📔🧬My book on microRNAs, Fine-Tuning Life, has gone to press! It’s a journey through the discovery of microRNAs, their evolution, functions (particularly in the brain) and applications in medicine. Launching July. Stay tuned! bit.ly/3V4LsSy

The donkeys in Strandfield (Ballymascanlon) were just too cute today. It must have taken the staff ages to paint in all those buttercups.

This week has been all about the rain:
Rainwater (in Malawi)
Raindrops (in Ireland)

So True

At the Geneva Health Forum (May 27-29) the SURG-Water team will showcase their vital work in SODIS in Malawi 'Harvesting Rainwater to improve access for maternal health in Malawi: protocol and preliminary findings'

To view poster: tinyurl.com/2a9guouy

#GHF2024 #globalsurgery

After a long search, I think I have finally found the person responsible for teaching my favourite daughter how to stack our dishwasher.

Spotted on the wall beside the hotel. The biggest professional spider I’ve ever seen

We attended an International Trade Fare today in Blantyre which the President of Malawi was attending. His supporters are certainly enthusiastic

Waiting for the President of Malawi Dr. Lazarus Chakwera to visit MUBAS booth to explain how our project is doing and how is helping many women in rural communities.

The RCSI SURG-Water Team visited Thekerani Hospital, yesterday in Southern Malawi. It was comforting to discover that the protective fence which we installed recently has been put to good (but unexpected) use by the patients in the maternity ward.

If Whale (Munster Simms Engineering N Ire) ever wonder where their hand pumps end up, I’m happy to report there’s a couple improving maternal/neonatal health outcomes in rural hospitals in Malawi.
Do you want to know more?
SURG-Water RCSI Science Foundation Ireland

Each SURG-Water ater prototype SODIS reactor in Malawi is provided with its own “guard gecko lizard” whose sole function is to scare off mosquitoes hoping to take up residence in the water tank.

Entire SURG-Water team are here in Malawi for the 1st time, so we had a meal out this evening. At the end of the night the team surprised me with this lovely 60th birthday present. It depicts me wondering what WTF is floating in this water sample? 😉
Thanks you guys

Clogherhead Beach this morning

Huge thanks to Prof Jorge Rodríguez-Chueca & Prof Patricia Muñoz of Politécnica Madrid & Prof Javier Marugán of Photoners GIQA - URJC (both in Madrid) for hosting RCSI Med students Alazhar, Ahad & Marta for their 6 week Y3 Student Selected Projects.

What do you give the woman who has everything?
Obviously a teeny-tiny paint roller set to touch up all the bits that I missed before the new carpet was laid.
I don’t know how she can say I’m not romantic & never buy her anything! 😉

One more time, with feeling
🎶On the road again…🎶
One last field trip to the SURG-Water project in Malawi, before we compete for the Science Foundation Ireland SDG Challenge Prize at the end of the month. 🤞

My Hawthorn & Laburnum are both in full bloom, so that can only mean one thing…
…. it’s end of academic year exam correction season

Had a great time talking at Pint of Science IE in Dun Laoghaire last night, complete with a few laughs, great talks by some other biomedical engineers and some brutal criticisms from my little sister.

One of the happiest days for academic researchers is when your PhD researcher gives you their (approved) bound thesis. Bhairavi Sawant will always be my “COVID PhD”. She completed her studies on Transparent Jerrycans under very difficult circumstances RCSI paniwater_eu