8 minute read
European Research Council successes
Sean Kelly, Member of the European Parliament and Professor Luuk van der Wielen
Bernal affiliated researchers, Dr Eoghan Cunnane and Dr Sarah Guerin, were awarded the highly prestigious ERC Starting Grant, worth €1.5M each, to carry out two ground-breaking projects looking at male infertility and energy-efficient electronics respectively. Dr Cunnane’s project is RE3MODEL (Representative, Reliable and Reproducible In Vitro Models of the Human Testes), aimed at developing in vitro models of the human testes. Dr Guerin’s project is Pb-FREE (Piezoelectric Biomolecules for Lead-free, Reliable, Eco-Friendly Electronics). Two other Bernal affiliated researchers, Dr Shalini Singh and Dr Micheál Scanlon, also submitted applications for ERC awards and were invited to stage 2 screening interviews. This represents an important signal of growth in Bernal’s research performance and reputation.
Interview with Dr Eoghan Cunnane
Dr Eoghan Cunnane received his PhD from UL in 2015 under the supervision of Professor Michael Walsh. He was subsequently awarded a Marie Curie Global Fellowship to transition his expertise from tissue characterisation to tissue engineering and modelling at the University of Pittsburgh (US) and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He was then awarded a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Fellowship to characterise cancerous tissue at Imperial College London. Dr Cunnane is also the co-founder of startup company, Class Medical, developed out of UL to commercialise a patented device that improves urinary catheter safety.
1. Exactly what is your research all about?
The research I am coordinating involves understanding how the cells and tissues of the testicles interact and how to accurately represent these interactions outside of the body in a preclinical model. The model will then be used to help develop treatments for male infertility prior to clinical trials.
Preserving the ability of willing couples to conceive and combatting the incidence of infertility (which currently affects 15–20% of couples, with male factor infertility responsible in 50% of cases) is an essential goal in maintaining the wellbeing of our society and economy. However, we are currently falling short of this goal, as human sperm concentration has dropped by over 50% since records began in the 1970s. If this trend continues, sperm concentrations may drop below the fertility threshold by the end of this century. Identification of effective male infertility treatments is therefore an essential research priority and requires an appropriate preclinical model of the sperm-producing testes to evaluate treatment choice, dosage and duration.
What surprised me most was that by the end of the writing process I had developed my ideas to the point where they could be tested experimentally by a team of researchers. So, regardless of the award outcome, I was ready to build a career in academic research, based on the ideas contained in the proposal.
Writing a large grant requires a lot of time and effort, but the writing becomes easier when your ideas are more developed. So set aside time to generate and develop your ideas – whether it’s reading relevant literature, writing down ideas or discussing ideas with whoever will listen. I have a file in my phone where I’ve written down a lot of mostly terrible ideas. But the concept that allowed me to write an ERC grant application is in there too. Seek feedback on your proposals early, even if you are embarrassed by the contents. It will help you to focus and give you a deadline to work towards.
5. What is the most important lesson you have learnt in your career to date?
I was very intimidated by the literature when I began my PhD. The most important lesson I learned is to not be intimidated by what’s been done before you. Be inspired by it. If something that you consider incredible can be done in another lab by another researcher, then you can achieve something incredible too. Let it inspire you to be more informed, to understand and learn different techniques and to talk to more people.
Interview with Dr Sarah Guerin
Dr Sarah Guerin is the PI of the newly established Actuate Lab in the Department of Physics and Bernal Institute. She currently works on both insilico and ex-silico engineering of biomolecular crystals, primarily for application areas in eco-friendly sensing and pharmaceuticals. Dr Guerin has been successful in securing €2M in funding from national and international sources for the development of organic piezoelectric device components. She currently works with a large number of international research groups as a world leader in computationally predicting the electromechanical properties of novel molecular crystals. She has been awarded the British Association of Crystal Growth Young Scientist of the Year Award and the IEEE Dilis Das Gupta Memorial Award.
1. Exactly what is your research all about?
Billions of piezoelectric sensors are produced every year, improving the efficiency of many current and emerging technologies. By interconverting electrical and mechanical energy they enable medical device, infrastructure, automotive and aerospace industries, but with a huge environmental cost. The majority of piezoelectric sensors contain lead zirconium titanate (PZT), the fabrication of which requires toxic lead oxide. Prominent lead-free alternatives are heavily processed and rely on expensive, non-renewable materials such as niobium. Biological materials such as amino acids and peptides have emerged as exciting new piezoelectrics. Biomolecular crystal assemblies can be grown at room temperature with no by-products, and do not require an external electric field to induce piezoelectricity, unlike PZT and other piezoceramics. Currently, no research focuses on developing these crystals as reliable, solid-state sensors to integrate into conventional electronic devices, due to their high water solubility, uncontrolled growth, variable piezoelectric response and difficulty in making electrical contact. My project, Pb-FREE, will take on the ground-breaking challenge of developing biomolecular crystals as organic, low-cost, high-performance sensors, to outperform and phase-out inorganic device components with dramatically reduced environmental impact.
So many reasons! Firstly, I think everyone should care about research that is reducing environmental damage and removing lead from our everyday lives. There have been such big movements to get rid of lead paint and lead pipes, for example. I think this is one of the final frontiers for eradicating lead from public consumption. We are in the climate crisis and we need to be adamantly excited about adapting the way we consume to save the planet. Secondly, this research has a lot of potential medical device applications that can make procedures and equipment cheaper and less invasive for patients. Finally, I think Ireland is primed to become the world leader in producing these eco-friendly sensors, as the same materials are produced in our pharma companies. I think in five years’ time, we could see a lot of jobs created in Ireland in green piezoelectric technologies.
Science-wise, the environmental damage being done by current commercial sensor materials! When I started writing the grant application, I assumed that lead-free alternatives would be better for human health and the environment and that the goals of my research would be outperforming those materials at the technology level, i.e. by developing a material that was cheaper and more efficient and that could be used inside the human body. Then I did the research and discovered that they are worse than PZT and we need to dramatically accelerate the uptake of biomolecular crystal technologies! It really surprised me how people could move from one destructive technology to another, just to get around EU regulations on the technicality of ‘lead-free’. Life-wise, what surprised me was how supportive everyone was of just trying to write an ERC grant application, whether it was successful or not. The number of people who took substantial time out of their lives to read drafts, give advice, distract me when needed, take other work off my plate, listen to my presentation, come up with mock questions, make cups of tea … it really blew me away and made me realise how important a good network of friends and colleagues can be. This was especially crucial as I was writing my proposal during our harshest Covid lockdowns, so I didn’t get any opportunities to bounce ideas off people face to face. It was a good surprise, or at least a reminder, to see how much science is done socially day to day.
OK, in no particular order. Go towards the people and the jobs in life that make you smile and laugh – follow your own joy. You can be a successful and passionate scientist while working 9 to 5. Work in the ways that make you productive, whatever that looks like. There’s no competition in science, only collaborators. Open science is the future – talk about your research, share it, replicate it, make it available to everyone. Once you have found your feet, find ways to make opportunities for others. If you’re failing, then you are trying. There are no stupid questions; there is no idea that should not be said out loud or at least written on a post-it for future thought! Science gets done – focus on creating an environment that makes people fulfilled and happy to be doing challenging and innovative research.
By far the most important for me has been realising that you are your most important resource. If you take care of yourself, everything else will follow. Value your physical and mental health. This includes things like knowing when to ask for help! You don’t need to know everything right away. And always be honest, refuse to play other people’s games. Life’s too short to not be who you are. You are a better scientist, mentor and collaborator, and a happier person, if you are supporting your own needs first. Put on your own oxygen mask before attending to others!
