4. STEM PhD student finalresearchers (one in STEM and one in Health) and two PhD students (one in...

PostTitle: PhDStudentship(STEM)

PostStatus: 4-yearFull-timePhDStudentship

ResearchGroup/

Department/School:

FRAILMatics,DisciplineofMedicalGerontology,Schoolof

Medicine,TrinityCollegeDublin,theUniversityofDublin

Location:

- TrinityCollegeDublin,theUniversityofDublin,

CollegeGreen,Dublin2,Ireland

- Mercer’sInstituteforSuccessfulAgeing,StJames’s

Hospital,Dublin8,Ireland

Reportsto: PrincipalInvestigator(Prof.RomanRomero-Ortuno)

Terms&Conditions:Pro-ratastipendof€18,500peryear

Inaddition,PhDfeeswillbecoveredbytheprogramme

HoursofWork: 37hoursperweek

ClosingDate: Untilthepositionisfilled

Requiredstartdate:1September2020

Postsummary

AdoctoralstudentinSTEM(Science,Technology,Engineering,Mathematics)isrequiredto

conductandassistresearchatTrinityCollegeDublinonanewresearchprogrammecalled

FRAILMatics:Mathematicalresearchandbigdataanalyticstowardsthedevelopmentofthe

nextgenerationoftransdisciplinarydiagnosticsfortheassessmentofphysiological

vulnerabilityinolderadults:challenge-baseddisruptivetechnologyinitiative.Thisresearch

programmeisfundedbyScienceFoundationIreland(SFI)underthe2018Presidentof

IrelandFutureResearchLeadersProgramme,awardedtoPrincipalInvestigatorProf.Roman

Romero-Ortuno.Thegrantrunsfrom1December2019to30November2024(60Months).

Theresearchersonthisgrantwillbecontractedfor4years(expectedstartdate:1

September2020).

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Prof.OrtunoisaClinicianScientistinGeriatricMedicinewithskillsandinternational

experienceinbigdataanalyticsandclinicalbioinformaticscollaborations.ThroughthisSFI

award,hewillrecruitandleadanewtransdisciplinarylaboftwoexperiencedpost-doctoral

researchers(oneinSTEMandoneinHealth)andtwoPhDstudents(oneinSTEMandone

Medical)withtheoverallobjectivetoadvancethescienceoffrailtyinolderadults.Thisnew

labwillbeembeddedwithinthestate-of-theartresearchfacilitiesofTheIrishLongitudinal

StudyonAgeing(TILDA)inTrinityCollegeDublin,andtheMercer’sInstituteforSuccessful

Ageing(MISA)inStJames’sHospital,Dublin;inbothlocations,anewHighPerformance

Computing(HPC)infrastructurewillbeavailabletotheteamwhichisalsofundedbythe

award.FRAILMaticshascollaboratorsattheSFI-fundedADAPTCentreandtheReillylabatthe

TrinityCentreforBiomedicalEngineering.

Thesuccessfulcandidatewillconducther/hisdoctoralresearchonFRAILMatics’novel

researchprogrammeonthedynamicmodellingoffrailtyinolderadults.She/hewillwork

undertheguidanceofthepostdoctoralSTEMandHEALTHresearchersandreporttothe

PrincipalInvestigator.

BackgroundtothePost

Populationageingisoneofthemajorchallengesconfrontingsocieties.Overthenextthirty

years,itisestimatedthattheproportionoftheIrishpopulationagedover65willdoublefrom

11%to22%.Whilethisrepresentsasuccessstory,italsopresentschallenges.Forexample,

growingnumbersofolderpeoplearenowundergoinginvasivemedicalprocedures.

Today,inIreland,1in6patientsaged65ormoremayexperienceacomplicationfroma

surgicalprocedure,andupto2ina100maydieasaresult.Thesesignificantsocietaland

economiccostscouldbeminimisedbyhavingaccuratemeasuresofphysiological

vulnerability.FRAILMaticswilladdressthisneedbyconductingaprogrammeofresearch

towardsanewgenerationoftransdisciplinarydiagnostics.

Inolderpopulations,thereissignificantheterogeneityinbiologicalage.Thisreferstothefact

thatpeopleaccumulatehealthproblemsatdifferentrates.Olderpeopleare(independently

oftheirchronologicalage)inafunctionalcontinuumbetweenbeingfullyindependentand

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havingseveredependency.Frailtyisthepartofthatcontinuumthatgoesfromasubtlestate

oflowphysiologicalreserve(orvulnerability)duetomorethanonemedicalproblembeing

simultaneouslypresent,toamorevisiblestateofearlydisability.Thepre-frailstateisdifficult

torecognisebecausethepersoncanappeartobewell.However,closeobservationwillreveal

mildproblemsinday-to-daysituationsthatrequireahigherlevelofperformance.

Inasituationofacuteillnessortrauma(i.e.stressor),thosewhoarerobustwillonlyhavea

milddipintheirfunctionandwillquicklyrecovertotheirpre-stressbaseline.However,frail

peoplewillbemorelikelytodecompensateandhaveapermanentlossoffunctionthatmay

resultinincreasedcareneeds,orevenprematuredeath.

Currently,13%ofIrishpeopleareaged65ormore,andthisproportionissettoincrease.

Usingcurrentdefinitions,TILDAhasreportedthataround10%ofover65sarefrail,butmany

more(around40%)arepre-frail,withtherestbeingnon-frail.Whenpre-frailpatientsare

medicallyassessedforsurgery,theymaylookwellbutpresentsubtlesymptomsandsigns;

thosecanbeeasilymissedbecausetheyarenotdefinedincurrentperioperativeguidelines

andprotocols.However,theproblemsofthepre-frailmaybeeasiertooptimisewith

prehabilitationstrategiesthatincreasephysiologicalresilience.Currently,onlyafewspecialist

teamsoffertheseservices,despitegeriatricianswantingtoadvancethem.Therefore,we

needreliabletoolstoidentifyearlyvulnerabilitythatnon-expertscanuse.

Thecurrentstateoftheartinfrailtyidentificationreliesontoolssuchasthefrailty

phenotype(whichconsidersthepresenceofexhaustion,unexplainedweightloss,weakness,

slownessandlowphysicalactivity)orthefrailtyindex(whichisbasedonamodelof

accumulationofdeficits);bothhavebeenvalidatedaspredictorsofadverseoutcomesin

epidemiologicalandclinicalstudies.Yet,thereportedaccuracyofthesetoolsinrealclinical

settingsislow(toosensitive,notspecific),andhenceprofessionalmedicalsocietiescannot

recommendthemassubstitutesforacomprehensivegeriatricassessment.FRAILMatics

departsfromthehypothesisthattheaccuracyofthesetoolsislowbecauseeventhoughthey

capturedysregulationinmultiplephysiologicalsystems,theyhavenotbeenresearchedin

theirabilitytopredictphysiologicalchangestostressorsdynamically.

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FRAILMatics’questistoresearchanddevelopmoreaccuratefrailtytoolsthatwithout

expertinputautomaticallyidentifysubtledysregulatedresponsestostressorsacross

physiologicalsystems.Forthisquest,FRAILMaticswillhaveaccesstopopulationandclinical

cohortsthatcontainavastamountofsuitablecross-sectionalandlongitudinaldata.The

populationcohortwillbethevastandrichdataresourcecontainedinTILDA.Lateron,signals

willbevalidatedinasmall(n=100)clinicalcohortrecruitedfromambulatorycareclinicsat

theMercer’sInstituteforSuccessfulAgeing(MISA)inStJames’sHospital,Dublin.

TILDAisoneofthemostcomprehensiveresearchplatformsinexistence,nationallyand

internationally.WithFRAILMatics,TILDA’svastdataresourcewillbeleveragedforthefirst

timethroughanSFIaward.TILDAisastudybasedonapopulation-representativesampleof

>8,000community-dwellingindividualsaged50orover.Eachparticipantundergoesan

interviewintheirhome,fillsinaself-completionquestionnaireandisinvitedtoundergoa

detailedhealthassessment.Fivewavesofdatacollectionarecompleteandthestudywill

collectitssixthwave(i.e.itsthirdhealthassessmentwave)in2020

(https://tilda.tcd.ie/about/where-are-we-now/).AkeystrengthofTILDAisitslongitudinal

design,anddetailedlongitudinalhealthdataspanning10yearswillbeavailableto

FRAILMatics’researchers.Thesuccessfulcandidateswilljoinavibrantinterdisciplinaryteam

ofTILDAresearchersincludingepidemiologists,biostatisticians,economists,socialscientists,

biomedicalengineersandclinicians.GiventhesizeandcomplexityoftheTILDAdatathereisa

teamofdatamanagers,analystsandstatisticianswhomFRAILMaticsresearcherswillwork

closelywith.

InTILDAhealthassessments,computer-basedneurocognitivetestsareusedtomeasure

responsetimesanderrorsintestsofsustainedattention(SART:sustainedattentionto

responsetask)andchoicereaction(CRT:choicereactiontime),whereparticipantsexperience

thestressoftimeunderspecifictestinstructionsinvolvingafinemotorresponse.TILDAalso

hasavastcross-sectionalandlongitudinaldatasetofautomaticallyrecordedgaitparameters

attheperson’spreferredspeed,undercognitivechallenges,andatmaximumspeed

(GAITRite®system).Intheclinicalcohortwewillalsocollectthree-dimensionalgaitanalysis

withtheCodamotion®system.Inbothcohorts,multiplecardiovascularparametersarenon-

invasivelyrecordedcontinuously(withtheFinometer®)duringanactivestandtest,which

challengestheabilityofourbodysystemstocompensateforarapidchangeinposition.We

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simultaneouslyrecordbrainoxygenationparametersduringtheactivestandwiththe

PortaLite®NIRSsystem.

Realtimephysiologicalmeasurementgeneratesvastamountsofdata.FRAILMaticswillhave

accesstobigcross-sectionalandlongitudinaldatasetsofover1billiondatapoints,containing

detaileddynamicphysiologicaldataacrossthesystemsandalsoawiderangeofoutcome

datathatcanbeusedtotrainmodelsifdesired.FRAILMaticswilltacklethisbigdatachallenge

byembracingtwocomplementaryapproaches:

Ontheonehand,wewillusemachinelearningthatincorporatesmanuallyextracted

features.Forexample,fortheactivestandwehavepilotdatausinginformationentropy,

whichdirectlycorrelateswiththecomplexityofasignalandcanbemeasuredbeforeand

afterstress.Wecanusemultiscaleentropymethodstointegratecardiovascularsignals,and

signalsacrosssystems.

Ontheotherhand,wewillusedeeplearningmethodswheremodelswillnotbeconstrained

bygivenfeatures.Forexample,fortheactivestandwehavepilotdatausingBayesian

functionalclustering.Thesemodelsarecomputationallyexpensive,especiallyifwewantto

clusteralargenumberoffunctionalvariablesandvariablesacrosssystems.Thisiswhy

FRAILMaticsrequiresanewstart-upHPCinfrastructure.

TheoutputsofFRAILMaticswillbeintheformofnewmodelsofmultiplephysiological

dysregulationtostressors.FRAILMatics’ambitionistoproducesoftwarepackagesthatwhen

incorporatedintoabrieffrailtyassessmentbatterybasedonexistingtechnologiescandetect

andquantifypatternsofvulnerabilitytostressorsacrossthefrailtyspectrum,andtherefore

increasethedetectionofthosewhoareathigherriskofcomplicationswithhigherspecificity

thancurrentfrailtyidentificationmethods.FRAILMaticswilladvancethescienceoffrailtyand

alignwiththeResearchPriorityAreasintheareasofDiagnosticsandMedicalDevices,and

alsowiththeSláintecareActionplan,inthatsavingsfromreducingthecostofavoidable

complicationscouldbeinvestedinexpandingnewmodelsofcarebasedone-health

solutions.Over5years,FRAILMaticswillgenerateahighvolumeofscientificpublicationsand

inventiondisclosures.Attheendoftheprogramme,FRAILMatics’toolswillbeatanearly

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stageoftechnologyreadiness,requiringnewcollaborationsinthefieldofmedicaldevice

trials.ThesummaryofFRAILMatics’researchprogrammeisintheinfographicbelow.

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TofacilitateFRAILMatics’researchprogramme,SFIhasgrantedthePIaninfrastructure

budgetofcirca€250,000topurchaseanewHighPerformanceComputing(HPC)systembased

inTILDA.Procurementofthissystemisalreadyinprogressandaninitialsolutionwillbein

placebySeptember2020,withapossibilityforexpansiononcethesuccessfulSTEMpost-doc

candidateisappointed.ThisnewsystemwillbemadeupofaStorageComponent,aHPC

Cluster(mixedCPUandGPUcluster),andahighspeednetworkbetweenthestorage

componentandtheHPCclustertofacilitaterapidingressofdataandoutputofresults.The

centralequipmentwillbehousedinasecureandenvironmentallycontrolledCollegeData

Centrebackedbyanuninterruptablepowersupply,andmanagedbyResearchIT(formerly

theTrinityCentreforHighPerformanceComputing).Thesystemwillalsobecomposedbya

sufficientnumberofnewHighPerformanceDesktopsandperipherieslocatedinTILDAoffices

(inTrinityCollegeDublinandMISA)tofacilitatedevelopmentofworkflowsand

methodologies.ThesecomputingperipherieswillbemanagedbyTILDAITstaff.Anoverview

ofthisnewprivatestorageandHPCsystemissummarisedintheFigurebelow.

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FundingInformation

ThisresearchprogrammeisfundedbyScienceFoundationIreland(SFI)underthe2018

PresidentofIrelandFutureResearchLeadersProgramme,awardedtoPrincipalInvestigator

Prof.RomanRomero-Ortuno.

FurtherInformation

InformalenquiriesaboutthispostshouldbemadetoProf.Ortunoatromeroor@tcd.ie.

StandardDutiesandResponsibilitiesofthePost

• RegisterforaPhDdegreeandconductdoctoralresearchunderthedirectionofthePrincipal

Investigator (Prof. Roman Romero-Ortuno) on FRAILMatics,which is the research grant

fromwhichher/hisstipendwillbepaid.PhDregistrationfeesinTrinityCollegeDublinwill

becoveredbytheprogramme.

• Assistwiththemanagementofthedatasetsandpreparedataformachine/deeplearning

analysesensuringitsreliabilityandusabilityinavarietyofcomputerprogrammes.

• Contributeher/hisSTEMexpertisetoperformquantitativedataanalysesandsupportthe

machine/deeplearningprocesses.

• CooperatewiththeTILDAmanagementteamandabidebyoperationalpoliciesatalltimes.

• Presentfindingstointerdisciplinaryaudiencesatseminarsandconferences.

• ContributetotheorganisationandrunningoftheplannedFRAILMatics’small-scalepatient

engagementandPatient-PublicInvolvement(PPI)events.

• Generateinternationallypeer-reviewedpublicationsinhigh-impactscientificjournals.

PersonSpecification

Qualifications

Essential

• Primary university degree in a relevant STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering,

Mathematics)discipline.

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Desirable

• MScinarelevantSTEMdiscipline.

Knowledge&Experience(Essential&Desirable)

Essential

• Goodcommunication,writing,verbal,andorganisationalskills.

• Abilitytoworkindependentlyandeffectivelyasamemberofateam.

• Abilitytocommunicateclearlywithresearchersfromotherresearchdisciplines.

• Evidenceofscholasticachievements.

• Willingnesstolearnnewmethods.

Desirable

• Experienceinquantitativedataanalyses.

• Interestinhealth-relatedresearch.

FurtherInformationforApplicants

URLLinktoArea www.tcd.ie

URLLinktoTILDA www.tilda.ie

URLLinktoMISA www.misa.ie

TheIrishLongitudinalStudyonAgeing(TILDA),TrinityCollegeDublin

Prof.OrtunowillleadFRAILMaticsthroughtheutilisationofthebigdataresourceand

infrastructurecontainedinTILDA.TILDAwillprovidetheSFIteamwithstrong,centralised

supportforresearchoperationsactivitiesacrossthelifecycleoftheresearchproject,andwill

recruitandaccommodatethenewSTEMandbiomedicalstaffundertakingbigdatamining

anddevelopmentofmodellingtools.TILDAwillalsoaccommodateanewstorageandHigh

PerformanceComputing(HPC)infrastructuretofacilitatetheresearch.

TILDAisanationallyrepresentativeprospectivecohortstudyofthesocial,economicand

healthcircumstancesof8,175peopleagedover50inIreland,includingchildhood

socioeconomiccircumstancesandevents.TILDAaimstoimprovepopulationhealthby

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providinginsightsintopotentiallynewmodifiableriskfactorsthatcanbeusedinscreening

testsforclinicalandpublichealthpractice.TILDAcollateslong-termcomprehensive

physiologicaldatathatisnotavailabletoothernationallyrepresentativesamplesand

measuresavastnumberofnovelobjectivehealthmeasuresacrossawiderangeof

physiologicalsystems,includingneurocardiovascularinstability(e.g.heartratevariability,

pulsewavevelocity,beat-to-beatorthostaticbloodpressureresponses),biomarkers,gaitand

balancesignals(accelerometryandgaitanalysis),andneurocognitivefunction.

TheMercer’sInstituteforSuccessfulAgeing(MISA),StJames’sHospital,Dublin

MISAatSt.James’sHospitalisastate-of-the-art-facilityforintegratedclinicalservicesanda

hubforworld-leadingclinicalservicesandresearchinageing.TheInstitutepromotes

coordinatedpatient-centredcare,coupledwithfar-reachingeducationalandtraining

programmes.RespondingtotheneedforinnovationinthedeliveryofservicesforIreland’s

ageingpopulation,theInstituteprovidesearlydiagnosticandrapidaccesscareclinics,along

withinpatientacuteassessment,rehabilitation,andcontinuingcareunits;deliversinnovative

researchanddevelopstechnologieswithindustrypartnerstoadvancehealthylife-years;and

servesasalocalresourcetothesurroundingcommunity,whileofferingIrelandanational

centreforSuccessfulAgeing.

InMISA,thestate-of-theartFallsandSyncopeUnit(FASU)providesrapid,expertassessment

andtreatmentforadultpatientswhosufferfromdizziness,faints,fallsandsyncope(lossof

consciousness).Usingstate-of-the-artneuro-cardiovasculartechnologies,theFASUteam

investigatesbalancedisorders,fluctuationsinbloodpressure,andchangesingaitand

blackouts,advancingaccuratediagnosesandappropriatetreatments.MISAandFASU

facilitieswillbeavailabletotheFRAILMaticsteamforthetranslationoftheTILDA-based

research.

FacilitiesoftheBiomedicalEngineeringlaboratoryatMISAwillalsobeavailabletotheteam.

Thelabprovidesaspaceforengineeringconceptsandskillstobeappliedtoclinicaland

researchproblemsinmedicine,withaparticularfocusonolderage.TheBiomedical

Engineeringlaboratoryhostshospitalpersonnelandvisitingpostdoctoral,postgraduateand

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undergraduatestudentsworkingonclinicalprojectswithatechnologicalorengineering

sciencecomponent.Thelabhostsandmaintainsthe3-Dgaitplatform,whichwillbeavailable

totheteamfortheclinicalresearchphaseofFRAILMatics,inadditiontoequipmentto

supportelectronicprototyping,softwaredevelopment,dataanalytics,opticsdevelopment,

systemmodellingand3Dprinting.

DisciplineofMedicalGerontology

AgeingisoneoftheprincipalstrategicthemesinTrinityCollegeDublin.TheDisciplineof

MedicalGerontologysupportsclinicalanddidacticteachingandresearcharoundsuccessful

ageingandpreventativecareoftheolderperson.Theteachingcurriculumaimsto

demonstratetostudentsthatatailoredapproachtothemanagementandcareoftheolder

personisnecessarytomanagetheproblemsoflaterlife.Theemphasisonpreventionaswell

asdetectionandremediationoffunctionalloss,aimstohelpstudentsgainanunderstanding

oftheneedforastructuredapproachtodiseasesyndromesofteninherentintheageing

process.Thedisciplineiscommittedtoimprovingtheundergraduatetrainingofstudentsat

TrinityCollegeMedicalSchoolbyexposingthemtoaholisticapproachtodisease

managementandbyencouragingthemanagementanduseofmultidisciplinarytherapies,

groundedinscienceandofprovenefficacy.TheDisciplineofMedicalGerontologycontributes

totheundergraduatecoursesinMedicine,Dentistry,OccupationalTherapy,Physiotherapy

andRadiationTherapy.

Withalongandwellestablishedhistoryinageingresearch,theDisciplineofMedical

Gerontologyiscurrentlyinvolvedinadiverserangeofresearchprojects.Theseresearch

programmeswillenablehealthprofessionalsandacademicstoconsiderthefullrangeof

activitiesandaspectsthataffectandshapetheageingprocessaswellasdelivernewwaysto

advancetheconceptofsuccessfulageingandpromotepreventativehealthcare.

TheDiscipline'smultidisciplinaryandintegrativeapproachissupportedbyeducationand

trainingpolicieswhichfocusonthesocial,psychologicalandbiologicalaspectsofageing.The

programmespanabroadrangeofresearchareasincludingbasicsciences,translational

researchaswellashealthandsocialpolicyresearch.

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TrinityCollegeDublin,theUniversityofDublin

TrinityisIreland’spremieruniversity,withaproudtraditionofexcellencestretchingbackto

itsfoundationin1592.TheoldestuniversityinIreland,andoneoftheoldestinEurope,today

Trinitysitsattheintersectionofthepastandthefuture,andisideallypositionedasamajor

universityintheEuropeanUnion.Our47-acrecampusislocatedintheheartofDublincity

centreandishometohistoricbuildingsdatingfromtheUniversity’sestablishment,aswellas

someofthemostcutting-edgeteachingandresearchfacilitiesinIreland.StudentsatTrinity

benefitfromauniqueeducationalexperienceacrossarangeofdisciplinesinourthree

faculties–Arts,Humanities,andSocialSciences;Engineering,MathematicsandScience;and

HealthSciences.Thepursuitofexcellencethroughresearchandscholarshipisattheheartof

aTrinityeducation,andourresearchershaveanoutstandingpublicationrecordandstrong

recordofgrantsuccess.

Trinityhasdeveloped18broad-basedmultidisciplinaryresearchthemesthatcutacross

disciplinesandfacilitateworld-leadingresearchandcollaborationwithintheUniversityand

withcolleaguesaroundtheworld.Theseinternationallyrecognisedthemesincludesuch

diverseareasasCancer,Immunology,Telecoms,IdentitiesinTransformation,Nanoscience,

Neuroscience,andMakingIreland.ResearchersfromacrosstheUniversityworktogetherin

innovativewaystodevelopnewandexcitingapproachestotheirresearchandexplorethe

frontiersofknowledgeinthe21stcentury.Increatingthesededicatedresearchthemes,

Trinity’sresearchersareabletobecomeamorepowerfulforceontheglobalstage,

successfullycompetingforlarge-scalegrantsandattractingtopstudentsandfacultytothe

University.TrinityishometoIreland’sfirstpurpose-builtNanoscienceresearchinstitute,

CRANN,whichopenedinJanuary2008.Thisstate-of-the-artfacilityhouses150scientists,

technicians,andgraduatestudentsinspecialisedlaboratories,fosteringcreativeinnovations

thathaveseenTrinity’sresearchersmakesignificantbreakthroughs.

TheTrinityLongRoomHubforArtsandHumanitiesResearchInstituteistheUniversity’s

flagshipinstituteforresearchintheArtsandHumanities,providingaworld-classenvironment

forcross-disciplinarycollaborativeprojects.TheLongRoomHubprovidesacentrallocation

throughwhichtheUniversity’sinternationallyrespectedArtsandHumanitiesresearchcan

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becomemorevisible,demonstratingitsrelevanceforcontemporaryandfuturesocieties.

ResearchersfromacrosstheUniversityregularlyparticipateindebatesontopicalissues

facingtheworldtoday.AswellasoperatinganInternationalVisitingResearchFellowship

programme,theLongRoomHubalsohostsmajorEU-fundedDigitalHumanitiesprojects.

OneofthemostinstantlyrecognisedpartsofTrinity’scampusisthefamousOldLibrary,

hometothehistoricBookofKellsaswellasotherinternationallysignificantholdingsin

manuscripts,maps,andearlyprintedmaterial.Trinity’sLibraryisthelargestresearchlibrary

inIrelandandisaninvaluableresourcetoTrinity’sstudentsandresearchcommunity.Builtup

overthefourcenturiesoftheUniversity’sexistence,theLibrary’scollectionshavebenefitted

fromitsstatusasaLegalDepositlibraryforthepast200years,grantingTrinitytherightto

claimacopyofeverybookpublishedinIrelandandtheUK.Atpresent,theLibrary’sholdings

spanapproximately4.25millionbooks,22,000printedperiodicaltitles,andaccessto60,000

e-journalsand250,000e-books.

TrinityattractstopstudentsfromIrelandandabroadandpridesitselfontheconsistentlyhigh

standardofstudentadmittedtotheUniversityeveryyear.Thesestudentsaredrawnto

Trinityfortheexcellenceofourresearch-ledteachingandforthequalityandprestigea

degreefromthisUniversityconfers.Trinityhasalsopioneeredaccessibilitytoeducationin

Ireland,becomingthefirstuniversityinthecountrytoreserve15%ofitsundergraduate

placesforstudentsfromnon-traditionallearninggroups.Trinityisthetop-rankedEuropean

universityforstudententrepreneurshipandEurope’sonlyrepresentativeintheworld’stop-

50universities.

OuralumnihavegoneontoshapethehistoryofIrelandandofWesternEuropeinawide

rangeoffields.TheseincludesuchnotablefiguresasJonathanSwift,OscarWilde,William

RowanHamilton,EdmundBurke,WilliamStokes,DenisBurkitt,LouiseRichardson,Lenny

Abrahamson,andAnneEnright.ThreeofTrinity’sgraduateshavebeenawardedNobelprizes:

ErnestWaltonforPhysicsin1951;SamuelBeckettforLiteraturein1968;andWilliam

CampbellforPhysiology/Medicinein2015.TrinityalsocountsthefirstfemalePresidentof

IrelandamongitsalumniinMaryRobinson,aswellasothernotableformerPresidents

DouglasHydeandMaryMcAleese.AtTrinitywearejustifiablyproudofourtradition,andwe

strivetoupholdthisexcellenceaswefacethedemandsofthe21stcentury.

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RankingFacts

TrinityisthetoprankeduniversityinIreland.UsingtheQSmethodology,theUniversityisranked104thintheworldandusingtheTimesHigherEducationWorldUniversityRankingsmethodologyTrinityis117thintheworld.

Overall

§ TrinityisIreland’sNo.1UniversityintheQSWorldUniversityRanking,THEWorldUniversityRankingandtheAcademicRankingofWorldUniversities(Shanghai).

§ Trinityisranked104thintheWorld,and36thinEurope,inthe2018/2019QSWorldUniversityRanking.

§ TrinityisrankedintheTop120forGraduateEmployabilityintheQS2018Rankings.

§ TrinityisintheTop50mostinnovativeuniversitiesinEuropeaccordingtoReuters.1

§ Between2010and2015,TrinitywasrankedthetopuniversityinEuropeforentrepreneurshipaccordingtoPitchbook’sindependentanalysis.2

1http://www.reuters.com/article/us-innovative-stories-europe-idUSKCN0Z00CT2http://pitchbook.com/news/reports/2015-2016-pitchbook-universities-report

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Internationalisation

§ Trinityisranked52ndintheworldintheTHEWorldUniversityRankingforinternationaloutlook.

ResearchPerformance

§ Ofthe981institutionsincludedintheTHEWorldUniversityRankingsfor2017,Trinityisinthetop15%internationallyforresearchperformance.

§ Trinityisrankedinthetop15%internationallybyQSforcitations.

IntheQSWorldUniversitySubjectRankings:

§ Trinityisrankedinthetop50worldwideinfoursubjectareasaccordingtotheQSWorldUniversitySubjectRankings2018.TheUniversityisrankedinthetop100globallyfor20subjectsoverall.

§ Trinity’sTop50subjectsincludeNursing(25th),Classics(28th),English(28th)andPolitics(43rd).

§ Trinityisrankedinthetop100foreachofthefollowing16subjects:History,Languages,Philosophy,Theology,ComputerScience,Biology,Medicine,Pharmacy,Chemistry,Geography,MaterialsScience,Education,Law,SocialPolicy,SociologyandSport.

§ TheUniversityisrankedinthetop100forthreebroadsubjectareas:Arts&Humanities(57th),LifeSciences&Medicine(87th),andEngineering&Technology(89th).

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ResearchThemes

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ApplicationProcedure

Candidatesshouldsubmitacoverlettertogetherwithafullcurriculumvitaetoincludethe

namesandcontactdetailsof3referees(emailaddressesifpossible)to:

Name:RomanRomero-Ortuno

Title: FRAILMaticsPrincipalInvestigator

EmailAddress:romeroor@tcd.ie