Cell EXPLORERS TUS midlands
Formerly Cell EXPLORERS Athlone IT
Contact the CE TUS midlands team and arrange a school visit | cellexplorers@tus.ie
The CE Midlands team brings Fantastic DNA and Little Cells school visits to the Midlands region.
About
The Cell EXPLORERS program at Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) Midlands has a rich history and exciting future. Established in May 2015 as part of Athlone Institute of Technology, the program has evolved alongside the institution's growth. Originally based in the Bioscience Research Institute (BRI), it was developed through collaboration with BRI director Professor Neil Rowan.
Since its inception, the program has been led by dedicated coordinators, including Lyndsey O'Kane, Maya Frost, Dr. Erin Jo Tiedeken, and Dr. Alessia Stocca. From 2021 to 2023, Bianca Simonassi-Paiva and Mark Lynch steered the team's efforts. Learn more about the past school visits of the team and the evaluation feedback they have received from schools in the infographic section.
The Cell EXPLORERS TUS midlands team are delivering Fantastic DNA in a Box visits for 2023
The Team
In a significant development, Dr. Natasha McCormack and Dr. Mark Lynch from the Faculty of Science and Health at TUS Midlands assumed co-coordinator roles in 2024, bringing fresh perspectives and ambitious plans to the program. Their leadership has already made a notable impact, with several visits to local primary schools expanding the program's reach and inspiring young minds.
Under the new leadership of Dr. McCormack and Dr. Lynch, the Cell EXPLORERS TUS Midlands team consisting of several enthusiastic undergratuate volunteers is poised for growth, with plans to expand their outreach and develop innovative approaches to science education. Their efforts continue to inspire the next generation of scientists and foster a love for scientific discovery to the local community in the Midlands region.
Are you a staff or student member at TUS midlands?
Want to share your love of science with young people?
Contact coordinator Natasha McCormack at cellexplorers@tus.ie to get started!
Cell EXPLORERS TUS Midlands team members 2024. From right to left: Mark & Natasha (Team Coordinators) and their volunteering undergraduate students.
Meet the current CE TUS Midlands coordinators:
Dr Natasha McCormack
CE TUS Midlands co-coordinator
Lecturer
Department of Pharmaceutical Science and Biotechnology
Technological University of the Shannon
Natasha has fourteen years of experience in STEM education. She is a dedicated and passionate lecturer who has achieved several notable milestones and made a significant impact in the field. Her expertise includes curriculum development, where she collaborated on designing and implementing new BSc (Hons) and MSc programs that emphasize real-world applications and hands-on learning experiences. She actively engages with the public and community to promote STEM education, participating in outreach events and creating content to spread science awareness. Her passion for STEM education is evident in her innovative teaching methodologies, ability to simplify complex concepts, and talent for engaging students from diverse backgrounds through interactive and relatable teaching methods.
Dr Mark Lynch
CE TUS Midlands co-coordinator 2021-2022, 2024
Lecturer
Faculty of Science & Healthcare
Department of Biovetenary and Microbial Biosciences
Technological University of the Shannon
Mark received his BSc in Biology & Chemistry from Maynooth University, graduating with a first class honours degree. He then went on to complete his PhD in DCU in the area of Immunology and Bioinformatics, researching the interactions between pathogenic gut bacteria and our immune system. He then moved to a postdoctoral role in Trinity College, working on drug candidates for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Mark began working in AIT in 2018 in the Bioscience Research Institute, where he was involved in a broad range of studies, from pollinator health, to antimicrobial resistance. He is now a lecturer in the Department of Biovetenary and Microbial Sciences.
Mark is very passionate about science communication, and helping to spread the excitement and wonder of scientific research and has been involved with Cell Explorers since 2021.
School Visits
The first Cell EXPLORERS TUS midlands school visit took place in 2015 to as a training visit with the coordinators from the University of Galway team. The team went on to do two further Fantastic DNA school visits. Since then AIT team has brought Fantastic DNA to a number schools.
In 2018 the TUS midlands Cell EXPLORERS team (As AIT) visited an incredible 13 classes across 8 schools in 2 counties, engaging with a total of 309 children. The visits were taken place around Athlone town and further afield in counties Roscommon and Westmeath.
In 2022 the team facilitated 7 Fantastic DNA in a box online workshop to 5 schools, engaging a total of 192 children. If you would like to schedule a visit with the Cell EXPLORERS TUS Midlands team contact them by email.
In 2024, the newly coordinated team of 8 Cell Explorers scientists has visited two national schools and delivered the Fantastic DNA session to 88 children in 3 classes. The team made the most of these visits and also engaged 20 senior infants with the Little Cells session. In May 2024, the team hosted the 7th Cell Explorers Meeting on the TUS Midlands campus.
Map of TUS Midlands team school visits in 2022.
CE network team coordinators were hosted by Natasha, Mark & Bianca in May 2024 for the 7th CE network meeting.
Check the team impact and the feedback from schools!
All children and teachers visited have a chance to provide us with feedback on the visit. This helps us to evaluate the quality and impact of our visits!
A summary infographic is generated for each team every year. It shows the metrics of the team activity, highlighting children's and teacher's experience by summarising their feedback and includes pictures from school visits.
Click on the links below to discover the TUS Midlands team visits over the past years.
A word from the Professor Vincent Cunnane,
the President of Technological University of the Shannon
"The participation of TUS in the Cell EXPLORERS outreach programme has been a great success and Cell EXPLORERS activities are deeply embedded in our academic year. Cell EXPLORERS has made a significant impact through the engagement of children with hands-on science activities and workshops, including Fantastic DNA and Little Cells, actively encouraging and drawing in young learners to the world of science."
TUS midlands Fantastic DNA school visits
DNA model building
Past CE TUS Midlands Coordinators
Prof. Neil Rowan
Director
Bioscience Research Institute
Technological University of the Shannon
Neil was intrumental is the establishment of the team in 2015 originally based in the Bioscience Research Institute (BRI) of AIT of which he was the director. He has been a Cell EXPLORERS institutional partner directing the Cell EXPLORERS AIT Team since 2015 in addition to participating in AIT SciFest Events. He stopped his involvement in 2023 but remains a fervent supporter of the programme.
Professor Rowan has dedicated his academic and enterprise career to the pursuit of scientific excellence under the same core theme of disease mitigation and prevention harnessing applied microbiology, toxicology, parasitology and analytical chemistry. His blend of oriented basic and applied research are aligned with national research prioritization (NRP) areas of therapeutics, medical devices and novel processing technologies. He is Director of the Bioscience Research Institute (http://bri.ait.ie) which is a designated Technology Core Facility for supporting regional industries in life sciences as part of EU Interreg Sharebiotech. Prof. Rowan also holds an Adjunct Professorship in University of Galway and lectures in the Faculty of Science & Health in TUS midlands.
Bianca Simonassi-Paiva
CE TUS Midlands co-coordinator 2021-2023
PhD Student
Bioscience Research Institute
Technological University of the Shannon
Bianca Simonassi-Paiva received her Bachelor’s Degree in Biotechnology from the University of Brasilia, Brazil, and has a Master’s Degree in Genomic Sciences and Biotechnology, from the Catholic University of Brasilia, also in Brazil. In 2020, she moved to Ireland to continue her studies as a PhD student at the Athlone Institute of Technology. She has experience in working with different types of stem cells, but her current research focus on fibroblasts and the molecular changes they go through during cellular senescence. When she is not in the laboratory doing her research, Bianca likes to go out on hikes, sit by the river, watch television shows and bake cakes.
Bianca is passionate about teaching and children, so when she first learned about Cell EXPLORERS, shortly after she arrived in Ireland, she was excited to join the TUS midlands team as a co-coordinator. Involved as such until 2023, she remains a key member of the team for the duration of her PhD.
Lyndsey O'Kane
CE AIT Coordinator 2019-2020
PhD Candidate
Bioscience Research Institute
Athlone Institute of Technology
Lyndsey is passionate about science education for young children and became involved with the Cell explorers team at AIT in 2016, when she first started her postgraduate research. She manage the AIT CE resoruces during challenging COVID-19 times.
Lyndsey O'Kane (Ratcliffe) received her B.Sc in Forensic Toxicology and B.Sc (honours) in human and animal Toxicology at Athlone Institute of Technology, graduating in 2016 with a first class honours. Her current research studies are focused on the improvement of livestock populations through quantitative genetic methods which allows the identification of lethal recessive disorder carriers, and the increasing of advantageous heritable traits related to production and health in future livestock populations through genetic screening and prediction.
Maya Frost, MSc, PhD
CE AIT coordinator 2017-2018
PhD Candidate
Bioscience Research Institute
Athlone Institute of Technology
Maya Frost trained as a critical care paramedic at the Oregon Health Sciences University. Her long career as a firefighter/paramedic has augmented her academic career. She received her B.Sc. in Analytical & Forensic Science and B.Sc. (Hons) in Bioanalytical Science from the Letterkenny Institute of Technology. Ms. Frost was the inaugural awardee of the Norbrook Barnett Pharmaceutical Sciences Scholarship, earning her MSc. in Pharmaceutical Sciences through the University of Ulster. She lectured part-time while studying for her Ph.D. at the Athlone Institute of Technology when its Cell Explorers team was created. Her research is in the development of next generation smart polymers for use in targeted drug delivery applications. She is an associate member of the Royal Society for Chemistry. She volunteers for the Bat Conservation of Ireland. She is an accomplished musician, likes medieval history, and is an avid textile crafter.
Maya was a facilitator for Cell EXPLORERS AIT team in 2015 and has participated in SciFest Events at AIT. Passionate about non formal science education, she took over the coordination of the team in 2017 and 2018 and outstandingly ran a very active Cell Explorers team.