University of Galway has welcomed 19 research students to campus as part of the 2025 Hardiman PhD Scholarship.
The scholars have come from 11 different countries to take part in the scheme and the opportunity to pursue a structured doctorate at the university on topics aligned to our research pillars of innovation for health; sustainable & resilient environments: earth & ocean; transformative data & AI; and creativity, culture & society.
The 2025 Hardiman PhD Scholars pictured with Professor Dónal Leech, Dean of Graduate Studies, University of Galway (front row, centre). Photo: Mike Shaughnessy.
Applications for the 2026 round of Hardiman PhD Scholarships will open on Monday, December 1, 2025, and will remain open until Friday, February 6, 2026 at 5pm.
For more information or to apply for a Hardiman PhD Scholarship visit: www.universityofgalway.ie/hardiman-scholarships
Professor Dónal Leech, dean of Graduate Studies at University of Galway, said: “I welcome our excellent Hardiman Research scholar recipients to the university. The 19 scholars were selected from a large pool of applicants seeking to develop their research skills and independence through our renowned structured PhD programmes across our four research pillars, to deliver distinctive research impact. The scholarship is a recognition of excellence for the awardees and provides fee and stipend support over four years for the researchers to generate new knowledge that improves our world.”
The Hardiman PhD Scholarships are open across all four colleges at University of Galway.
Among the 2025 Hardiman PhD scholars and their subject areas of engineering and medicine include:
College of Science and Engineering
- Abdul Mateen Khan, Pakistan – Sustainable construction through digitalization and BIM integration, focusing on energy efficiency, lifecycle optimization, and productivity in modern building practices;
- Brandon Collier, America – Characterising the adaptive traits of globally invasive widow spider species;
- Nikita Gondalia, India – Investigating the novel genes and pathways controlling haploid induction in plants, opening innovative strategies to enhance global crop breeding efficiency;
- George Aryee, Ghana – Predicting Peripheral Artery Disease outcomes using Electrocardiogram, lifestyle and clinical factors.
College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
- Patricia Harte, Ireland – Evaluating the impact of a community-based mental health promotion initiative, Act Belong Commit, on the mental wellbeing of participants;
- Lara Ressin, Germany – The influence of brain architecture on functional connectivity and how this relationship relates to cognition and bipolar disorder;
- Emily Cronin, Ireland – Investigating the role of damp hospital environments as persistent reservoirs for antimicrobial resistant bacteria that can colonise and infect patients;
- Aiden Vassilian, France – Engineering of CAR-T cells to hijack tumour immunosuppression, enhancing persistence, and improving outcomes in colorectal and ovarian cancers.