A Trinity College graduate has won the 2001 prize for young chemists, an award which recognises the most outstanding Irish chemistry doctoral thesis as described in an essay. The award is organised by the Royal Irish Academy and jointly sponsored by The Irish Times and AGB Scientific Ltd.
The winner is Dr Theo Ryan who receives a cash prize of €1,000 and a John Coen bronze sculpture. He currently holds a post doctoral research fellowship with the Professor Christian Leumann Group at the University of Berne, Switzerland. Prof Leumann is a world expert in the production of chemical structures that can mimic components of the human genetic blueprint, DNA.
The director general of Science Foundation Ireland, Dr William Harris, last night presented the award to Dr Ryan at a reception in the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin. He praised Dr Ryan's achievement adding that Irish research science would benefit in time from his expertise.
The thesis involved research into the creation of cage-like molecules designed to interact in a specific way with the sugar molecules present on the surfaces of cells.
The ability of substances to recognise and attach to these sugars is an essential part of many biochemical activities and the work provided fresh insight into how these connections work.
The competition was open to PhD candidates from Northern Ireland and the Republic.
It is meant to encourage students to learn how to communicate the significance and importance of their research work to a broader audience.