As part of the funding received from the HEA North South Research Programme, CLuB had a stream of funding available for the Bright Sparks initiative which was designed to support emerging collaborative sub-projects that demonstrated innovation and originality. Three shortlisted applicants presented in 2025, details of that can be viewed here: https://www.clubcancer.ie/news-events/club-bright-sparks-funding-awarded-to-researchers

A second round of funding was available so three further shortlisted applicants were invited to present their work in March 2026 to a panel comprised of representatives from academia, industry and patient advocacy.

**‍Presenters and panellists: L-R: Dr Brian Henderson, Dr Stephen Smith, Mr Aidan McCormick, Dr Seán Patmore, Dr Syed Umbreen, Dr Christina Cahill, Ms Una O’Malley**

Following the presentations, funding was awarded to the following projects:

Dr Syed Umbreen (QUB) and Stephen Smith (UG): INSIGHT: ImmuNe and Stromal landscapInG of HGSC using ascites profiling over Time
Dr Brian David Henderson (TCD) and Dr Seán Patmore (TCD): Apt-EV-FLO: Aptamer-Based Flow Cytometry for Ovarian Cancer Extracellular Vesicles
Dr Christina Cahill (TCD) and Dr Stephen Smith (UG): Investigating liquid biopsy-based miRNAs to predict chemotherapy treatment response in patients with NSCLC

The panel members were: Mr Aidan McCormick (patient representative), Ms Una O’Malley (TCD Research Office), Dr Gregory Wheeler (Bioinformatics Lecturer, UG) and Dr Shannon Beattie (CEO GeNome Diagnostics). Congratulations to all involved, we look forward to seeing the results of these projects. Thank you to everyone involved, and to the HEA for funding the work of CLuB.