Landmark TUS study could help stem decline in Ireland's bee population
A major study conducted on the Athlone TUS campus could help to stem the decline in Ireland's bee species over the coming years.
The groundbreaking doctorate project undertaken by PhD candidate Jack Eakins, was described by lead supervisor, Professor Neil Rowan, as “a world first” in the development of sterilisation technology designed to help protect our native bee population against complex diseases.
Professor Rowan's involvement in the project marks the completion of his 40th PhD student as a supervisor during over three decades of collaborative academic activities on the Athlone campus. He praised the PhD research undertaken by Jack Eakins at a time when “our fragile bees are in decline due to diseases, starvation and loss of habitats.”
The EPA co-funded doctorate project was carried out on the TUS campus in partnership with Maynooth University, and reports on the novel treatment of honey bee gathered pollen to feed commercial bumble bees that are used to help the pollination industry.
Approximately 200 tonnes of honey bee pollen is gathered across Europe for commercial bumble bee colony production.
The research was carried out against a backdrop of more than half of Ireland's bee species having undergone “substantial declines” in number since 1980, with the distribution of 42 species having declined by “more than 50%” according to data from the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan.
Jack Eakins investigated the smart use of a reliable sterilization technology from the medical device sector to “inform and unlock” a technical problem in pollination and food security, and expressed his gratitude to STERIS Advances Sterilisation Technologies in Tullamore for their collaboration on the use of electron-beam technology.
Mr Eakins landmark findings have been published in the leading journal 'Science of the Total Environment.' and he added that the “co-creation of new ideas using robust technologies across multiple actors can support impactful outcomes that also considers future sustainability needs and our environment”.
The Head of Department of Bioveterinary and Microbial Sciences at TUS, Dr Cormac O'Shea, hailed the PhD project as “a remarkable achievement” and said it blends “potentially disruptive innovation with underpinning excellence in the applied sciences” and offers “tremendous future opportunities” for the Centre of Sustainable Disinfection and Sterilization at TUS, under the management of Professor Rowan.
Dr O'Shea congratulated Jack Eakins and his co-supervisors, Professor Rowan; Dr. Mark Lynch and Professor Jim Carolan (Maynooth University).
Dr Liam Brown, Vice-President Research, Development and Innovation at TUS, said that studies such as the one undertaken by Jack Eakins reflect the drive to solve real-world difficulties “through an integrated multi-actor approach comprising regional stakeholders that delivers value and benefit of our society”.
He expressed his gratitude to the EPA for co-funding the research project which he said highlights “the core tenets” of the new TUS Strategic Plan 2023-2027 which is to “unlock new opportunities, products and services throuhg innovation linked to education.”