Dublin City University and University of Notre Dame to advance precision biomedical technologies through exchange grants
The Dublin City University Life Sciences Institute (LSI) and The Berthiaume Institute for Precision Health (BIPH) at the University of Notre Dame have announced the recipients of the second annual Notre Dame-DCU Exchange Grant in Precision Biomedical Technologies.
This competitive funding program is designed to support high-impact, collaborative research between faculty at Dublin City University (DCU) and the University of Notre Dame in the field of precision biomedical technologies, with a special emphasis this year on the exchange of personnel and knowledge between the two institutions.
“Fresh from my own exchange visit to Notre Dame, I’m delighted we can build on our institution’s collaborative momentum with this 2026 round of funding,” said Prof. Anne Parle, Director of the DCU Life Sciences Institute. “The exchange of our awardees brings that extra ingredient to ensure these collaborations lead to a tangible success.”
By leveraging interdisciplinary expertise across both institutions, the awarded projects will drive scientific discovery and technological innovation in the biomedical field, spanning sensors and diagnostics, novel therapeutics and the interface between human health and the environment.
“This continued partnership between the Berthiaume Institute for Precision Health and Dublin City University’s Life Sciences Institute strengthens the international connections that are essential for addressing complex biomedical challenges,” said Prof. Matthew J. Webber, Keating-Crawford Collegiate Professor of Engineering and acting director of BIPH. “By enabling researchers and trainees to work directly across institutions, our exchange grants create new opportunities for scientific discovery.”
2026 Awardees of the Notre Dame-DCU Exchange Grant in Precision Biomedical Technologies
“Overcoming PARP Inhibitor Resistance in High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer Through HSP90β-Selective Inhibition,” Neil Conlon (DCU) and Brian Blagg (ND)
Neil Conlon, left, and Brian Blagg, right.
Conlon, assistant professor in biotherapeutics and group lead of the Breast and Gynecological Oncology Research Group at DCU, focuses on the pre-clinical evaluation of novel cancer therapies and mechanisms of drug resistance. His lab has established a panel of ovarian cancer cell lines with acquired resistance to FDA-approved PARP inhibitors and applies advanced platforms — including 3D bioprinted tumor models and kinomic pathway analysis — to dissect resistance and identify sensitizing strategies.
Blagg, the Charles Huisking Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and director of the Warren Family Research Center for Drug Discovery and Development, brings more than two decades of expertise in designing isoform-selective HSP90 inhibitors as anti-cancer agents. His team developed NDNB25, an HSP90β-selective inhibitor with nanomolar potency and favorable bioavailability, which the collaboration will evaluate for its ability to resensitize PARP-inhibitor-resistant ovarian cancer.
The collaboration integrates Notre Dame’s strengths in medicinal chemistry and drug discovery with DCU’s advanced pre-clinical evaluation platforms. Prof. Blagg will travel to DCU to deliver a guest lecture and foster a sustainable, long-term partnership, while the teams generate pilot data toward a joint external application. The PIs plan to co-author a review on HSP90 inhibition in ovarian cancer alongside the experimental findings.
“Functionalized Carbon Nano-Onion for Therapeutic Delivery Across Biophysical Barriers in Glioblastoma,” Silvia Giordani (DCU) and Meenal Datta (ND)
Silvia Giordani, left, and Meenal Datta, right
Giordani, full professor and chair of nanomaterials in DCU’s School of Chemical Sciences, is an internationally recognized leader in carbon nanomaterials for biomedical applications. Her group specializes in the synthesis and surface functionalization of carbon nano-onions (CNOs) — ultra-small, biocompatible, multi-layered fullerene nanostructures — including near-infrared fluorescent variants engineered for targeted drug delivery and intracellular imaging.
Datta, the Jane Schoelch DeFlorio Collegiate Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, leads the TIME Lab, which studies how the physical microenvironment of tumors shapes disease progression and treatment response. Her group has pioneered in vitro and in vivo compression models that reproduce the solid-stress conditions characteristic of glioblastoma, enabling precise study of how mechanical forces alter cellular behavior and the transport of therapeutics.
The collaboration bridges DCU’s advanced nanomaterials expertise with Notre Dame’s specialized mechanobiological testing frameworks through reciprocal personnel residencies. A DCU researcher will spend time in the Datta TIME Lab tracking nanoparticle transport in 3D glioblastoma spheroids under mechanical compression, while an ND researcher will visit DCU to validate the biocompatibility of the engineered CNO platform. The resulting dataset is intended to seed larger, multi-year funding applications.
“Multimodal Electrochemical Sensing for Ultra-Sensitive and Chemically Specific PFAS Detection,” Bryan D. Paulsen (ND) and Éadaoin Carthy (DCU)
Bryan D. Paulsen, left, and Éadaoin Carthy, right
Paulsen, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, studies organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors and conductive-polymer transducers for electrochemical sensing. His lab has demonstrated a low-cost, neuromorphic PFAS indicator capable of detecting PFOA at femtomolar concentrations — an unprecedented limit of detection — across saline, synthetic serum, and dairy matrices, establishing the platform as a universal ultra-low-detection PFAS sensor.
Carthy, assistant professor in DCU’s School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering and deputy director of innovation at the RAPID Institute, develops translational microfluidic lab-on-a-disc/chip technologies, biosensors, and point-of-care diagnostics. Her group has produced molecularly imprinted polymer screen-printed electrodes that selectively recognize individual PFAS compounds, complementing broad-spectrum detection with molecular specificity in a portable, field-deployable format.
The collaboration unites Notre Dame’s ultra-sensitive universal PFAS indicator with DCU’s molecularly selective sensors into a single multimodal, field-deployable workflow. Through a two-way trainee exchange — an ND doctoral student traveling to DCU and a DCU postdoctoral researcher visiting Notre Dame — the teams will transfer fabrication and testing protocols directly between laboratories. The preliminary data are intended to anchor joint proposals to the USDA, Horizon Europe, and NIH/NIEHS.
“Point-of-Use Electro-Physical Separation of Environmental DNA (eDNA) from Cellular/Organism Contributions in Complex Samples Preserving Both Populations for Analysis,” Matthew M. Champion (ND) and James P. Landers (DCU)
Matthew M. Champion, left, and James P. Landers, right
Champion, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, develops bioanalytical and separations tools to probe the biology of bacteria, their communities, and their viruses. His lab has pioneered a capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) technique that separates intact organisms and cells from complex environmental samples non-destructively, cleanly partitioning whole cells from free extracellular DNA for independent downstream analysis.
Landers, SFI Research Professor and director of the RAPID (Research Advances in Personalized Integrated Diagnostics) Institute at DCU, is a world leader in the miniaturization of microfluidic devices for genetic analysis and point-of-care diagnostics. His group has developed fully integrated, sample-in-answer-out microfluidic systems and low-cost, rapid separation platforms that translate laboratory-scale assays into deployable devices.
The collaboration pairs Champion’s expertise in microbial separations and organismal manipulation with Landers’s leadership in microfluidic miniaturization. Champion, a research scientist, and a graduate student will travel to DCU to adapt the laboratory-scale CZE into a miniaturized point-of-use device, with a reciprocal visit from the Landers group envisioned to test prototypes at Notre Dame. The team anticipates a joint publication and external proposal submission within the year.
The funded projects will proceed over a one-year term, during which the teams will exchange personnel, develop their technologies, conduct proof-of-concept studies, and explore pathways for future external funding.
For more information about the Notre Dame-DCU Exchange Grant in Precision Biomedical Technologies and future rounds of applications, please visit the DCU LSI website
Contact: lsi@dcu.ie