UCC awards celebrate excellence in research and innovation

28 May 2026

A researcher working on protecting democracy through her work on false memories, deepfakes, and conspiracy theories, a spin-out company developing next‑generation therapeutics using a microneedle patch platform and Ireland’s leading energy systems modelling team bridging research and policy were among the awardees honoured for their contributions to research and innovation at the 2025 University College Cork (UCC) Research and Innovation Awards, held at the Lewis Glucksman Gallery on Wednesday, May 27th.

UCC is an internationally competitive, research-led university that plays a key role in the development of Ireland’s knowledge-based economy and provides the insight and understanding of the challenges facing our society. The UCC Research and Innovation Awards embrace this excellence in research, innovation, and entrepreneurial activity, across the entire university research community, spanning all disciplines. 

Researchers were awarded across twenty-three categories, six of which recognise specific achievements in entrepreneurship and innovation.

Joint winners of the Research Career Achievement Award were Professor Maggie O’Neill and Professor Paul O’Toole. Professor O’Neill was recognised for her research in critical theoretical advancements, methodological innovation, and a sustained commitment to advancing feminist, impactful, participatory, and socially engaged forms of knowledge production. Professor O’Toole was awarded for his world-leading research in microbiome science, microbial genomics, and the role of gut bacteria in healthy ageing, chronic disease, and host-microbe interactions.

Joint winners of the Researcher of the Year Award were Professor Gillian Murphy and Professor Suzanne Timmons. Professor Murphy’s research relates to understanding attention and memory in everyday scenarios. She was the recipient of a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant in 2025 for her project entitled Functional, Reliable and Adaptive Memory Errors (FRAME). Professor Timmons is an exemplar of a joint HSE-UCC appointee whose research in complex Parkinson's disease in older people, Parkinson’s-dementia overlaps, and delirium has a significant impact on policy, practice, and research capacity in UCC, Ireland, and beyond. In 2025, she received €4 million funding from the Higher Education Authority’s North-South Research Programme for PD-Life, the first ever national research consortium for Parkinson’s disease.

Professor Eugene Costello from UCC’s School of History was named Early-Stage Researcher of the Year. Professor Costello is a rising star in the field of environmental history, with a particular expertise in the history of livestock rearing. He has researched comparatively between different peripheral regions and explored these in depth using old manuscript and modern scientific techniques. In 2025, Professor Costello was awarded a €2 million ERC Consolidator Grant for his project entitled, ‘DeepCattle: The Deep History of Commercial Cattle Farming in Europe, c.1240-1840’. In DeepCattle he sets out an ambitious aim – to uncover the origins of intensive beef and dairy production and examine its role in transforming the economy and environment of Europe over the six crucial centuries that paved the way for modern industrial farming.

The award for Spin-out of the Year was awarded to ArrayPatch. Founded by Dr. Waleed Faisal from the School of Pharmacy, ArrayPatch’s DerMap™ microneedle platform addresses a substantial unmet clinical need while enabling safer, more effective, and more patient‑friendly drug delivery. ArrayPatch’s painless, self‑applicable patches have the potential to reduce hospital burden, improve adherence, broaden access to treatment, and generate better long‑term outcomes, particularly in underserved populations where conventional treatments are impractical.

Professor John F. Cryan, Vice President for Research and Innovation at UCC said: "We are delighted to celebrate the award recipients of this year’s UCC Research and Innovation Awards. The standard of nominations across all award categories was indicative of the exceptional level of research and innovation that takes place throughout the University. These awards not only honour individual excellence but also highlight how UCC research and innovation continues to lead and inspire on both a national and international stage."

The Awards are sponsored by PurdyLucey, one of Ireland’s top European Intellectual Property (IP) firms working across Irish, UK, European, US and international markets, and specialising in life sciences, food tech, medtech, high-tech and engineering projects.

The full list of UCC Research and Innovation Awards 2025 winners is: