Minister appoints Co-Chair to US-Ireland R&D Partnership Steering Group
Date published:
Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald has announced the appointment of Dr Rob Grundy as the new northern Co-Chair of the US-Ireland R&D Partnership Steering Group.
The appointment is for a three-year term commencing 1 April 2025.
The Partnership, which supports leading edge, collaborative, scientific research between universities in the north and south of Ireland and the United States, focuses on generating valuable discoveries and innovations in key priority areas including sensors, nanotechnology, telecommunications, energy and sustainability, cybersecurity, health and agriculture.
The appointment process followed the principles of the Code of Practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments, Northern Ireland (CPANI).
Notes to editors:
1. The US-Ireland R&D Partnership, established in 2006 and based on the principles of the Good Friday Agreement, involves the governments of the north and south of Ireland and the United States of America working together to advance scientific progress via the “gold standard” international peer review of the US National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Food & Agriculture. The Steering Group, which includes representatives of all three jurisdictions, guides the collaborative efforts under the Partnership and reflects a cooperative ethos through the inclusion of a co-chair from each of the three jurisdictions.
2. Dr Robert Grundy has spent over 25 years in Pharma and Biotech beginning in drug discovery and development in large Pharma at Schering-Plough and GlaxoSmithKline. He served as CSO with Cerebricon before joining Almac Discovery in 2008. In 2014 he founded Anglezarke Life Sciences, a commercialisation and growth strategy consultancy. Dr Grundy has served as CEO of CIGA Healthcare, Health Innovation Research Alliance Northern Ireland and, up until January 2025 Intelligent OMICS. He has held or holds visiting and honorary lectureships at King’s College London and Queen’s University Belfast. He formerly chaired Matrix, the Science and Technology policy panel for the Northern Ireland Government and represented Northern Ireland on the Chief Scientific Advisors Network for the UK between 2022 and 2024. Since February 2025 he has served as Director of Innovation Partnerships at Catalyst, Northern Ireland’s Science Park.
3. The post of Co-Chair is not remunerated. However, InterTradeIreland, which provides secretariat for the US-Ireland R&D Partnership, will cover expenses necessarily incurred in carrying out the role.
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