TU Dublin Lecturer Gerald Gallagher Wins Bioengineering Medal at RAMI Research Awards
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Gerald Gallagher, Lecturer in TU Dublin's School of Mechanical Engineering, has been awarded the Bioengineering Medal at the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland (RAMI) Research Awards 2025, recognising his research into the behaviour of healthy and diseased red blood cells using advanced computational modelling techniques.
The award was presented for Gerald's research paper, “Body force influence on healthy and diseased red blood cell sedimentation using multiphase CFD methods,” co-authored with Professor Fergal Boyle and published in the International Journal of Multiphase Flow in 2025.
Advancing Red Blood Cell Research Through Computational Simulation
Red blood cells play a vital role in transporting oxygen throughout the body, and changes in their physical properties can influence how they move and behave within the bloodstream. Understanding these complex interactions is important for advancing research into blood disorders and developing improved medical technologies.
Gerald's research involves the development of GPU-accelerated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software capable of simulating the complex interactions between red blood cells and the surrounding fluid. His award-winning paper investigates the influence of external forces on the sedimentation of healthy and diseased cells, providing insights into how differences in cell properties affect their behaviour.
This computational approach has potential applications in understanding blood disorders, improving medical devices and advancing cell processing technologies.
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Advancing Interdisciplinary Research at TU Dublin
Gerald is also co-founder of the TU Dublin CFD Research Group, which advances computational modelling and simulation across a range of engineering disciplines, including bioengineering, energy and sustainability.
The award highlights the contribution of TU Dublin's School of Mechanical Engineering to interdisciplinary research, demonstrating how advanced engineering simulation and high-performance computing can support innovation in bioengineering and healthcare. Gerald’s broader research was also recently featured in the RTÉ Brainstorm article “Flow and behold: how computers reveal the hidden world of fluids,” which explores the role of computational simulation in understanding complex fluid behaviour.