 'Rinn' research centres were: Left-right: Dr Ruth Freeman, Research Ireland; Dr Jimmy Murphy, Rinn Energy; Dr Terence O'Donnell, Rinn Energy; Prof. Sakis Mantalaris, Rinn Advanced Therapies; Prof. Noel O'Connor, Rinn Artificial Intelligence; James Lawless TD, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science; Michael Horgan, Chairperson Research Ireland; Dr Diarmuid O'Brien, CEO Research Ireland; Prof. Owen Smith, Rinn Advanced Therapies; Dr Siobhan Roche, Research Ireland; Prof. Ortwin Hess, Rinn Quantum; Prof. John Goold, Rinn Quantum; Prof. Sarah Hudson, Rinn Pharma & Biopharma; Prof. Abhay Pandit, Rinn Medical Devices 

Prof. Sinéad Ryan, Dean of Research at Trinity, added: “The establishment of Rinn Advanced Therapies and Rinn Quantum reflects the depth of expertise that exists across Trinity and our partner institutions, and demonstrates the power of sustained, deep collaboration in tackling complex challenges. At the heart of Trinity’s Strategic Plan, Thrive, is the commitment to intensify our research and innovation, of which these new centres will stand as exemplars.

“These new centres will create and nurture vibrant research ecosystems that connect fundamental discovery with real-world application, support the development of the next generation of researchers, and strengthen Ireland’s international position in two strategically important fields. We look forward to working with our partners to ensure these centres deliver lasting scientific, societal and economic impact over the coming years.

“We are also very proud that Trinity is one of five coordinating institutions leading Rinn Artificial Intelligence, and, more broadly, that our research community is represented in all four of the remaining Rinn centres announced today, demonstrating one of our core values to harness our collective expertise for the greater good.”

Spotlight on Rinn Quantum

Rinn Quantum brings together over 20 PIs from Trinity and its partner institutions: University of Galway; University College Dublin (UCD); Maynooth University; University College Cork (UCC); Munster Technological University (MTU), and South East Technological University (SETU). It will be co-directed by Professors John Goold and Ortwin Hess from Trinity’s School of Physics.

Prof. Goold said: “We are delighted that Trinity will host Rinn Quantum and honoured to lead this national effort alongside our partners across Ireland. The Centre arrives at a pivotal moment for quantum information science, as discoveries that were once largely confined to theory are increasingly finding their way into technologies with the potential to transform computing, communications, sensing and security.

“Rinn Quantum represents a major national investment in  fundamental quantum research. At its core is the recognition that transformative technologies emerge from a deep understanding of nature. By supporting world-leading research into the foundations of quantum physics and quantum information science, the Centre will help generate the discoveries that will underpin future innovations, many of which may only become fully apparent over the lifetime of the Centre and beyond.

“Through an ambitious programme spanning quantum foundations, networks, computing, control, high-performance computing integration and societal impact, we aim to establish Ireland as a recognised international leader in quantum information science and technology. Alongside scientific excellence, a defining feature of the Centre is its commitment to engaged research. We will work closely with industry, policymakers, educators and the public to ensure that the development of quantum technologies is informed, inclusive and aligned with societal needs.”

Prof. Hess added: “Rinn Quantum will create an active, living bridge between fundamental discovery and future technologies: between theory and experiment, materials and devices, quantum photonics and quantum networks, and between researchers, industry, policymakers, educators and society. In my view, some of the most consequential work in quantum science happens on this bridge, where principles are translated into platforms and where technological challenges generate new scientific questions.

“Since moving to Trinity to take up the Chair in Quantum Nanophotonics, with a research programme supported by what is now a Research Ireland Professorship, I have sought to help establish quantum nanophotonics and quantum networks research in Ireland, building on international experience in nanoplasmonics, metamaterials and quantum photonics. Through Rinn Quantum, this expertise can contribute to a broader national effort to develop robust, scalable and sustainable quantum platforms, while strengthening Ireland’s connections to industry and international partners.

“Just as importantly, Rinn Quantum is an education mission. Ireland will become quantum-ready only by training and inspiring the people who will build, use, question and govern these technologies. I look forward to working with John, our Trinity colleagues, partners across Ireland and the wider Rinn network to build a Centre that connects insight with capability, and capability with long-term societal benefit.”

Spotlight on Rinn Advanced Therapies

RINN Advanced Therapies, which brings together around 60 PIs, will be a national integrated innovation network linking academia: Trinity; University of Galway; Maynooth University; UCD; TU Dublin; UCC; and RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, with national organisations: National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT); the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS); and the National Center for PharmacoEconomics (NCPE); and hospitals: The Mater; St Vincent’s; University Hospital Galway; Children’s Healthcare Ireland; and St James’s.

RINN Advanced Therapies aims to deliver an “All Island” powerhouse by embedding integrated inter-disciplinary teams of PIs and training programmes and nurturing collaboration with Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland.

It will be directed by Professor Sakis Mantalaris from Trinity’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and NIBRT, and co-directed by Professor Owen Smith, from Trinity’s School of Medicine and Molecular Medicine Ireland.

Prof. Mantalaris said: “Ireland has a globally renowned pharmaceutical manufacturing industry but has fallen behind in ACIT research and clinical translation. RINN Advanced Therapies will enable a vein-to-vein innovation ecosystem to discover, manufacture and implement ACITs, and will put patients and society at the core ensuring that access, affordability, and availability are addressed early. RINN Advanced Therapies’ novelty will be in the implementation of personalised Quality by Design (pQbD), by integrating clinical outcomes with the design and biomanufacturing of the cell product to ultimately enable personalised ACITs, beyond precision.”

“Our centre aspires to lead Ireland into the ‘fifth Industrial Revolution’, which focuses on the individual, by delivering a novel, personalised immune cell therapies-data-biomanufacturing nexus. Now is the time to come together and work hard to deliver the first Irish ACIT.”

Prof. Smith added: “Trinity, alongside its partner institutions, has made a solemn commitment through Rinn Advanced Therapies to develop and manufacture personalised Advanced Cellular Immune Therapeutics, a transformative class of therapies with the potential to redefine how we treat cancer and a broad range of autoimmune diseases.

“Rinn Advanced Therapies is not simply a research programme; it is the foundation of an entirely new therapeutic ecosystem for Ireland and beyond. This is Ireland staking its claim at the frontier of a global medical revolution and in doing so, we will not be watching this revolution from the sidelines; we will be shaping it, for our patients and for generations to come.”

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