NUIM

Whereas past histories of European music have been presented largely in terms of an all-male endeavour, this interdisciplinary project will take the lived experiences of widows as an impetus for developing a new kind of historiography, framed in terms of the history of emotions, that restores women’s individual agency and artistic integrity to the music-historical record. The research will introduce a paradigm shift to gender studies in musicology in two particular respects: first, by rethinking the ways in which widowhood proved to be a catalyst for creative endeavour that was a product both of loss and of a sense of liberation; and secondly, by engaging with widowhood as a lens through which to reconsider the contributions of women who have been overlooked in the dominant narratives of music history. In doing so, the project will address major European policy objectives, particularly those recommended by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 10, to promote gender equality and to reduce social inequalities in all aspects of society.

The dependence of mankind on petroleum- and oil-based fuels as the main energy source is widely recognised as being accompanied by several problems that impact the global economy and environmental health. In recent years, the conversion of plant biomass to biofuels, in a process called 1st- (1G) and 2nd-generation (2G) biofuel-production, has gained significant interest as an environmentally friendly and naturally abundant alternative, renewable energy source. The EU (European Union) legislation implements that by 2020, 20% of energy must be derived from renewable sources, showing the importance that renewable energy source production will play in the future. Saprobic microorganisms, such as filamentous fungi of the genus Aspergillus, are of particular interest for this process as they secrete a vast array of plant biomass hydrolyzing enzymes. A major drawback in the production of renewable biofuels is built-up of glucose during enzymatic hydrolysis of plant biomass, resulting in the transcriptional repression of fungal enzyme-encoding genes and subsequent secretion. The here described fellowship is proposing to uncover novel proteins involved in the regulation of hydrolytic enzymes and secondary metabolites production in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans that can be explored for biotechnological processes. To implement this project, the candidate will be hosted at the National University of Ireland in Maynooth in the laboratory of Fungal Genetics and Secondary Metabolism, under the supervision of Dr. Ozgur Bayram.

PatentsInHumans challenges the current marginalisation of bioethics in patent decision-making for technologies related to the human body. A patent gives a rightsholder the right to stop others using a patented technology. This allows them to control how that technology is provided, to whom, and on what terms. Where patents are for technologies related to the body, this control poses considerable bioethical issues because patents can affect how we treat, use and modify bodies. Yet patent systems generally do not engage with such implications. All patents are treated the same, regardless of the underlying technology i.e. a patent on an engine part is treated the same as a patent on a medicine, despite the significant effects the latter has for health. PatentsInHumans proposes that there is a self-reinforcing cycle where patents are granted even if bioethical implications are posed by patents over such technologies; that there are limited incentives for rightsholders to license patents in a way that addresses bioethical implications, and that patents, once granted, are difficult to challenge if bioethical issues arise. PatentsInHumans radically reconceptualises patents as governance devices over the body in such contexts. It proposes that when patents are applied for, the underlying technology’s relationship to the body must be considered. The project will therefore evaluate the bioethical implications that patents over such technologies have for how we treat, use, or modify our bodies. These implications must guide patent decision-making and the adoption of licensing or grant conditions that pre-empt bioethical issues. The project develops a cross disciplinary institutional analysis to evaluate key legal, structural and cultural barriers leading to the marginalisation of bioethics in patent decision-making, and to formulate pathways to bring bioethics into patent decision-making for technologies related to the body with important conceptual and policy implications

During the 20th century computer technology evolved from bulky, slow, special purpose mechanical engines to the now ubiquitous silicon chips and software that are one of the pinnacles of human ingenuity. The goal of the field of molecular programming is to take the next leap and build a new generation of matter-based computers using DNA, RNA and proteins. This will be accomplished by computer scientists, physicists and chemists designing molecules to execute ``wet'' nanoscale programs in test tubes. The workflow includes proposing theoretical models, mathematically proving their computational properties, physical modelling and implementation in the wet-lab. The past decade has seen remarkable progress at building static 2D and 3D DNA nanostructures. However, unlike biological macromolecules and complexes that are built via specified self-assembly pathways, that execute robotic-like movements, and that undergo evolution, the activity of human-engineered nanostructures is severely limited. We will need sophisticated algorithmic ideas to build structures that rival active living systems. Active-DNA, aims to address this challenge by achieving a number of objectives on computation, DNA-based self-assembly and molecular robotics. Active-DNA research work will range from defining models and proving theorems that characterise the computational and expressive capabilities of such active programmable materials to experimental work implementing active DNA nanostructures in the wet-lab.