10 postdoctoral fellowships to be awarded from Call 2. Call 2 opens 30th August with an application submission deadline 22nd November 2023.

* These dates are indicative and subject to change

INSPIRE fellows with the inflatable gut at Fota wildlife park.

The INSPIRE fellows volunteered at an education and public engagement event in Fota Wildlife park August 2023. They escorted families through the Alimentary Adventures inflatable digestive system while explaining how food is digested.

The first cohort of INSPIRE Call 1 fellows start on their 2-year postdoctoral fellowships

APC Microbiome Ireland is proud to welcome its newest research fellows as part of the INSPIRE Fellowship programme

The first new researchers have joined APC Microbiome Ireland, a world leading SFI Research Centre based at University College Cork, as part of the new INSPIRE Fellowship programme which was formally launched in 2022.

The INSPIRE (INnovative Sustainable Development InterdisciPlinary Post-Doctoral Research Excellence) programme sets out to address the major global challenges facing food systems and health through research areas such as anti-microbial resistance (AMR), non-communicable diseases (NCDs), sustainable food systems (SFS), and are aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

An initial group of ten researchers representing eight different nationalities from Spain to Brazil will start in 2023, complimenting and augmenting APC’s existing diverse team and cultures.

INSPIRE is co-funded by the EU Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions programme and has a total budget fund of €2.9 million. A total of 20 prestigious postdoctoral research fellowships will be created at APC throughout the programme, who will be based at APC’s or UCC’s facilities or other affiliated institutions.

Under the programme, INSPRE Fellows can choose their own respective research project, that align with both the SDGs and APC’s 4 strategic research themes, to develop solutions that tackle today’s global food and health issues. It will provide a major boost to researchers’ career progression through industry placement experience, tailored training and support; equipping them with a range of transferable skills that meet the evolving needs of the academic, NGO and industry sectors.

Professor Paul Ross, Director of APC Microbiome Ireland, said:

“We are absolutely delighted to welcome this first group of INSPIRE research fellows to APC and are really excited about the research work they will lead over the next few years, and innovative solutions they will contribute to that tackle the food system and health issues we face globally.”

Professor John Cryan, Vice President for Research & Innovation, said:

“It is great to now see the INSPIRE programme kick off in earnest, and UCC is proud to host the programme at APC Microbiome Ireland, reflecting our reputation as a research-led academic institution. This is a fantastic programme that will help nurture and develop the high calibre international research expertise we need to address the challenges we are facing globally through the development of credible, sustainable, science-based technologies within our UCC Futures: Food, Microbiome & Health initiative.”

INSPIRE Launch

New research fellowship programme to combat food and health challenges

APC Microbiome Ireland, a world-leading SFI research centre based at University College Cork (UCC), has launched the INSPIRE Fellowship programme which seeks to tackle challenges facing global food systems and health.  

With funding of €2.9 million, INSPIRE ((INnovative Sustainable Development InterdisciPlinary Post-Doctoral Research Excellence) is co-funded by the EU Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions programme. INSPIRE will create 20 prestigious postdoctoral research fellowships at APC Microbiome Ireland based at UCC or at one of the APC’s other academic partner institutions.

INSPIRE Fellows will undertake research projects across a variety of areas of microbiome science to address the UN Sustainable Development Goals and create solutions to challenges relating to food and health including anti-microbial resistance, the burden of non-communicable diseases, and the need for sustainable food systems.

The INSPIRE Fellowship will provide experienced researchers with industry placement experience while benefiting from a tailor-made research and career development training plan. INSPIRE fellows will gain a portfolio of transferable skills to enhance their career options and to meet the evolving needs of the academic, NGO and industry sectors.

Dr Pamela Byrne, Chair of the APC Microbiome Ireland Governance Committee and CEO of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, said:

“Never in our time has sustainability been so important. INSPIRE addresses the huge challenges that we face globally, building a talent pool to ensure that we have skilled scientific researchers equipped and agile to meet the needs we will face in the coming years. APC Microbiome Ireland has a proven record of ground-breaking research targeting the grand challenges of our time. I am delighted to launch the INSPIRE programme which will support such impactful research.”

Professor Paul Ross, Director of APC Microbiome Ireland, said:

“The INSPIRE Fellowship reflects APC Microbiome Ireland’s commitment to addressing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. We look forward to recruiting 20 postdoctoral researchers who will help create solutions to some of the most pressing global challenges with potential impact in the pharmaceutical, medical and food sectors.”

Professor John Cryan, Vice President for Research & Innovation, said:

“As a research-led University that has sustainability at the heart of our strategy and operations, UCC is proud to host the INSPIRE research fellowship programme at APC Microbiome Ireland. INSPIRE is a fantastic programme that will equip a cadre of high-calibre researchers to address the challenges we are facing globally through the development of credible, sustainable, science-based technologies within our UCC Futures: Food, Microbiome & Health initiative.”

EU Funding

This project is co-funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme under the Marie Skłodowska–Curie Grant agreement No. 101034270.