AIVRT Kick Off Meeting at UCD, Tuesday 17 January 2023
On 17th January 2023, the All-island Vaccine Research and Training Alliance (AIVRT) held its inaugural meeting at University College Dublin (UCD), hosted by Project Lead PI Assoc Prof Siobhán McClean. The kick-off meeting, though small, was invigorating and enthusiastic, setting a positive tone for the project ahead.
North Lead Pi Prof Miguel Valvano provided valuable insights and outlined key directions for consideration. Alongside Miguel, other QUB PIs, Dr Beckie Ingram, Dr Vicky Kett, Dr Gillian Shorter, and Dr Emma Berry, also made key contributions. Further, the meeting included strategy reviews from PIs Dr Laura J Sahm, Dr Aoife Fleming (School of Pharmacy), and Dr Anne Moore (School of Biochemistry and Cell Biology), University College Cork. From TCD, both Prof Ed Lavelle and Dr Pat Walsh provided their expertise to this kick-off meeting.
The project is currently onboarding the PhD and postdoctoral researchers, who were not in attendance at this stage but were firmly in mind, and we look forward to their joining the project soon.
AIVRT is a four-year alliance that brings together researchers from University College Cork, Queen's University Belfast, University College Dublin, and Trinity College Dublin to improve human health through vaccination. The AIVRT project is about collaboration and the sharing of resources and skills to advance vaccine research and to train the next generation of all-island researchers in vaccine design, development, testing, deployment, and advocacy research.
AIVRT Group Photo Kick Off Meeting at UCD, Tuesday 17 January 2023
The meeting offered researchers a chance to discuss their shared goal of enhancing human health through vaccination and to strategise future collaborative strands. While it is still early days, AIVRT is taking shape, and we know of its potential and are confident in it. This strong kickoff laid the groundwork for significant steps toward improving human health through vaccination, North and South.
