NIBRT and IADT secure Research Ireland New Foundations funding

We are delighted to announce that NIBRT Principal Investigator, Prof. Anne Moore has been awarded funding through the Research Ireland New Foundations programme. The project is a joint initiative with Dr. Nina Hayes in IADT called Visualising Vaccines, which will examine how visual imagery during the COVID-19 pandemic influenced vaccine confidence, to inform more effective public health messaging in future health crises. Last year NIBRT and IADT signed a memorandum of understanding aiming to collaborate strategically and bring together the strengths from our different industries and this project is a great example of the impact we can have together.

Research Ireland announced 63 New Foundations awards, with a total investment of €754,352. Dr Diarmuid O’Brien, CEO of Research Ireland, said: “The New Foundations programme enables researchers to work in close partnership with communities and public bodies to address a range of complex societal challenges. These awards support early-stage collaborative research, generating knowledge and evidence to inform national policy and deliver meaningful impact for people and communities across Ireland and beyond. I would like to congratulate all the awardees, and I look forward to seeing where their projects lead.”

Project details

Visualising Vaccines: visual representations and vaccine decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland.

Building public trust in vaccines is essential for protecting society against future pandemics. One powerful, but often overlooked, influence on vaccine confidence is visual imagery. This interdisciplinary project brings together vaccine scientists and design historians to examine how visual images used during the COVID-19 pandemic influenced public perceptions and attitudes of vaccines and trust in health communications. Our findings will help develop evidence-based visual strategies to support more effective vaccine messaging in future public health crises, ensuring that communication does not just inform but also builds confidence when it is needed most.