UL researcher wins Ivy League place

A RESEARCHER at the University of Limerick has won a place at a top US college to further her studies into blood-flow and vascular disease.

Dr Grainne Carroll, from Freemount, Co Cork, is preparing to leave for Duke University in North Carolina, an Ivy League university to conduct biomedical engineering research. Grainne, who attended Scoil Mhuire Secondary School before studying mechanical engineering at the University of Limerick, has been given this opportunity by FÁS as part of their Science Challenge Programme 2007/2008.

In September 2003 Grainne joined the Centre for Applied Biomedical Engineering Research research group at UL to conduct her postgraduate studies, investigating bloodflow in vascular access of dialysis patients. She completed her doctorate studies in December 2007.

Grainne will work with Morton Friedman, professor of biomedical engineering at Duke who is a leading authority on the role of mechanical forces in vascular disease. During her period at Duke, where she will spend more than three months in the cardiovascular simulations laboratory, Grainne will undertake investigations and analysis on vascular cells and enhance her skills in the field of mechanobiological research. Her work at Duke is expected to lead to joint publications and to enhanced collaboration between the CABER research group, led by Professor Tim McGloughlin and Prof Frideman’s group at Duke University.