Research & Innovation Capacity Building

Over 30 new strategic roles will be appointed to support research services, infrastructure, researcher development, enterprise engagement, and knowledge transfer. 

RISE@ATU will also grow our research community through a new postgraduate training programme, placing 60 PhD students in enterprise-linked research projects aligned with regional priorities.

10 postdoctoral researchers will lead collaborative initiatives with industry, helping to address real-world challenges and accelerate innovation.

• Integration Project Manager for Research & Innovation – RISE@ATU Project Manager – Eileen Gillen 
• Projects Coordinator – Aidan Higgins 
• Client Relations Officer – Mary Larkin 

• Research Finance and Compliance Manager – Barry Dooney
• Finance & Compliance Officer – Stephane Gorham 
• Regulatory Compliance Coordinator – Chandni Naran 
• Legal & Contracts Coordinator – Sarah Deignan 
• Research Programmes Manager – Tara Doherty 
• European Programmes Coordinator – Saul Crowley 
• National Programmes Coordinator – Emma Francis 
• Research Ethics Officer – Brian Doherty 

• Integration Project Manager for Research & Innovation Research – Digital Infrastructure – Shirley Wrynn 
• Research Administration Coordinator – Veronica Cawley 
• Research Information Management Senior Technical Officer – Fiona Doughan 
• Researcher Training Coordinator – Ruth Moran 
• Professional Development Coordinator – Denise McBride
• Data Management & Stewardship Officer – Kathryn Briggs 
• Assistant Instructional Designer – Celeste Auge 

• Enterprise Development Officer – Bernie Larkin 
• SME Training Officer – Margaret Killeen 
• Student Entrepreneurship Officer – Grace Latham

• Organisational Impact Research Coordinator (President’s Office) – Sarah Carroll 
• Research Quality Assurance Coordinator (Academic Affairs and Registrar) – Charlotte McManus 
• TU RISE Financial Reporting Coordinator – Karen M. Deignan  
• Research Support, Scholarly Communications & Publishing Librarian – Fiona Fox 
• Research Communications Officer – Jorden McMenamin 
• Sustainable Research Compliance Officer – Laura Gaughan 
• Research Administration Support 1 – Aisling Hynes 
• Research Administration Support 2 – Ray McTigue 
• Research Administration Support 3 – Appointment pending 
• Research Cluster Coordinator 1 – James Britton 
• Research Cluster Coordinator 2 – Shane Conway 
• Research Cluster Coordinator 3 – Alan Hernon 
• Research Cluster Coordinator 4 – Alan Naughton

• Haram Riaz – The Integration of Earth Observation, Citizen Science, Low-Cost Sensing Technologies and Machine Learning for Real-Time Coastal Dynamic Monitoring 
• Randika Kalpa Makumbura – Generative Learning-Enabled Digital Twins and Predictive Modelling for Ocean Sustainability 
• Zeeshan Ali – Anthropogenic Activities and Their Impact on the Functional Role of Saltmarshes 
• Beth Brown – Quantifying and Capitalising on Eco-Activism in Irish Water Sports for Planetary Health 
• Morena Gaudino – Extreme Weather Events and Plastic Pollution 
• Charles Lucas Makio – Assessing the Flux of Buried Sedimentary Carbon to Marine Coastal Waters After Extreme Weather and Dredging 
• Fauzia Mahanaz Shorobi – Molecular Characterisation of Marine Plastic Leachates and Associated Environmental Impacts 
• Muteeb Sheikh – Determining the Potential of Domestic Rainwater Harvesting to Decrease Pollution in Coastal Areas 
• Kathy Bannigan – Enhancing Coastal Resilience: A Digital Twin Approach to Contrastive Graph Generative Models for Coastal Protection 
• Giulia Maria Rossi – Linking Oceanographical Connectivity Pathways and Environmental Pollution Pressures to the Genetic Structure of Planktonic Biota in Coastal Embayments 
• Manojkumar Chand – Adapting the Biological Quality Elements (BQE) to Irish Benthic Coastal and Transitional Habitats 
• Patricia Warren – Seaweed Ecosystem Services: Evaluating the Role in Coastal Erosion Mitigation, Carbon Sequestration and Nutrient Re-Uptake From Anthropogenic Source 

• Sandi Saw Maung – Digitalisation and the Social Enterprise Ecosystem: Developing a framework to promote social enterprises in remote regions 
• Bastien Filleux – An exploration of the interactions and relationships between key stakeholders within entrepreneurial ecosystems 
• Farhan Ahmad – How effective is digitalisation as a tool for balanced regional development in Ireland? 
• Leigh Moran – Shaping a Digitally Interconnected Innovation Corridor for MedTech Entrepreneurship in the Northern and Western Region of Ireland 
• Kithmini Gamage – Information technology solutions for enhanced regional connectivity in the North and West of Ireland 
• Sana Ullah – A Blockchain-Integrated Digital Twin Framework for Ensuring Supply Chain Security and Transparency in Irish MedTech SMEs 
• Catherine White – Addressing climate action in Irish hospitality through adoption of a digitalised roadmap in SMTE Communities of Practice 
• Madiha Rubeel – Harnessing the power of digital influencers for socially responsible business 
• Neil Farren – Digital innovation for remote working 
• Fakiha Bashir – Advancing women in leadership in the ICT and innovation sectors 
• Chandler Tyrrell – Health outcomes of socially excluded older people in the age of digitalisation 
• Sophie Stiehl – Building Business Communities in the Gaeltacht Regions through Leveraging the Digital Ecosystem 

• Wojciech Gorszczak – Investigation into the Use of 3D Metal Printing to Develop Smart Vascular Models Able to Contract and Spasm 
• Nasim Shokri – Development of a Dip-Coated Stretch Sensor to Monitor an Innovative Feed Delivery System 
• Mostafa Mellizadeh – Optimisation of the Silicone Rubber Dipping Process Using Robotics 
• Dipshikha Das – Automated Re-Configuration for Material Handling and Inspection in Advanced Manufacturing 
• Gordon Hegarty – AI-Based Testing of Automotive ECU and Camera Hardware 
• Gopika Sasankan Deepa – A Digital Twin for Enhancing Sustainability and Quality in Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing 
• Ali Riaz – Electronically Controlled Adaptive AM Heat Exchanger (eHEX) 
• Usman Aziz – Injection Mould Tooling Efficiency Enhancement Through Design Optimisation and Advanced Post-Processing Methods for Metal 3D-Printed Tooling 
• Mahbloos Khan – Integration of Body-Worn Sensors and 5G/6G in Human Interfacing with Industry 4.0/5.0 Actuator Systems and Control 
• Zayed Nasser – 5G Indoor Positioning Utilising Self-Morphing Wall Patch and Circular Polarization MIMO Transceivers for Smart Factories 
• Kesara Wimal – Assuring Manufacturing Quality Assurance Records Using the Consensus, Immutability, Provenance, and Finality Characteristics of Blockchain Technology 
• Mariam Elmofti – Digital Transformation for Sustainable Growth: A Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) Perspective 

• Lauren Callaghan – Smart Kids, Healthy Lives: Integrating Technology to Combat Childhood Obesity in Ireland 
• Kashaf Arif – Investigating the use of health coaching applications and emerging technology to develop novel strategies as mitigation for the growing impact of social media and online platforms on student well-being 
• Rackard Gavin – Evaluation of Nutrition interventions to improve sleep and health 
• Eustes Kigono – Communicating benefits of population vaccination and screening programmes for optimal uptake and improved longevity in areas with regional disparities 
• Shanika Arachchi – Cerebral Harmony: Integrating Science, Sports, and Engineering to study gender inclusive Brain Biomechanics for Brain Health and Healthy Ageing 
• Fiona Burke – Investigate the effects of spending time in natural environments compared with urban environments on cognition, wellbeing, and brain activity 
• Rebecca Tarpey – Management of Menstrual Cycle Symptomology for Quality of Life and Health 
• Lucas Eleoterio Kupczik – Virtual Reality (VR) for the promotion of psychological and physiological benefit for older people 
• Luke Canavan – Utilising AI and GPS data to determine forces for subconcussive impacts on injury risk exposure in contact and collision sports to inform strategies for brain injury management and recovery 
• Audrey Faybe – Comparison of machine learning and classical statistics in predicting health outcomes in a lifestyle modification programme for obesity, and development of a user-friendly predictive application for patients 
• Hannah Linney – Understanding associations between metabolic risk factors and social exclusion among older adults in the age of digitalisation 
• Vanessa Nobles – The Value of Pharmacogenomic testing in primary care for the prevention on inappropriate prescribing in polypharmacy populations and the wider societal and economic impacts 

• Obed Adjei Peprah – AI-Enhanced Self-Updating Digital Twin for Optimised Spray Drying in Dairy Manufacturing 
• Mohammad El-Iraky – Sensor Integration for Enhanced Safety and Automation in Agricultural Applications 
• Iqra Naz – AI for Modelling Equine Reproduction 
• Camillo Murgia – Adaptive Control of Robotics for Assembly in Space Applications 
• Muhammad Jawad Bashir – Sustainable Precision Farming: An Explainable Self-Supervised Generative Learning Approach Leveraging the Internet of Robotics Things (IoRTS) and Digital Twin 
• Ali Al Abbas – An AI-Driven Robotic System for Physical Exercise and Personalised Sports Rehabilitation 
• Abdullah Haider Ali – Robotic Handling and Inspection of Complex Materials Using Tactile and Visual Feedback 
• Joyce Mathew – Development of Electrochemical Wearable Sensors for the Rehabilitation Process Using Artificial Intelligence 
• Ramsha Shahid – Low-Altitude Drone-Based 3D Reconstructions for Precision Hedgerow Analysis and Biomass Estimation 
• Hirushan Sajindra – Exploiting AI to Assist Research Policy in Agritech/Medtech 
• Anagha Ramesh M – Ionogel-Based Self-Powered Wearables for Energy-Efficient e-Health Monitoring 
• FNU Talha – Generative AI for Non-Invasive MRI Enhancement in Brain Tumour Diagnosis