FOURTH-YEAR KERRY student Aoibheann Daly has won the top prize at this year’s Stripe Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition. 

From Mercy Secondary School Mounthawk in Tralee, Co Kerry, the 15-year-old won for her project ‘GlioScope’ which looked at ways to help doctors improve the treatment of brain cancer.

The treatment and prognosis for brain cancer depends on the specific genetic mutations present.

However, there are currently no good methods for identifying these mutations. Doctors relying on taking samples of brain tissue, which is expensive, slow and carries a high risk of bleeding in the brain.

GlioScope allows a doctor to predict what genetic mutation is likely to be present from a simple MRI brain scan, which allows them to make quicker treatment decisions and reduce risk for the cancer patient.

“Brain cancer is a devastating condition for people. GlioScope, developed by a fifteen year-old student, is an extraordinary achievement,” Professor Catherine Darker, head judge for the Health and Wellbeing category of the exhibition, said. 

“Aoibheann has brought together scientific areas of medicine with computer science to improve the chances of early intervention for people with brain cancer. She is a worthy winner of the Stripe Young Scientist & Technologist 2026.”

The trophy was presented to Aoibheann by Education Minister Hildegarde Naughton and Stripe co-founder and former Young Scientist winner Patrick Collison.

Aoibheann was awarded the top prize by Stripe co-founder Patrick Collison and Minister for Education Hildegarde Naughton. Chris Bellew / Fennell Photography Chris Bellew / Fennell Photography / Fennell Photography

“Given the extremely high standard of entries presented by students at the RDS this week, it is a tremendous achievement to be awarded first prize,” Naughton said.

“It is a wonderful testament to Aoibheann’s hard work and dedication to her chosen field of research, as well as to the unwavering support of her family, teachers and school.”

In addition to winning the grand prize of €7,500, Aoibheann will now go on to represent Ireland at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists in Kiel, Germany in September. 

GlioScope was one of 550 exhibits from 225 schools that competed for a range of prizes at this year’s Young Scientist and Technology event.

The exhibition, the largest of its kind in Europe, showcases students’ talents in the areas of science, technology, engineering and maths.

Among the other winners were fifth-year students Aoife Fadian and Jessica O’Connor, from Ursuline College in Sligo.

They were named Best Group for their project ‘Sheep Strength II: Using Sheep Wool to Reinforce Concrete’, which saw them investigate the most effective, market-friendly form of sheep wool as a strengthening agent for concrete.

Fifth-year students Ritvik Venkateshwar and Hao Wen Liu from Stratford College in Dublin took home the Runner Up Group prize. Their project ‘A simulation of Axion Monodromy inflation to investigate whether it can describe our Universe’ used advanced theoretical physics to accurately describe the early universe.

Joshua Corbett, a sixth-year student from St. Mary’s C.B.S. in Co Laois, won the Individual Runner Up prize for his project ‘There’s Plenty of Room To Break Through at the Bottom’ which identifies tiny nanocarriers for drug delivery administered through the nose to treat brain cancer.

Members of the public can visit the exhibition for the final day tomorrow.