NUI Galway has been successful in securing two substantial research grants announced this week by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton T.D. and the Minister for Research and Innovation, Seán Sherlock T.D.

The €47 million funding grants for pioneering research initiatives were delivered by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, through the Science Foundation Ireland Investigators Programme. The Programme will provide funding over a three to five year period, for 36 research projects involving over 200 researchers.

Professor Noel Lowndes, Established Professor of Biochemistry at NUI Galway, was awarded €1.8 million in funding for his project ‘The ATR and ATM kinases: new roles in maintaining genome stability’.

The second project, ‘Role of NRXN1 in neurodevelopmental disorders: from stem cells to clinical phenotypes’ was awarded €1.73 million in funding. The project is a collaboration between Professor Sanbing Shen, Professor of Fundamental Stem Cell Biology with REMEDI at NUI Galway, and Professor Louise Gallagher from TCD.

Professor Lokesh Joshi, Vice President for Research at NUI Galway, said: “We are delighted to see Professor Lowndes' and Shen's research proposals being selected by international peers and SFI for funding. This funding allows us to continue the excellent research in NUI Galway with partner institutions.”

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD said: “Central to our Action Plan for Jobs is ensuring that we focus our on research and innovation on job-creation – turning good ideas into good jobs. The funding we are announcing today will directly support over 200 highly skilled researchers in Ireland through to 2019, and is linked to 62 private sector companies. This investment through SFI helps to develop Ireland’s international reputation for excellent research with impact. This allows us to continue to attract foreign-direct investment, as well as to support Irish companies, long-term economic competitiveness and most importantly ultimately job-creation.”

Minister for Research and Innovation, Seán Sherlock TD said: “This major investment will support world-class research in key priority areas that support economic and social development in Ireland. By concentrating on sectors of strength, the SFI Investigators Programme aligns funding to areas of increasing national and international importance. This will create many opportunities for successful collaboration between industry and Ireland’s science ecosystem.”

The Science Foundation Ireland Investigators Programme supports excellent scientific research that has the potential to impact Ireland’s economic and societal development. The 36 projects were selected by competitive peer review by 400 international scientists, focusing on excellent research with potential impact.

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