Seven new NUI Galway projects have been announced today to respond to the COVID-19 emergency.
The projects, announced by by Minister Heather Humphreys TD, are part of a national funding response to the pandemic.
The NUIG projects to be awarded funding include equipment to make it easier for patients to breathe and improving long-term patient recovery and reducing disability after the illness.
Speaking today, NUI Galway President, Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh said that as a region renowned as a global medtech hub, the University has been to the fore in looking at innovations that can support the response to the crisis.
“Our main aim is to serve the public good and the range of activities announced today highlight how we are working not only to address the health challenges created by this pandemic, but also our understanding of the economic and social implications.
“It’s important that as a society, we firstly address the current crisis and then look to the future. We find ourselves having to re-imagine our humanity as we face new times and new realities.
“Our community is at the centre of innovations to respond to the crisis and the solutions to restore our society after this pandemic,” he said.
The other projects to receive funding are:
- Expediting the diagnosis of COVID-19 in a clinical setting using AI enabled analysis of CT scans
- Identifying mental health needs and best practice for psychological support in frontline healthcare workers during and after the COVID-19 outbreak and in future pandemics
- Modelling real-time population-wide impacts of COVID-19
- Optimising Covid-19 social distancing communications: Identifying and addressing psychosocial determinants of social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic
- Rapid response and learning for later: establishing high quality information networks and evaluation frameworks for the National Ambulance Service response to COVID-19
Vice President of Research at NUI Galway, Professor Lokesh Joshi added: “There has been a tremendous response to the COVID-19 pandemic from our research and innovation community here in Galway.
“Our people have mobilised across all the disciplines and are collaborating to find innovative approaches and new insights for this globally-shared challenge.
“Ireland’s COVID-19 Rapid Response research and innovation funding initiative is a welcome support to these efforts, and I congratulate the many NUI Galway awardees whose projects seek to benefit patients, frontline healthcare workers, and wider society.”
