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Lab Awarded Sustainability Certificate

The Byrne Group were delighted to be awarded a Green Certification from MyGreenLabs, as part of Research Ireland’s Sustainable Laboratory Certification Pilot Programme. In Lab A2.01, we worked together with Tom Hooper’s and Andrew Phillips’ Groups to identify sources of waste, establish new recycling streams (e.g. for KimTech gloves), and pool resources where possible to limit duplication of purchases. It was a really worthwhile process and has made us more considerate of reducing negative environmental impacts of our research. Sophie Kavanagh joined a UCD-wide working group on wet lab practices as part of our actions, and we have participated in chemical swap days, further reducing wastage. We continue to meet and share ideas, which will hopefully keep us up to date with developments in this area

Marking the announcement of 72 Sustainable Laboratory Certifications awarded today to research spaces in 12 higher education institutions across Ireland were (left-right) Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD; Prof. Emmanuelle Graciet, Faculty of Science & Engineering, Maynooth University; and Dr Ciarán Seoighe, Deputy CEO, Research Ireland.

Announcing the awards, Minister Lawless said:

“Research involves more than exploration and discovery; it also demands attention to how we conduct our work and the impact it has on our communities and our planet. Research carries with it a responsibility to operate with integrity, to use resources wisely, and to ensure our pursuit of knowledge does not come at an unsustainable cost to the world around us. I warmly congratulate all the laboratory teams recognised today for their commitment to greener practices. This initiative, led by Research Ireland, marks a significant and encouraging step in placing sustainability at the centre of our national research system and signals Ireland’s intent to lead by example on climate-conscious innovation.”

UCD Press Release: 13 UCD labs awarded sustainable laboratory certifications for best-in-class practices

Research Ireland Press Release: Minister Lawless announces 72 Sustainable Laboratory Certifications (with full list of awardees)

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Joe and Adele selected to attend Lindau Nobel Laureates Meeting

Joe and our colleague Adele Gabba, both from NUI Galway’s School of Chemistry, have been selected to attend the prestigious meeting of Nobel Laureates and emerging scientists from around the world in 2021. The pair will represent Ireland at the 70th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting on the island of Lindau in Germany.

From the NUI Galway press release: Dr Byrne and Dr Gabba will join a selected group of 660 outstanding early-career scientists from 101 countries, who will meet with 68 Nobel Prize winners in the fields of chemistry, medicine and physiology, and physics. Selection to attend this week-long meeting offers a once-in-a-career opportunity to share their research and ideas with Nobel laureates and a wide network of future scientific leaders.

Dr Joseph Byrne is an Honorary Research Lecturer in the School of Chemistry, who is in the first year of a Science Foundation Ireland Starting Investigator Research Grant project, developing luminescent glycoconjugate materials for detection of bacterial infections.

Dr Adele Gabba recently graduated with a PhD in Chemistry and currently works as a research assistant in the group of Professor Paul Murphy, School of Chemistry at NUI Galway. She will begin a prestigious Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship in MIT in the coming months.

Dr Gabba and Dr Byrne were among six scientists nominated by the Irish Research Council (IRC), before going through a rigorous international selection process, through which only half of nominees were ultimately invited to attend. They will receive a grant from the Irish Research Council to enable them to attend the meeting, which takes place from 27 June-2 July 2021. The meeting was scheduled for this summer, but due to the outbreak of COVID-19, it has been postponed until 2021, while an interactive online programme of events will take place this year to fulfil the Lindau Foundation’s mission ‘Educate. Inspire. Connect.’

Joe said:

“This meeting is unique in putting the most ground-breaking scientists of recent decades and early-career researchers around the same tables for a week. With little-to-no distraction from the outside world, it is ideal for transferring ideas and sharing challenges between generations and countries as well as different disciplines. I am looking forward to building new relationships with other chemists, but also biochemists, physicists, medical scientists, who I could collaborate with to tackle challenging scientific questions of international relevance in the future.”

Adele said:

Dr Gabba said: “Being selected to attend a Nobel Laureate Meeting is a small life dream come true! I have been certainly looking forward with immense excitement for June, so I have to confess the news of the postponement for COVID-19 came along with a bit of disappointment. Despite my childlike eagerness, I think the organising committee took the right decision. I am sure all attendees will see that waiting and, most of all, the reason behind it, as an opportunity to reflect deeply on the importance of bringing together researchers with a different background in an interdisciplinary meeting. Problems that impact our society are mostly extremely complex, we will succeed in solving them only if we put our brains and best efforts together.”