Winners of US-Ireland research awards named

Xilinx Ireland, Alimentary Health and Dublin City University were named the overall winners at the inaugural US-Ireland research innovation awards in Dublin last night.

Fifteen companies and higher education institutions were shortlisted for the awards, which are a joint initiative between the Royal Irish Academy and the American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland.

The awards recognise excellence in research innovation that has taken place on the island of Ireland as a result of US foreign direct investment, were presented in three categories: multinational, SME and higher education institution.

Xilinx Ireland was named the winner in the multinational category, Alimentary Health won the SME category and Dublin City University was named the winner in the higher education category.

DCU researcher Prof Oliver Dolly examined the way nerves control muscular activity, gaining new insights into how botulinum toxin reduces neuronal signalling.

Platform

He created the platform for medical versions of the toxin that benefit thousands of patients worldwide, and helped convince a US pharmaceutical firm Allergan to develop such products.

Xilinx Ireland designed a new class of microchip to enable compact, power-efficient, next-generation, high-end electronic equipment.

Alimentary Health patented a probiotic that helps millions of suffers of irritable bowel syndrome manage the condition.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Eamonn Sinnott, president of the American Chamber said many of the innovations that emanate from the island of Ireland, and have an impact on a global scale, come from the community of US FDI here.

“This impact is being seen across the full spectrum of industry with countless innovations being seen in areas such as ICT where Irish designed computer chips and software programmes are powering systems worldwide,” he said.

A special Lifetime Achievement Award was also presented to Glen Dimplex founder Martin Naughton by the American Chamber.