Centre for Applied Bioscience Research’s (CABR) Involvement during TUS Research Week & RUN-EU Student Research Colloquium 2025

From 17th to 21st February, the Research Week took place at Technological University of Shannon (TUS), a multidisciplinary event organised across TUS campuses. This event highlighted the University’s growing research landscape and its influence at regional, national, and global levels.

This year’s event showcased the diversity of TUS research, featuring key initiatives such as the enterprise-driven TU RISE Programme and advancements in social innovation, as well as the expansion of creative research capacity.

In parallel with TUS Research Week, the RUN-EU Student Research Colloquium took place at TUS from 18th to 19th February 2025. This event provided students from TUS and other universities within the RUN-EU alliance with the opportunity to present their research, engage in academic discussions, and network with peers and supervisors. 

CABR researchers were actively involved in both TUS Research Week and the RUN-EU Student Research Colloquium:

1. Mariana Juca da Silveira (PhD Researcher):
   1. Presented her poster and won two research impact awards for her work on sepsis models using an organ-on-chip treated with MSC-derived peptides.
2. Dr. Martin Hayes (Senior Business Development Scientist):
   1. Served as a judge for the RUN-EU postgraduate student presentations over two days (Tuesday and Wednesday, 18th–19th February).
   2. Gave RUN-EU postgraduate students a tour of the CABR facilities (Wednesday, 19th February).
   3. Highlighted career opportunities in academia and industry, focusing on how to utilise transferable skills for early-career success during his presentation at the post-PhD career paths session (Thursday, 20th February).
3. Dr. Sushanta Kumar Saha (Senior Business Development Scientist):
   1. Took part in the RUN-EU Student Research Colloquium as one of the review panel members for the student poster sessions.
4. Katie Shiels (PhD Researcher):
   1. Presented her poster titled “An Irish Marine Pharmacy”, which explored bioactive compounds from cyanobacteria and microalgae for human health applications. Her study involved the cultivation of selected species of Irish marine cyanobacteria and microalgae from the CABR biobank, followed by the extraction and characterisation of the most promising bioactive compounds.
5. Margarida Matias (PhD Researcher):
   1. Presented her poster titled “From Sea to Pharmacy: A Sustainable Valorisation of Gelidium corneum,” with a research focus on testing bioactive fractions with antimicrobial properties against skin bacteria and identifying skincare applications for them.
6. Ahmed Abdellatif (PhD Researcher):
   1. Presented his poster titled “Innovative Routes for Upcycling Meat Industry Waste Streams and Water Treatment,” with a research focus on whether microalgae can help remove eutrophication-causing nutrients from wastewater.