Become a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow at Teagasc
Are you a researcher looking to advance your career and avail of new knowledge-exchange opportunities and training?
Teagasc is keen to host Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellows (PFs) to work in our research teams. We welcome expressions of interest from suitable candidates interested in developing a proposal with Teagasc researchers for a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Postdoctoral Fellowships are personal fellowships to support a period of mobility. There are two categories of Postdoctoral Fellowship: European Fellowships (open to researchers coming to Teagasc from any country in the world for 1-2 years) and Global Fellowships (involving 1-2 years working in a partner organisation outside of Europe, followed by a 12-month return period in Teagasc). The goal of these fellowships is to “enhance the creative and innovative potential of experienced researchers, wishing to diversify their individual competence in terms of skill acquisition through advanced training, international and intersectoral mobility”. As one of Ireland’s leading research organisations, Teagasc offers MSCA PFs a first-class environment to conduct research and avail of the attractive salary and benefits provided by the MSCA programme.
- What are MSCA European Fellowships?
- What are MSCA Global Fellowships?
- Who can apply?
- Why apply?
- Application Process & Timeline
- Teagasc as a Host Organisation
- Finding a potential Teagasc mentor and more information
What are MSCA European Fellowships?
- Open to researchers of any nationality and discipline
- Facilitate research activities abroad, acquire new skills to develop career
- Fellowships held in EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries
- Between 12 and 24 months in duration
- Typical Fellowship Budget - €85,000 per annum
What are MSCA Global Fellowships?
- Open to researchers of European nationality or long-term EU resident status
- Facilitate European researchers of any discipline to acquire new knowledge and skills outside of the EU
- Fellowships held outside of EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries
- Between 24 to 36 months in duration (including a mandatory 12-month reintegration period back to Europe after the completion of the outgoing stay)
- Typical Fellowship Budget - €85,000 per annum
Who can apply?
The European Fellowships are open to researchers either moving within Europe or coming to Europe. These fellowships take place in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country
The researcher must comply with the mobility rule: they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the beneficiary for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the call deadline.
The Global Fellowships are open to researchers moving from Europe (a Member State or Horizon Europe Associated country) to a country outside, followed by a return period back in Europe.
The researcher must comply with the mobility rule: they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the host organisation, for the outgoing phase, for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the call deadline
Other key features:
- Researchers must have a Doctoral degree (or date of successful defence) by call deadline
- Maximum of 8 years research experience after PhD (with exceptions = career breaks, work outside research, long-term sick leave, maternity/paternity leave)
- Researchers who received a score of <70% in previous PF call cannot submit the same proposal with the same host organisation to the following year’s call
- Option to include a secondment to an academic or non-academic organisation to any country worldwide up to 1/3 of the fellowship duration
Why apply?
Enhance your career prospects and employability through a targeted career development and training programme.
Develop a network of new international and inter-sectoral contacts and collaborations.
Gain experience working on a first-class scientific project.
Benefit from an attractive salary and benefits package - the fellowship provides a living, mobility and family allowance (where eligible) to the individual, as well as institutional costs for Research, Training & Networking and Management & Indirect Costs (the living allowance includes a Country Correction Coefficient to take account of living costs in the host country).
Boost your CV and future prospects by securing this prestigious award.
Application Process & Timeline
Experienced researchers interested in applying for a MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship should firstly identify a Host Mentor in Teagasc - information on finding a potential Host Mentor is available below. If you don’t see a potential Host Mentor in your research area in the list, please contact the Teagasc Research Support Office for help in identifying a potential mentor (contact details below).
If agreed the Fellowship Applicant and Host Mentor should discuss a project proposal and work closely to develop the application – the Teagasc Research Support Office is also available to assist with your application and provide feedback.
MSCA-PF applications must be submitted through the European Commission Participant Portal before the Call Deadline: 11 September 2024 17:00 Brussels time.
Teagasc as a Host Organisation
One of Ireland’s leading research bodies, ranked 1st in Ireland in research areas such as Food Science & Technology and Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Sciences and 4th and 5th, respectively, in these areas across the EU-28 (Web of Science Incites analytics).
Excellent research programme spanning all areas of the agri-food and bioeconomy sectors.
Innovative organisational model based on the integration of research, advisory services and education – a unique multi-actor approach.
Dedicated Post-Doctoral programme providing training and development opportunities for early-career scientists to enhance their experience of learning and equip them with the necessary skills for the next stage of their chosen career in research.
Staff training programme aimed at providing staff members with training and development relevant to their role and addressing priority development needs.
Finding a potential Teagasc mentor and more information
Research programmes at Teagasc
Official MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships Call page and Submission Portal
Teagasc Research Support Office:
barry.crosbie@teagasc.ie and Orlaith.NiChoncubhair@teagasc.ie
List of Teagasc researchers interested in becoming a Host Mentor
| Name & Contact Details | Department | Research areas of interest | Experience of Mentoring & Supervision |
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Aine Macken-Walsh |
Agrifood Business and Spatial Analysis Department |
Sociology; narrative methodologies; participatory methodologies; co-design of extension interventions; integration of primary producers to short food supply chains. |
Aine has supervised three Post-Doctoral trainees and eight PhD students to completion. Currently, her team consists of three Post-Doctoral trainees and three PhD students, all working on sociology and extension topics. |
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André Brodkorb |
Food Chemistry & Technology Department |
Food proteins, food/protein colloids, gastro-intestinal digestion, microencapsulation. Dr Brodkorb is a senior researcher in the Food Chemistry and Technology department of the Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark. His research interest covers the structure/ function relationship of food and food ingredients, proteins in particular, from source to processing and food production all the way to consumption and absorption of nutrients in the human body. His laboratory includes state of the art equipment and techniques for protein/peptide characterisation (HPLC, FPLC, FTIR, Fluorescence spectroscopy), colloids (dynamic and static light scattering, AFM & SEM/TEM, confocal microscopy), in vitro/in vivo digestion models, protection of bio-active components by microencapsulation. Dr Brodkorb was the 2016 Winner of the Poncelet Prize for Innovation in Encapsulation Technology, co-sponsored by Procter & Gamble and the Bioencapsulation Research Group (BRG). Research areas of interest for MSCA PF application:
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Bernadette Earley |
Animal and Bioscience Department |
Animal health; animal welfare; bovine respiratory disease (BRD) diagnostics; Biomarkers of stress. In parallel to the ethological and stress-related parameters, immune parameters are being measured in order to establish a relationship between stress and immune response in the bovine. This is a major driver of new studies using “Omics” technologies. Thus, utilizing the emerging knowledge in bovine genomics, biological sciences, neuroscience and bioinformatics, my research mission is to advance new science and high speed technology that will ultimately lead to breakthroughs in stress physiology and lead to quantifiable and objectives indices of animal health and welfare. |
Post-graduate student supervision, since joining Teagasc, I have successfully supervised 18 Ph.D students, 2 M.Sc students to completion, 1 Teagasc funded post-doctoral researcher (RMIS 4624), 1 (Marie Curie Funded IEF Fellowship - RMIS 6064) and 1 Contract Research Officer (RMIS 6153; Bord Bia funded; 1 post-doctoral researcher and 1 technician (RMIS 6476. I am presently supervising 1 post-doctoral researcher RMIS 0333) and 1 PhD student (RMIS 0095). I have secured funding from Teagasc to recruit 2 Ph.D students (RMIS 0344 and RMIS 345) in October 2018. |
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Brijesh Tiwari Scholar: goo.gl/NoMOAY Skype: brijesh.kumar.tiwari ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4834-6831 ResearcherID: K-6227-2013 |
Food Chemistry and Technology Department |
Sustainable food processing technologies, novel clean and green extraction technologies, valorisation of food processing by-product streams. The focus of the Advanced Food Processing Technologies Research Group is to become a strong multidisciplinary research group with an excellent track record in delivering high quality research and innovation metrics, including patent and technology transfer. The group’s research interests relate to novel food processing, extraction and preservation technologies, with a strong focus on investigation of biochemical and microbial kinetics in food and food products. The research has been funded through various competitively won sources including the EU Horizon 2020, Irish Research Council, Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine, Enterprise Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland, Science Without Borders (Brazil) and industry.
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My research area is strongly aligned with key national (Sustainable, Healthy Agri-food Research Plan (SHARP)- 2015) and EU (H2020 thematic area 2: “Food Security, Sustainable …..Bioeconomy” under the societal challenges pillar) and Innovation 2020 of Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation research programmes. |
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Catherine Stanton |
Food Biosciences Department |
Early life nutrition, probiotic cultures, infant gut microbiota, bioactive lipids Catherine has developed a research programme on functional foods, with emphasis on the molecular analysis of food components that impact on human nutrition and health. Catherine is currently Principal Research Officer at Teagasc and a Principal Investigator in the APC’s Microbial Metabolites core and in the Food Health Ireland Research Centre. |
Catherine has extensive experience of mentoring and supervision: currently, 8 Post docs and 10 PhD students with 11 previous Post docs and 22 PhD students. |
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Dan Milbourne |
Crops Research Department |
Plant breeding, genotyping, phenotyping, informatics, genomics, image analysis. We are a breeding and genetics group developing genome-based approaches for application in a highly successful real world potato breeding programme. We specialise in disease resistance genetics, marker assisted selection, genomic selection, all with a specific focus on deploying research outcomes in a real world breeding scenario. We’re looking for two possible types of candidate. Firstly, we seek people with a background in computational biology/informatics/quantitative genetics, who are interested in exploiting next generation sequencing-based approaches for genomic prediction for key traits in potato breeding. Alternatively, we’re seeking people with a background in image analysis who are interested in applying their expertise to high throughput, in-field phenotyping of potato crops. |
I have supervised/co-supervised 14 PhD students, and several technicians and postdoctoral scientists – including one current MSCA Fellow. I work with colleagues with expertise in plant breeding and bioinformatics who will also contribute to the mentorship of the fellow. |
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David Kenny |
Animal and Bioscience Department |
Cattle, nutrition, fertility, functional genomics. Our group utilises state of the art physiological and molecular technologies to study the complex multidimensional biological control of economically important traits in cattle. In particular, our work involves in-depth examination of underlying biochemical control of traits including sexual maturation of male and female calves, feed intake and efficiency as well as carcass growth and quality. More recently we have implemented a strong gut microbiome research programme in order to better elucidate the molecular control of feed digestion, ruminal methanogenesis and gut health. Research areas of interest for MSCA PF application: Nutritional control of fertility, growth and feed efficiency in cattle Dietary and genetic strategies to improve the efficiency of ruminal feed digestion and reduce methanogenesis Early life dietary management strategies to increase carcass adiposity in cattle Factors affecting the economic and environmental sustainability of ruminant livestock production systems |
David has supervised 18 PhD and 9 Masters students to completion. |
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David Wall |
Environment, Soils & Land Use Department |
Nutrient cycling, soil fertility, grassland, crops, nutrient management, soil quality. My research team investigates nutrient cycling in soils and agricultural systems. Our group integrates nutrient processes in soils, grassland and crop nutrient uptake and recovery, and environmental losses from agricultural soils. Currently we are focusing on pH and liming and N, P and K cycling in soil and methods to enhance agricultural production while increasing environmental and economic sustainability through the adoption of more efficient nutrient management practices and soil specific advice. The team is also investigating indicators of soil quality and frameworks for adopting improved functional land management practices within agricultural landscapes. Research areas of interest for MSCA PF application:
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Dr David Wall has supervised 6 PhD and 2 MSc students to completion. Currently his research team consists of 2 postdocs, 2 technicians and 5 PhD students. |
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Declan Bolton |
Food Safety Department |
Food safety microbiology, epidemiology, virulence, risk assessment, risk management/HACCP, antibiotic resistance, molecular characterisation, survival and control of verocytotoxigenicEscherichia coli (VTEC including E. coli O157), Campylobacter,Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes and Yersinia enterocolitica in a range of foods/environments, farm to fork. |
32 years in research having supervised 30 PhD students, over 50 students on placement and 11 Post-docs. |
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Dheeraj Rathore |
Forestry Development Department |
Advancing Tissue Culture Techniques for Rapid Propagation and Enhanced Quality in Ash and Eucalyptus. Tissue culture, also known as micropropagation, is a pivotal technique in plant biotechnology, enabling the propagation of plants under sterile conditions. This method is particularly advantageous for hardy species such as ash (Fraxinus spp.) and eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.). This project will explore the tissue culture techniques for ash and eucalyptus which are invaluable for both forestry and horticultural industries, offering solutions for rapid propagation, disease resistance, and consistent quality of plant materials. Other research interests include:
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5 years - Direct Supervisor for:
- Two PhD students were awarded national and international prizes for best presentations and travel. - Career mentor for 2 Post-docs and 2 PhD students. - Guest lecturer for First Year BSc (Sustainable Timber Technology) Students - Technological University Dublin, Ireland. - Co-host of international workshop on Ash breeding for dieback disease tolerance bringing members from 13 European countries to Teagasc Ashtown centre. - Collaborations: 7 national and 9 international Research Performing Organisations, 3 industry partners, 3 trusts and NGOs. |
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Diarmuid Sheehan |
Food Chemistry and Technology Department |
Dairy Foods, physicochemistry, structure function, microstructure, casein-polymer interactions. Dr. Sheehan is a senior researcher at the Teagasc Food Research Centre Moorepark with accomplishments in both academic and commercial fields. His research group is focused on investigating interactions between dairy matrix physico-chemistry, microstructure and the metabolic activity of bacteria entrapped within. In addition, his group are working on metabolomic profiling of dairy foods based on herd diet, food matrix structure-function relationships, food colloids and casein-polymer interactions with a view to structuring dairy foods for new sensory experiences and development of food functionality using membrane processes. Research area of interest for MSCA PF application:
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He has supervised 9 post-doctoral scientists to date as well as supervised/co-supervised 5 PhDs to completion. He is currently supervising 1 post-doctoral researcher, 5 PhD students and 1 research technician. |
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Dilip Rai |
Food Bioscience Department |
Phytochemicals, health, nutraceuticals, chromatography, mass spectrometry, food-waste valorisation. Dr. Rai leads a research team focussed on the structural elucidation of natural bioactive molecules extracted from terrestrial plant-food, animals and marine sources. The bioactive molecules are either nutrient based (proteins/peptides, polysaccharides, lipids and their combination) or non-nutrient secondary metabolites that could be potential ingredients for functional food development or natural bio-control agents. He has a keen interest in assessing the effect of industrial or domestic processing of food on retention and alteration of bioactive molecules or affecting the food quality. Research area of interest for MSCA PF application:
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Dilip has supervised 3 PhD students as a primary mentor and 4 post-docs between 2012-2018. He is currently primary supervisor of 2 PhD students and a co-supervisor of 2 PhDs. |
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Donagh Berry Profile
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Animal and Bioscience Department |
Animal genetics, Animal genomics, Precision dairy Research group aims to be an agent of sustainable and competitive growth of the Irish ruminant industry by being a world leader in fundamental and translational research on all aspects relating to optimised breeding programs including the development and deployment of:
Research area of interest for MSCA PF application:
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Within Teagasc, I supervise 2 researchers/postdocs, 4 PhD students and several hosted students who work across a whole spectrum of domain areas in multiple species. The VistaMilk centre, which I am director of, consists of >200 research scientists predominantly focused on the development and dissemination of precision technologies in dairy production systems from soil to society |
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Ewen Mullins |
Crops Research Department |
Genome editing, genetic engineering, disease resistance. My team completes multi-disciplinary research to investigate economically important crop-pathogen interactions with the goal of developing novel crop material with enhanced stress resilience to the most challenging crop pathogens in Ireland today. To achieve this we employ a range of breeding techniques to enhance crop performance and reduce chemical inputs. This is possible due to our participation in several gene discovery projects focussed on wheat, barley and potato while in parallel we have developed a novel gene transfer technology, termed EMT, which allows for both monocot and dicot transformation. The latter forms part of our expanding interest in the plant microbiome and the functionality of organisms in regards to improving crop productivity. Research areas of interest for MSCA PF application: Applying novel breeding technologies to develop durable disease resistant crop varieties and demonstrate a reduced need for chemical inputs |
I have supervised 17 x PhD candidates to qualification and currently lead the Crop Science Department with upwards of 100 staff and students researching across a broad programme |
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Fiona Brennan |
Environment, Soils & Land Use Department |
Soil microbiome, plant-soil-microbial interactions, greenhouse gases, nutrient cycling, enteric pathogens. My research team investigates the composition and function of the soil microbiome in agronomic systems, and how this knowledge can be used to inform agricultural management strategies. We’re using new technologies to identify the microbes and pathways that underpin functions related to productivity, nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration. In addition, we’re investigating the effect of management, environmental and edaphic factors on the soil microbiome. We investigate the microbial communities responsible for the production of N20 (denitrifiers, nitrifiers) in soils and manures, with the aim of identifying regulators of each pathway and potential mitigation options. A key research focus of our group is on Plant-Soil-Microbial interactions and how they impact on soil fertility. We also study the prevalence, fate and transport of microbial enteropathogens and their indicators in the environment within soil, water, plants and organic amendments. Research areas of interest for MSCA PF application:
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Dr Brennan has supervised 3 PhD and 1 MSc students to completion. Currently her research team consists of 8 PhD students. |
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Gary Lanigan |
Environment, Soils & Land Use Department |
CN cycling, greenhouse gas mitigation, sequestration, isotope tracing. The area of research I am focused on is quantifying and drawing up mitigation strategies for gaseous emissions associated with agricultural practices. These emissions include the major greenhouse gases; carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, as well as non-greenhouse emissions, such as ammonia. In particular, I am interested in looking at the effects of changes in land management and/or land use on nitrous oxide, carbon and ammonia fluxes. Particular interests are the use of stable isotopes to characterise C and N cycling in ecosystems and eddy covariance techniques to quantify field-scale fluxes. Research areas of interest for MSCA PF application:
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Prof. Lanigan has supervised 10 PhD and 2 MSc students to completion and 5 postdocs. Currently his research team consists of 1 postdoc, 1 technician and 7 PhD students. |
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Harsh Mathur |
Food Bioscience Department, Moorepark Food Research Centre |
Evaluating the gut microbiome modulating potential of a variety of fermented foods, with a particular focus on fermenting plant-based substrates and dairy substrates. Dr Mathur has recently acquired funding as part of the EU COST Action programme whereby he is leading a Work Package relating to in vitro models of the human gut, along with colleagues and collaborators from Europe. Dr Mathur has acted as a supervisor for an project as part of the Food for Health Ireland (FHI) project from 2021 to 2024 where he has mentored a Research Officer in Teagasc. This has resulted in outputs including Invention disclosure forms and research papers. In addition, Dr Mathur has mentored a Marie Curie Post-Doctoral Fellow in the lab and outputs include an Invention Disclosure Form relating to optimisation of methodology relating to ex vivo models of the human distal colon. |
Dr Mathur has accumulated experience in mentoring and supervising PhD students in particular. Dr Mathur is the lead supervisor of one PhD student in his lab currently, whilst acting as a co-supervisor for another student in the UK. Furthermore, he has co-supervised three other PhD students from Brazil and Italy, who spent part of their PhD programmes in his lab in Teagasc. Dr Mathur was the official external examiner for a PhD viva for a student in Brazil and has participated in another viva for a student in Italy. Dr Mathur also has experience mentoring Post-Doctoral Researchers, Technicians and Research Officers on several projects in the lab, including currently mentoring a Marie Curie Post-Doctoral Researcher. Overall, Dr Mathur’s mentoring and supervising experience has involved both academic projects as well as industry-funded projects, including the Food for Health Ireland (FHI) Dairy Fermentates project. |
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Jason Loughrey |
Agricultural Economics & Farm Surveys Department |
Agricultural economics, farm size concentration and inequality, geographical conditions, structural change, agricultural productivity. The Agricultural Economics group in Teagasc has a staff of seven permanent researchers, three post-doctoral researchers, eight PhD students and a number of technical staff dealing with the organisation, collection and dissemination of the Teagasc National Farm Survey (NFS) data. The group has expertise in several key areas including macroeconomics, productivity, competitiveness, environmental sustainability, risk analysis, the Common Agricultural Policy, the farm income distribution and the factor markets operating within agriculture. Members of the group have recently published their research in high quality journals including Agricultural Economics, the Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Food Economics, Land Use Policy, the Agricultural Finance Review and Climate Policy. Members of the group have recently supported the organisation of the Annual conference of the Agricultural Economics Society, which took place in Dublin during April of this year. The group is actively collaborating with researchers from universities and research organisations throughout Ireland and around the world including the University of Missouri, the University of Milan, the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Newcastle University and Scotland’s Rural College. Research area of interest for MSCA PF application: Farm Size Concentration |
Jason is currently supervising one PhD student who is affiliated with NUI Galway. He has supervised a Masters student with NUI Galway and an outcome of the Master’s thesis is a publication in Agricultural and Food Economics on the topic of risk in Irish Agriculture. |
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John Finn |
Environment, Soils & Land Use Department |
Multi-species mixtures, grassland diversity, biodiversity, sustainability accreditation, high nature value farmland, ecosystem services Research area of interest for MSCA PF application:
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John is an experienced supervisor of PhD and postdoctoral researchers. He has previously supervised two Marie Curie fellows, several postdoctoral fellows, and multiple PhD fellowships. He is Postgraduate Director of Agri-Food Graduate Development Programme. |
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Kanishka Nilaweera |
FoodBioscience |
Improving nutrition for the over or under-nourished. Diet; Growth; Vitamins; Gut microbiota; Health Much of our past work has focused attention on developing dietary strategies to manage the weight of over-nourished individuals. We are now extending this work to include under-nourished by use of dietary strategies that can deliver specific vitamins for improving growth. |
3 PhD and 1 MSc completed. Supervised 2 Postdoctoral researchers and co-supervised 10 PhD students and 5 Postdoctoral researchers. |
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Karen Daly |
Environment, Soils & Land Use Department |
Soil spectroscopy, chemometrics, modelling, portable spectroscopy. Teagasc’s programme of research on soil and crop sensing is currently developing new technologies that will underpin the competitiveness of Irish agriculture. This research is focussing on the application of spectroscopy and chemometrics for the non-destructive analysis of agricultural soils, crops and sediments. The research group consists of 3 Ph.D. students with laboratory research support provided by a permanent technologist. This programme of research is resourced with bench-top and portable spectroscopic instrument that includes near and mid infra-red spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Aligned with Teagasc Technology Foresight 2035 strategy this programme is progressing new methods and applications in spectroscopy for the agri-food sector. Research areas of interest for MSCA PF application: Environmental and Geosciences (ENV):
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Karen has a track record in project management and people management; and an excellent record of securing funding for new work and managing the work packages, budget and staff on multiple research projects. She currently has 6 post-graduate students and is also co-supervisor to 2 post-doctoral researchers. She previously supervised 3 PhD and 1 MSc student to completion and supervised 5 contract researchers/post-doctoral scientists. |
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Karl Richards |
Environment, Soils & Land Use Department |
Environmental contaminants, soil, water, nitrogen cycling, greenhouse gas emissions, leaching, pathogens. My research team investigates the source and transport of contaminants to water and air within agricultural landscapes. Our group integrates soil processes with environmental emissions to water and air from agricultural soils. Currently we are focusing on nitrogen cycling in soil and methods to enhance sustainability through mitigation of nitrous oxide emissions to the atmosphere and nitrate leaching to water. The team is also investigating pathogen survival in soil/water and emerging contaminants in groundwater. Research areas of interest for MSCA PF application:
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Dr Richards has supervised 15 PhD and 3 MSc students to completion and 7 postdocs. Currently his research team consists of 2 postdocs and 8 PhD students. |
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Kaye Burgess |
Food Safety Department |
Biofilm, Listeria, STEC, Salmonella, transcriptomics. The objective of the Teagasc Food Safety Department is to provide the science to underpin a total chain, risk based approach to food safety, focusing on microbial and chemical contaminants in the ‘farm to fork’ food chain. The microbiology programme addresses key food bacterial pathogens along the complete chain. Our research uses microbiological, genomic, proteomic and mathematical modelling tools to address issues including pathogen transmission and tracking in the food chain, pathogen behaviour and survival in the food chain, including adaptation to stresses they encounter. A focus is also placed on the development of novel control measures. Research areas of interest for MSCA PF application:
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I have significant experience in supervising and mentoring both postdoctoral and technical staff and postgraduate students to successful completion of MScs and PhDs. I currently supervise three PhD students and one technician and co-supervise two additional PhD students. |
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Lael Walsh |
Horticulture Development Department, Crops Environment and Land Use Programme. |
Our major research interests focus on horticulture topics including 1. environmental assessment, 2. controlled environment and hydroponic production, 3. plant physiological response to biostimulants, 4. food loss and waste reduction. This dynamic and growing group of horticulture sustainability researchers is actively contributing to new knowledge in areas of life cycle assessment, carbon footprints, plant science, food loss and waste (FLW) reduction, and crop protection. |
Co-supervised 1 PhD candidate to completion. Currently supervising 2 postdoctoral researchers, 2 research officers, 1 MSc candidate and 3 PhD candidates. Dr Walsh also hosts/supervises interns and visiting researchers in the group. |
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Laura Mascaraque |
Food Chemistry & Technology |
Structuring foods using novel/alternative ingredients Food microstructure. Characterization of nano and microstructured food matrices and ingredients by microscopy, spectroscopy and scattering techniques. Microencapsulation of bioactive food ingredients (e.g. polyphenols, carotenoids, probiotics…) to protect them during food processing, storage and/ or consumption. Polysaccharides (e.g. alginate, carrageenan, starch, chitosan, agarose, etc.) and the relationshipbetween their molecular structure and their physico-chemical and functional properties. Hydrogels and microhydrogels: production, characterization of their microstructure and physic-chemical properties. Electrohydrodynamic processing techniques (i.e. electrospraying and electrospinning) for the production of edible biopolymeric nano- and/or microstructures (microcapsules, nanofibre matts). |
Supervised/mentored 3 Post-doctoral fellows and research officers. Currently supervising 1 Post-doctoral researcher and 4 PhD students. |
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Linda Giblin ResearcherID: P-2436-2016 ORCID ID: 000-0002-9354-3121 |
Food Biosciences Department |
Food Bioactives, Food Digestion and Bioavailability, Intestinal Barrier Function. Linda’s lab has published >50 research papers in international peer reviewed journals (33 in the last 5 years), 4 invited book chapters and Linda has a h-index of 20, i-index of 33. She leads a molecular biology group at Teagasc with research interests in Food Bioactives, Food Bioavailability and Intestinal Barrier function. She has been Coordinator/Principal Investigator on numerous national and EU funded projects including Food for Health Ireland, with in excess of €3m allocated to her lab. She is an associate editor for Journal of Functional Foods and an ad hoc reviewer for several top Food Bioactive journals (Food Chemistry, Molecular Nutrition & Food Research and Food & Function). She regularly reviews grant proposals for several Irish and EU funding agencies. Research area of interest for MSCA PF application:
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Linda has supervised 8 PhD, 10 MSc and 6 Post-doctoral scientists to completion and currently supervises 4 PhD students and 2 post-doctoral scientists. Linda has management accreditation in Managing People FETAC Level 6 and IMI Management certification. She has actively participated in Teagasc’s Walsh Fellowship Programme (post-graduate) as a member of the Walsh Fellowship Committee, conference judge, and up skilling at supervisor training workshops. Ex-postgraduate scientists from her lab currently hold senior positions in industry including: Site Head Quality-ALCON, QS Supervisor-MYLAN, Analytical Chemist-EL LILY, R&D analyst-TEVA Pharmaceuticals, Biochemist Analyst-MERCK MILLIPORE and QC microbiologist-SANOFI GENZYME. |
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Louise McNamara |
Crops Research Department |
Entomology, integrated pest management, biocontrol, insecticide resistance. My research interests are integrated pest management of insect pests with a focus on arable crops. This encompasses best use of insecticides, insecticide resistance, biological pest control, cultural control and promotion of biodiversity in an arable farm landscape to enhance ecosystem services. Current research includes control of the grain aphid, Sitobion avenae, in light of insecticide resistance and the role of Ecological Focus Areas for promotion of natural enemy populations. Research areas of interest for MSCA PF application:
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Currently (co)supervising 2 PhD students and 1 technician. |
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Martin Danaher |
Food Safety Department |
Veterinary Drugs, Feed Additives, Mycotoxins The Teagasc Residue Laboratory is accredited to ISO17025 standards and it is a European National Reference Laboratory for Veterinary Drug and Pesticide Residue analysis. The laboratory also fulfils a role of providing specialist analysis for the Irish food industry. The residues research group is based within this laboratory and conducts research on several externally funded research projects. The Teagasc Residue Laboratory is equipped with state of the art instrumentation including eight LC-MS/MS systems and one ICP-MS. The laboratory also has a range of other equipment such as Ion chromatography and GC systems. The main focus of research in the laboratory at present is on veterinary drugs, mycotoxins, processing contaminants, mineral analysis and nutritional analysis. |
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Olivia McAuliffe |
Food Biosciences Department |
Food: pathogen detection, nanodiagnostics, bacteriophage (phage), phage-host interactions, phage-derived affinity proteins. One of our major research interests concerns the in-depth analysis of bacteriophages and the relationship that they have with their host cells. The work has mainly focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms underpinning the phage infection of bacterial cells. In addition, we are investigating the potential of using bacteriophages, and products derived from them, as therapeutics agents and for pathogen detection. Numerous phages and their endolysins have been characterised, some of which target the more problematic pathogens including MRSA, Clostridium difficile, E. coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes. Research area of interest for MSCA PF application: Phage-derived affinity proteins as biorecognition elements for pathogen detection: The project would involve the recombinant production and characterisation of phage-derived affinity proteins with a view to their use as biorecognition elements for pathogen detection. In particular, we are interested in phage-receptor binding proteins, the proteins in the tail of phages that drive specificity. We would like to identify these (for some phages, we already know), produce and purify them recombinantly (a method development to do this would be part of the project), and characterise them with a view to utilising these proteins as the biorecognition elements for bacterial detection. There are some methods for assessing the ability of the phage proteins to detect their hosts, and we would like to establish these in the laboratory. The pathogens whose phages we are interested in are Listeria moncytogenes and Cronobacter sakazaaki, two pathogens which prey on vulnerable populations. |
To date, Olivia has supervised 5 PhD students and 4 MSc students to completion. She has also supervised 2 post-doctoral researchers, 2 contract technologists and a host of student internships in the past. Her current research team consists of 4 PhD students, 2 MSc students, 2 post-doctoral researchers and 1 technician. |
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Orla Keane |
Animal and Bioscience Department |
Infection biology, Staphylococcus aureus, mastitis, gastrointestinal nematode, immune response, genomics. Orla’s research focuses on infection biology with an emphasis on host-pathogen interactions. An understanding of such interactions is increasingly important due to societal concern regarding the emergence of antibiotic and anthelmintic resistance, and the effect of climate change on pathogen epidemiology. Her research group aims to understand the role of host and pathogen genomic variation in controlling infection outcome and disease progression and in antibiotic/anthelmintic treatment failure. Pathogens of interest include bovine-associated Staphylococcus aureus and Teladorsagia circumcincta in sheep. Research areas of interest for MSCA PF application:
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Orla has supervised 2 post-doctoral scientists including one MSCA fellow. She has also supervised 8 PhD and 1 research MSc student to completion. Her research group currently consists of 1 post-doc, 2 PhD students and 2 research associates. |
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Orla O'Sullivan |
Food Biosciences Department |
Bioinformatics, metagenomics, microbiome, exercise, diet, genomics. Orla is a senior research officer in the Food Bioscience Department; she is also a Principal investigator with APC Microbiome Ireland and VistaMilk. Current large research projects within her group include the H2020 funded DOMINO and CoDiet as well as SFI funded Fitbiota. Orla’s research group focuses on elucidating the microbiome from various environments including human gut and lung, soil, rumen and food. Of particular interest to her is the role of exercise and diet on the human gut microbiome both in healthy and diseased cohorts. Research area of interest for MSCA PF: Impacts of fitness and diet on microbial populations, the soil microbiome, food microbiomes. |
Orla has extensive experience both in mentoring staff and students. Currently the research group consists of 4 PhDs and 3 post-doctoral researchers |
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Owen Fenton |
Environment, Soils & Land Use Department |
Nitrogen, land drainage, soil, hydrology, hydrogeology. My research team investigates the source, transformation and fate of nitrogen within agricultural landscapes. I am particularly interested in hydrological and biogeochemical time lags and characterisation of land drainage systems. Other research looks at engineered solutions to remediate mixed pollutant losses from agricultural ditch networks. Research areas of interest for MSCA PF application:
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Prof Fenton has supervised 15 PhD and 3 MSc students to completion and 2 postdocs. |
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Pablo Silva Bolona |
Animal Bioscience, Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Programme. Teagasc. |
Mastitis prevention and control, mastitis diagnosis and treatment, antibiotic use, epidemiology of mastitis, milking management. Prevention and control of mastitis in dairy cows. Milking management. I am interested in reducing mastitis and SCC levels in Irish dairy herds and improving udder health. Particularly, my research focuses on exploring the impact of selective dry cow therapy (the treatment of uninfected cows with teat sealant instead of antibiotic at dry-off) on SCC. Other research interests include: understanding management practices that contribute to reduce mastitis and SCC in Irish dairy herds, explore mastitis treatment options and determine the most common sources of infection in dairy cows. |
Supervised 1 PhD (Graduated in December 2023) Currently supervising 2 PhD students In the process of recruiting 2 additional PhD students I have supervised to completion 1 PhD student and I am currently supervising 2 PhD students in their 1st and 3rd years. I am also actively recruiting two PhD students and a Post Doc for 2 recently funded research projects. |
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Patrick Forrestal |
Environment, Soils & Land Use Department |
Soil fertility, nutrients (N, S, K), fertilisers, ammonia emissions, manures. My research interest focuses on bringing new understanding of plant, soil, and nutrient interactions to bear in developing strategies and solutions which optimize agricultural productivity and limit potential for negative environmental impacts. Recent focus includes execution of a multi-site inter-agency collaborative research project focused on gaseous nitrogen (N) emissions, N dynamics and agronomy in intensively managed grassland and arable agro-ecosystems. Future work will include a focus on potassium and sulphur nutrition along with efficiency of recycled residues and animal manures along with gaseous N losses from manures and fertilisers. Research areas of interest for MSCA PF application:
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Dr Forrestal has supervised 2 PhD and 1 MSc students to completion. |
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Paul Cotter |
Food Biosciences Department |
Food, Gut, Microbiota, Sequencing, Fermentation, Bacteriocin. Dr. Paul Cotter is a Principal Research Officer and Head of Food Biosciences at Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ireland where he also runs the Teagasc Next Gen DNA Sequencing Centre and an accompanying team of bioinformaticians. In addition, he is a Principal Investigator within the APC Microbiome Institute and an adjunct lecturer at Cork Institute of Technology. Paul’s research focuses primarily on the microbiology of food (especially fermented foods and beverages and their health promoting properties), the food chain (from a spoilage and safety perspective) and the human microbiome (including gut and vagina) and the modulation thereof, in the latter case through for, example, live biotherapeutics/probiotics, diet and exercise. Paul’s research focuses primarily on the microbiology of food (especially fermented foods and beverages and their health promoting properties), the food chain (from a spoilage and safety perspective) and the human microbiome (including gut and vagina) and the modulation thereof, in the latter case through for, example, live biotherapeutics/probiotics, diet and exercise. He also has an international reputation in the field of antimicrobial peptides/bacteriocins. His laboratory were awarded the title of Irish Food/Agriculture Laboratory of the Year 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 and he has received awards from the Society for Applied Microbiology, ESCMID and FEMS and is an appointed faculty member of Faculty of 1000 (Biology) since 2006. Dr Cotter is also the author of >250 peer-reviewed publications (H-index 60) resulting from research funded by the EU, Science Foundation Ireland, the Irish Health Research Board, Enterprise Ireland, the Irish Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Irish Research Council for Science Engineering and Technology. He has also served on the editorial boards of MSystems, Applied & Environmental Microbiology, PLoS One, BMC Microbiology, F1000 Reports and Proteins & Antimicrobial Peptides. Research areas of interest for MSCA PF application: As described above in research activities |
Considerable experience of mentoring senior research fellow through MSCA, Science Foundation Ireland and other schemes |
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Peadar Lawlor |
Pig Development Department |
Alternative proteins for pigs, weaned pig nutrition, liquid feeding of pigs Dr. Lawlor currently leads projects focussing on:
Past research includes; novel feed additives and ingredients, sow nutrition and management, reducing pre-weaning mortality, improving feed efficiency, Salmonella control, safety of genetically modified feed ingredients, alternatives to in-feed antibiotics, pre-slaughter factors affecting meat eating quality, pre-natal muscle development, manure management and energy generation from pig manure. |
I have supervised 23 PhD and 7 Masters students to completion and mentored 9 post-doctoral researchers. The impact of my mentoring is evidenced by the fact that my past team members hold high level positions in academia or industry. In addition, one of my PhD students was awarded the prestigious Teagasc Walsh Fellow of the year award (2019) and others have won the Society of Feed Technologists Research Scholarship (2010; 2022) and British Society of Animal Science Industry Prize (2018, 2022, 2023, 2024). I am Adjunct Professor in the College of Health and Agricultural Sciences at UCD, Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Civil Engineering at UoG and I lecture on an Animal Nutrition module to BSc in Agricultural Science students at SETU and UoG. |
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Rita Hickey |
Food Biosciences Department |
Milk oligosaccharides, milk glycoproteins, host-microbial interactions, food glycans, colostrum. Dr. Rita Hickey is a senior research officer in the Food Biosciences Dept. at Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark. Her main research interests focus on investigating the biological properties of sugars isolated from food sources. Rita is the lead PI on the FHI Infant Nutrition workpackage for Food for Health Ireland and was a funded PI on the SFI-funded Alimentary Glycobiology Research Cluster (AGRC). She is a faculty member of the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre (APC) and currently collaborates with PIs from the APC. A major area of interest is the effect of food derived oligosaccharides on host-microbial interactions in the gut. For instance, milk oligosaccharides can alter intestinal glycosylation, which in turn contributes to early immune development and maturation of the newborn intestinal tract. In the Hickey lab, strategies to increase the colonisation of infant-associated Bifidobacteria have been extensively investigated in recent years with promising results. Research area of interest for MSCA PF application:
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Rita has supervised 4 PhD and 5 Post-doctoral scientists to completion and a host of student internships in the past. She is currently supervising 5 PhD students and 2 post-doctoral scientists. Rita manages the Tissue culture facilities at Teagasc and actively participated in Teagasc’s Walsh Fellowship Programme (post-graduate) as a member of the Walsh Fellowship Committee and student mentor for the Food research. Ex-postgraduate scientists from her lab currently hold senior positions in industry and academia including: Senior researcher Biostime; RD&A Senior Scientist, Kerry Group; Senior Researcher, Quadram Institute Bioscience; CAPA Specialist; Kora Healthcare. |
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Ruth Hamill |
Food Quality & Sensory Science Department |
Food quality, transcriptomics, RNAseq, meat quality, proteomics, metabolomics. We are interested in discovering genes, proteins and functional pathways which influence product quality in beef, pork and sheepmeat. We have published our research in high quality journals including Proteomics, BMC Genomics, BMC Genetics, Journal of Animal Science and PLoS One. The lab is well-funded and collaborative (current collaborators include UCD, UCC, FBN Germany, USDA) with five active research projects, funded by European Union and Irish national funding programmes. Research area of interest for MSCA PF application: Functional genomics of beef eating quality. |
Ruth has supervised three PhD students to completion in this area, who have all submitted their theses within 4 years and published 4-5 papers from their work. She currently supervises the research activities of 4 PhD students and 2 postdoctoral scientists. |
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Sinead McCarthy |
Agrifood Business and Spatial Analysis Department |
Functional food acceptance, older consumers, new product development, sensory science. My team focusses on consumer behaviour research in relation to food and health. Current projects include consumer food choice and health behaviour, consumer acceptance of novel food technologies, functional foods, drivers of cheese consumption, new product development and sensory science. Research areas of interest for MSCA PF application: Consumer behaviour in relation to food, nutrition and health |
I have 20 years of experience in mentoring and supervising both undergraduate and post graduate students as well as post-doctoral fellows, research staff and colleagues. |
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Sheila Alves |
Crops Research |
Abiotic stresses in cool-season legumes; NUE in legumes; Intercropping of legumes with legumes and cereals. The research team managed by Sheila focuses on agronomy, physiology, phenology and grain quality of minor crops for feed and food. Currently, the main interest is to assess the role of cool season protein crops (faba beans, field peas and lupins) on the sustainability (benefits in cereal rotations, lower inputs, intercropping) and resilience (biotic and abiotic stresses) of agricultural systems. |
Supervised/co-supervised 4 PhD and 2 masters students to completion; Currently supervising/co-supervising 4 PhD students and 1 postdoc. |
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Song Miao |
Food Chemistry & Technology Department |
Physio-chemical properties of food biomaterials, dehydration and granulation, foods structural and textual designs, powder technology, state transition and phase transition in foods, encapsulation of functional food ingredients, structured emulsion/gel for functional delivery, stabilization of probiotic and dairy ingredients, dairy technology, plant-based ingredients (gelation and aerogel etc. systems), plantified food products and their functionality |
Prof. Miao has supervised 15 PhD and 20 MSc students to completion and 3 postdocs. Currently his research team in Teagasc consists of 1 postdocs and 7 PhD students. He has successfully obtained 2 Marie Curie Postdocs from Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe under his supervision in 2020 and 2023. He has published over 230 peer-reviewed scientific papers in relevant area since he joint Teagasc 2009. Recently he has successfully secured research funding from SFI-Frontier for Future Project 2023 to recruit 2 more PhD students and one more postdoc researcher. |
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Stephen Byrne |
Crops Research Department |
Bioinformatics, genomic selection, plant breeding, genomics, plant genetics. Our research focuses on using genomic information to accelerate the rate of genetic gain in forage breeding programmes (perennial ryegrass and white clover). We want to develop high yielding and high quality pastures to support Irish Agriculture. Research areas of interest for MSCA PF application:
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I have supervised/co-supervised 4 PhD Students and several technicians and research assistants. |
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Steven Kildea |
Crops Research Department |
Cereal Pathogens, fungicide resistance, IPM, pathogen evolution. My research programme focuses on the development of sustainable disease control strategies for arable crops. To achieve these goals we investigate how different control strategies impact local pathogen populations and how we can potentially manipulate these to enhance control. As such our research is multi-disciplinary, spanning both the lab and the field. A major component of the research is the development and implementation fungicide anti-resistance strategies. Research area of interest for MSCA PF application:
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Steven has co-supervised 2x PhD students and 2x Masters students and current research team consists of a technologist, 2x post-docs, 3x PhD students and 1x Masters student. |
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Tom O’Callaghan |
Food Chemistry & Technology Department |
Dairy, diet, chemistry, nutrition, processing, production My research program focuses on dairy chemistry and processing across the supply chain with particular emphasis on the effects of farming practices, cow feeding systems and dairy processing technologies on the quality and functional characteristics of milk and dairy products. Research areas of interest for MSCA PF application:
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My team currently consists of 3 PhD students, 1 Research Officer and 1 Post-doctoral Researcher. |