Dr. Daniela Iacopino obtained her Master’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Pavia, Italy, in 1995 and a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Modena, Italy, in 2000.

From 2000 to 2002, she was a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Chemistry at University College Dublin.

In 2002, she joined the Tyndall National Institute (then NMRC) as a postdoctoral fellow, where she worked for four years on the fabrication and characterization of polymer nanowires with enhanced optoelectronic properties.

Since 2006, Dr. Iacopino has been a staff researcher in the Nanotechnology Group at Tyndall National Institute. In 2012, she became leader of the Integrated Nanomaterials (INMs) team, which focuses on the synthesis and integration of nanostructured materials into devices for sensing and energy storage applications. Her team has recently pioneered the fabrication of graphene-like electrode materials derived from biodegradable and renewable precursor sources, enabling new opportunities for sustainable wearable sensors and energy storage technologies.

Dr. Iacopino is a Funded Investigator in the CONNECT Research Centre and the VistaMilk SFI Research Centre. She has an extensive track record in research funding, contributing to national programmes (SFI, EI, IRC) and European frameworks including FP6, FP7, Horizon 2020, and Horizon Europe as both principal investigator and partner. Currently she is coordinating one MSCA DN project (FERNS) and one H2025 CL4, RIA project (e-FLOWER).

She has supervised to completion eight PhD graduates, three postdoctoral students and more than fifteen master’s and visiting students. 

The team’s research focuses on the development of functional nanoscale materials with tailored electronic properties for sensing and energy storage applications. In the last five years, the group has developed low-cost, flexible, and versatile electrochemical sensors for health, food, and environmental monitoring based on laser-induced graphene (LIG), as well as lateral flow sensors for the detection of pathogens in milk.

Within the Tyndall National Institute, the team has pioneered the field of sustainable materials for the Internet of Things (IoT) through the development of supercapacitors and electrochemical sensors derived from naturally sourced cork and chitosan biomaterials. Notably, the performance of these devices is comparable to that of conventional, non-sustainable materials, opening the way for the realisation of fully compostable sensors and energy-storage solutions.

Another important research direction is the application of these devices to cultural heritage monitoring and preservation, including the development of humidity and gas sensors for environmental monitoring, as well as spectroscopic and diagnostic techniques for heritage conservation. The team has participated in four EU projects focused on cultural heritage and collaborates closely with the Department of Modern Irish at University College Cork on a project funded by the Irish Research Council, which focuses on the analysis of Irish Gaelic manuscripts.