Two DCU projects awarded funding as runners up in the Research Ireland National Challenge Fund
Minister James Lawless TD, today announced €8 million in prize phase funding for six research teams across four challenge programmes under the National Challenge Fund.
The DCU projects were announced as runners up in the Healthy Environment for All Challenge, having previously received further funding in the Grow phase of the call.
A collaboration with UCD, the Bohemian project uses real-time devices, artificial neural networks and machine learning algorithms to produce the first Irish specific forecast model for allergy related bioaerosols which will allow people to understand and alleviate the influence of bioaerosols on their lives.
Bioaerosols encompass a wide range of organic atmospheric particles (pollen, fungal spores, and bacteria) that can seriously affect the wellbeing of the Irish public, where 30% of the population have an allergy, yet no monitoring of bioaerosols is undertaken here and no data is available to understand the impact of these particles or to enable their mitigation.
Dr David O'Connor said:
“By delivering real-time information on airborne biological and chemical threats, BOHEMIAN will strengthen public health protection, support environmental decision-making, and provide Ireland with a future-proof early-warning capability.”
Dr Ciprian Briciu-Burgina and Prof Fiona Regan are co-leads on the RESTART project. Clean water is critical for recreation, aquaculture, fisheries and drinking supplies, but the methods by which contamination is now detected take between 18 to 72 hours. Faster detection tools and sensors are needed to provide stakeholders with water quality data in a timely manner to better manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems.
The RESTARTproject is working to develop an in-situ sensor for monitoring water quality called CS Sentinel, that will provide an early warning of bacterial pollution events.
Dr Ciprian Briciu-Burgina said:
“We are delighted to have been selected as Runner Up in the Healthy for All Environment Challenge. RESTART is built on collaboration, and our progress would not have been possible without the insights of key stakeholders and the invaluable partnership of our societal impact champion, Roy O’Connor of Dublin City Council. We are also deeply grateful for the support of Research Ireland, whose training and mentoring in design thinking and theory of change have been central to shaping RESTART into a meaningful, technology-enabled solution for monitoring bathing water quality.”
Prof Fiona Regan said:
“The Challenge Fund provides a pivotal opportunity to translate our fundamental science into real-world solutions. Through the RESTART project, we will revolutionise bathing water monitoring by delivering faster, more accurate, and more responsive systems. This transformation will significantly enhance public health protection, empower local authorities with actionable data, and ensure safer recreational waters for communities nationwide.”
The National Challenge Fund is a €65M research fund established under the Government of Ireland’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), developed by the Government so that Ireland can access funding under the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility.
The Healthy Environment for All Challenge asks academic research teams to contribute to Ireland’s transition to an environmentally sustainable and climate-neutral economy.