Dublin City University is pleased to announce that the groundbreaking Sirius project, focused on early breast cancer detection, has secured significant commercialisation funding from Enterprise Ireland. This investment underscores external recognition of DCU's commitment to translating cutting-edge research into tangible societal impact and sets a new benchmark for commercialisation opportunities for researchers across the University. Importantly, the Sirius award continues the University’s strong and consistent performance in attracting such funding, reflecting the high calibre of its research community and DCU’s  strategic focus on delivering innovative solutions with real-world value.

Highlighting the significance of this funding achievement, Ronan Cunningham, Director of DCU:Innovate said:

"Funding of the Sirius project represents one of the largest Enterprise Ireland commercialisation funding awards  secured by DCU to date. It builds on our long history of success  in securing high value commercialisation funding to translate DCU research into impactful innovations.  It sends a clear message to our research community  about the immense potential they have to create commercially viable solutions that directly benefit society."

The Sirius project aims to revolutionise breast cancer screening through the development of a novel blood-based test capable of detecting early markers of breast cancer. This pioneering research is particularly significant given current challenges in early breast cancer detection, such as the limitations of mammograms in screening dense breast tissue, which can lead to incorrect and missed diagnoses.

Professor Tia Keyes, the project’s Principal Investigator, said:

"The Sirius project offers hope for earlier, more accessible cancer detection. Our goal is to develop a non-invasive, highly accurate screening tool that could ultimately save lives, particularly in situations where traditional screening equipment is unavailable, such as in hard-to-reach rural areas, or for individuals with a family history of cancer where proactive monitoring is crucial."

The project, led by Professor Keyes, along with Co-PIs, Dr Damien King and Professor Mark Roantree, represents an interdisciplinary collaboration across Dublin City University, bringing together expertise from the School of Biotechnology, School of Computing, School of Chemical Sciences, DCU Life Sciences Institute, and the Insight Centre for Data Analytics, leveraging diverse scientific and technological strengths to tackle this complex global health challenge.

A key innovative element of the Sirius project lies in its application of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Professor Mark Roantree from Insight Research Ireland Centre for Data Analytics and his team are developing advanced AI algorithms with the capacity to precisely distinguish between unhealthy biological exosomes associated with tumours and those from healthy cells, a critical step for accurate and early diagnosis. Additionally, Dr King’s focus on developing the microfluidics for the project, which builds on his work within EVPRO, an EU Horizon 2020 project, has played a crucial role in its success. 

Looking to the future, while the initial focus is on breast cancer detection, the long-term vision for the Sirius project is to expand its application to the detection of other challenging cancers, including ovarian and pancreatic cancers. This significant funding will help to accelerate the research and development phases, bringing this life-changing technology closer to patients.

DCU researchers who wish to discuss the translation of their research into commercially viable innovations should contact a member of the DCU Innovate Enterprise team