Dr Karen English.

Arva woman named 'Early-Career Researcher of the Year'

Cavan local, Dr Karen English has been named the Irish Research Council ‘Early-Career Researcher of the Year’ for 2018. 

Dr English, who is from Arva, was awarded for her research on the translation of cellular therapy for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Dr English leads the Cellular Immunology Laboratory at the Institute of Immunology at Maynooth University.

Now in their second year, the Researcher of the Year awards recognise and commend the very best of the Council’s current awardees or alumni working in academia, industry, civic society or the public sector. 

Congratulating Dr English, Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development, John Halligan, TD: “Her exceptional career is a testament to the quality and calibre of people in Ireland’s research sector and I would like to commend her on her hard work and dedication to her chosen field.

“Supporting exceptional researchers from early-career stage and ensuring that we have pipeline for a broad range of expertise, is essential for our research eco-system and future-proofs our higher education sector.”

Also commended were Professor Anna Davies, who was named ‘Researcher of the Year’ and Dr Brian Egan, Senior Engineer, Wood Plc., who was named ‘Alumnus of the Year’. 

The three Council-funded researchers received their awards for having made a highly significant and valuable contribution to research in Ireland over their career to-date in their respective fields. 

Chair of the Irish Research Council, Professor Jane Ohlmeyer, congratulated the three awardees: “Each of the winners represent very different research disciplines, demonstrating the breadth of excellent research that is currently being funded by the Council and underway in Ireland – the impact of which ripples through multiple aspects of Irish life.

“Having a vibrant research community – and strong public support for research – is more important than ever. The Researcher of the Year awards are all about recognising the excellence in the sector and how important research is for society, the economy, and our higher education system. 

“We received many nominations of current and previously Council-funded researchers. All three of the awardees were selected for their outstanding track records to date and I would like to wish them all the very best in their future careers.”