We are delighted to announce that ERC PatentsInHumans researcher Lauren Kane has been awarded a John & Pat Hume Scholarship to pursue doctoral study at Maynooth University. Lauren commenced her PhD studies at the ALL Institute and School of Law and Criminology, Maynooth University in October 2026. The annual Maynooth University John & Pat Hume Doctoral Awards are offered to successful doctoral applicants with demonstrated excellence in academic course work and research, and high potential for postgraduate research.
Lauren’s PhD research will explore the balance between incentives for new healthcare innovation such as legal exclusivities (including intellectual property rights) and patients’ access to new health-technologies in Europe, using a human right to science lens. The research project has a particular focus on the role of legal incentives in the development of new antibiotics and orphan medicines within EU legislative frameworks, including in the recently adopted EU Pharmaceutical Package, and the proposed new EU Biotech Act, and their potential implications for development of and access to health-technologies. This research project will be supervised by Professor Aisling McMahon and Dr Karen Walsh.
The PatentsInHumans project is funded by the European Union (ERC, PatentsInHumans, Project No. 101042147). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
