PhD Researchers at Walton Institute reflected recently on the activities they participated in across the EU Horizon 2020 FET Open PRIME project this year. More than 30 months into the 48-month project, significant progress has been made towards reaching Work Package objectives, and the team have been busy with dissemination activities highlighting their achievements within the PRIME project.
Researchers Kurt Jan Pumares and Aiman Khalil, who work under the supervision of Dr. Daniel Martins and Dr. Deirdre Kilbane on the PRIME project at Walton Institute, also have close synergies between other partners of the consortium – in particular for Work Package 2 Simulations where they collaborate with Prof. Jochen Prehn, Prof. David Henshall and Rachel Stewart at Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI.)
Across 2023, Kurt and Aiman focused on availing of opportunities to showcase PRIME and their ongoing research and results, attending peer meetings, presenting posters, submitting to publications and representing the project at public engagements.
In May, representative members of the PRIME partners came together for a Plenary meeting to discuss the latest milestones and developments of the project. Kurt attended the Plenary which took place at the University of Aarhus in Denmark and met with the wider PRIME consortium where he presented an update on the latest achievements.
In August, Kurt and Aiman represented PRIME at the Neuroscience Ireland Conference which took place at RCSI in Dublin. Both were selected as candidates from a highly competitive pool of researchers to showcase their findings through a poster presentation. This opportunity positioned Kurt and Aiman next to renowned national and international scientists across the fields of clinical, molecular and cellular neuroscience, and provided an excellent opportunity to promote their work on PRIME.
In September, the annual ACM NanoCom conference took place at the University of Warwick in Coventry, UK. This prestigious conference focuses on molecular communications and is attended by international leaders in the fields of biological communication, nanotechnology and molecular communication. Kurt and Aiman attended ACM NanoCom to represent Walton Institute and the EU-FET Open PRIME project, availing of the opportunity to expand their network of connections within these areas of expertise and highlight their work on the PRIME project.
In November, the European Commission carried out the second review of PRIME with input from all Work Package Leads across the consortium of partners. Kurt and Aiman contributed to the presentation led by Dr. Daniel Martins, with a positive response from the EC on overall project progress to date.
As 2023 draws to a close, the PRIME team from Walton Institute are strategically planning for achieving project aims and objectives in 2024. A team meeting recently brought together the Principal Investigator, Project Coordinator, Communications Coordinator, PhD Researchers and representatives of the SETU Technology Transfer Office to discuss preparation for the next PRIME Plenary which will take place in Finland, at the University of Tampere, in January.
Reflecting on 2023, Dr. Deirdre Kilbane, Director of Research at Walton Institute, Principal Investigator of the PRIME project, and Funded Investigator in FutureNeuro said ‘In addition to their research and important work on simulations, our PhD Researchers Kurt and Aiman contribute so much more to the project, and across the past year they have demonstrated their capabilities to publicly represent PRIME at various forums. They will play an instrumental role in implementing project strategies next year, and I look forward to supporting their efforts and seeing their future successes. The year ahead is an exciting one for the PRIME project, and all of the partners involved, as we progress towards reaching the overall PRIME project goals.’
EU-FET Open PRIME brings together 7 partners from across Europe into a strong multi-disciplinary team: Walton Institute at SETU, Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, University of Tampere, University of Aarhus, EPOS-IASIS, OMIICS and University of Ferrara.
Walton Institute is an academic partner of FutureNeuro alongside RCSI, TCD, UCD, DCU, University of Galway and UCC. Working together, these top national and international research teams in neurology are making significant scientific discoveries, which will lead to earlier detection, more precise treatment and patient-empowered care pathways.
