There was Laois success in the RDS last night as the award winners of the BT Young Scientist Exhibition for 2025 were unveiled.
Joshua Corbett, of Portlaoise CBS, finished second in the Senior Technology Individual Category.
A past pupil of St Colman’s National School in Stradbally and from Vicarstown, this is a huge achievement for the Fifth Year student.
Joshua entered the Technology section with his project entitled ‘Development of a novel nano-QSAR model to predict drug delivery of nanoparticles to the brain’.
He has developed a paper that focuses on the development of a novel nano-QSAR model to predict drug delivery of nanoparticles to the brain.
Joshua hopes the project can assist researchers in developing treatment for Glioblastoma, an aggressive cancer that attacks the brain and spinal cord.
Following Joshua’s success, his school Portlaoise CBS congratulated him.
They said: “Well done to Joshua Corbett and his teacher Ms Emily Barrett at the BT Young Scientist today as he was awarded 2nd prize in the Senior Technology Individual Category.
“Joshua’s project is entitled ‘Breaking Barriers: Revolutionising the Treatment of Brain Diseases’ and focuses on the development of a novel nano-QSAR model to predict drug delivery of nanoparticles to the brain.
“We are very proud of him.”
550 projects from 225 schools went on display from Wednesday showcasing innovation in the areas of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).
Students from Heywood Community School and Portlaoise College were also among those from all over the country that qualified for the final.
Heywood Community School were represented by Ilana Holohan.
A Transition Year student, she competed in the Social and Behavioural Sciences section as an individual intermediate project.
Her project was entitled ‘How does the amount of sleeep you get affect your appetite, mood and focus and how sleep really affects the day-to-day lives’.
Ilana’s project was aimed at gaining an insight into how sleep really affects day-to-day life.
While the youngest Laois entrant came from Portlaoise College.
Third Year student, Sean Cheah, competed in the Social and Behavioural Sciences section – in what is his second time to qualify for the finals.
His project was entitled ‘A study of the post-Covid work environment’.
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