Joe Publications

Forum article on diversity and inclusion published in RSC Sustainability

In 2024, the ICI Young Chemists Network (to whom Joe is an Advisor) organised the Young Chemists for Change event at UCD, focussing on the role of equality, diversity and inclusion in the chemistry community in Ireland, the UK and further afield. A full report of the event is available in Irish Chemical Events. This event was supported by the RSC Inclusion and Diversity Fund. Recently a Forum Article about the event was published in RSC Sustainability.

The editor of the journal RSC Sustainability commissioned a collection of Forum articles highlighting impacts of the Inclusion and Diversity Fund, highlighting the relevance of culture in the chemistry community to sustainability more broadly:

“As a journal from the Royal Society of Chemistry, it is to be expected that most authors select one or more of the more obviously technical SDGs. However, it is vital that we remember the importance of societal changes to achieve the SDGs. These are made explicit in SDGs 5 (Gender Equality) and 10 (Reduced Inequalities), but we should also remember that there are other SDGs that have both technical and societal aspects. For example, it will be impossible to deliver SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being) without accounting for unequal health outcomes based on sex and gender, race and ethnicity, poverty, geography, prior disability, and sexual orientation. I have always believed that the Chemical Sciences and Chemical Scientists can contribute to all of the SDGs and that RSC Sustainability should play its part in this.”

-Tom Welton, RSC Sustainability

The Forum article presents demographic data, qualitative and quantitative analysis of responses from attendees at the event, and the impact EDI events can have on awareness and sense of belonging. Joe is a co-author of this article along with the main organisers of the event. The forum article can be read at https://doi.org/10.1039/d6su90043g

Joe Team, Visitors

Catherine completes RISE internship

Catherine Chaita, a third-year Pharmaceutical Science students from TU Dublin in Tallaght, joined the lab for two-weeks this summer as part of the RSC RISE Programme, designed to retain, inspire, support, and enhance ethnically-underrepresented groups in the chemical sciences. Catherine had a placement at TU Dublin last summer and came to us this summer. She fit in really well and quickly picked up a lot of skills under Thomas’ tutelage (and contributed to the Link4Lectin project). Catherine had the following to say about her experience:

In the second year [of the RISE programme], I was offered a two-week summer internship at University College Dublin (UCD), where I had the opportunity to work in the laboratory of Professor Joe Byrne, whose research focuses on sugars and inorganic/organic chemistry.
During the internship, I worked under the mentorship of PhD graduate Thomas Rabbitte who guided me through a variety of hands-on experiments. I was actively involved in various research projects. This experience greatly enhanced my technical and analytical skills, as I was introduced to a range of instruments and laboratory techniques relevant to pharmaceutical science. I carried out several chemical reactions, including alkylation, click chemistry, and amide coupling reactions.
The lab environment was collaborative and inspiring, with a team of postgraduate researchers and undergraduate interns all contributing to ongoing sugar-related research. My time at UCD provided me with a solid foundation of practical skills and deeper insight into real-world pharmaceutical and chemical research, and it further fueled my interest in pursuing a career in the pharmaceutical industry.

We wish Catherine every success with the rest of her studies and her future career in chemistry and hope to see her again.

Well done to Catherine Chaita for completing an intership with us as part of the RISE programme