UCD Conway Institute

UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular & Biomedical Research

RESEARCH PROGRAMME UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research is a multidisciplinary centre for research funded by an initiative of the Irish Higher Education Authority; the “Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions” (PRTLI). Located on the 300-acre Belfield campus of University College Dublin (UCD), the largest university in Ireland, UCD Conway Institute brings together over 550 research staff from all over the University and its associated teaching hospitals.

Currently, UCD Conway Institute investigators are from the Schools of Chemical & Bioprocess Engineering, Agriculture, Food Science & Veterinary Medicine, Biology & Environmental Science, Biomolecular & Biomedical Science, Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Medicine & Medical Science as well as the UCD teaching hospitals including the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, St Vincent's University Hospital and Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin.

The strategic objective of the Institute to create a ‘Centre of Excellence’ in the biosciences will be achieved through the creation of structures that underpin scientific excellence, collaborative research, discipline integration, protection of intellectual property and fast-tracking of discoveries to bioindustry.

The research focus of UCD Conway Institute is the identification of molecular mechanisms underlying human and animal diseases in the areas of inflammation and infection; microvascular diseases; neuroscience; diabetes; developmental biology; chemical biology and bioprocessing.

The close collaboration of scientists and clinicians underpins the translational nature of this research from the ‘bench to bedside’. The longer term objectives of the Institute are set on the integration of the biological sciences with those sciences not traditionally associated with biology with a view to realising the synergistic benefits of such associations. These include computer science, applied mathematics, engineering and economics - the latter linking UCD Geary Institute with UCD Conway Institute.

UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular & Biomedical Research

POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION At UCD Conway Institute, we are committed not only to the creation of new knowledge and advances in biomolecular and biomedical research, but also to the education and training of future generations of scientists. In line with international best practise, our postgraduate education programme has been developed in response to the changes in knowledge and skills demanded of graduates in a rapidly expanding world market.

UCD Conway Institute aims to provide students with the core skills that are essential for success in laboratory-based graduate research programmes and transferable to further graduate research and training or to employment. Spanning key aspects of project design, laboratory organisation and management, data analysis, communication, intellectual property, science in society and career development, the programme aims to equip students with the information and tools necessary to realise their career potential in a knowledge economy.

The programme provides a supportive research environment in which professional and transferable skills are delivered through a flexible framework in order to meet the needs of individual research students and has been structured in a manner so as to facilitate the introduction of modularisation and the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).

UCD introduced a structured PhD programme for all incoming students to the 2006/2007 academic year. This credit-based framework will ultimately enable all postgraduates to accumulate credit for both taught modules and for research that is undertaken as part of their degree. UCD Conway Institute will deliver accredited modules in this context.

Additionally, the weekly Conway lecture and seminar series (CLASS) provides the opportunity for graduate students to learn first hand about the work of leading national and international scientists and is ultimately a forum for the presentation of their own postgraduate research.

UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular & Biomedical Research

INNOVATION & CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS Working closely with NovaUCD and Enterprise Ireland Biotechnology Directorate, UCD Conway Institute ensures that researchers have access to support services for continuing professional education in the area of intellectual property management, practical business advice, and incubation facilities to assist in the establishment and development of campus companies. This proactive policy for the translation of research has seen many of the principal investigators within UCD Conway Institute establishing links with the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors through collaborative programmes, contract research and campus companies.

Wyeth Research Ireland, a subsidiary of Wyeth Corporation, one of the largest research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare product companies in the world, has established a bio-therapeutic drug discovery research facility here with the support of IDA Ireland.

The â‚Ź13 million facility will ultimately employ twelve top class research scientists focusing on product discovery, pre-clinical research and drug discovery technology development.

UCD is spearheading a â‚Ź72 million project to build a National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT), with its partners Dublin City University, Sligo Institute of Technology and Trinity College Dublin. Bioprocessing refers to techniques used in the industrial production of biological material such as genetically engineered microbial strains or commercially useful chemicals formed by a biological process such as microbial fermentation.

UCD Conway Institute has an integral role in the project and, in advance of the completion of the new facility, research work is currently being carried out within the Institute by NIBRT scientists.

UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular & Biomedical Research

OUTREACH Through raising awareness and promoting a greater understanding of science, UCD Conway Institute strives to play a part in securing the future of scientific research in Ireland and to encourage public and political engagement with science. We aim to continually improve and develop our outreach endeavours in order to inform as diverse an audience as possible, from students and science enthusiasts to policy makers and the taxpayer, about research and innovation at UCD Conway Institute.

The Science4Schools programme targets primary and secondary school pupils through a series of innovative events such as ScienceWorks; a series of half-day workshops where pupils tour the facilities, hear about the many varied career paths of staff within the Institute and take part in interactive chemistry and biology laboratory experiments; Science Alive, a series of lectures that develop aspects of the biology and chemistry curricula and demonstrate their application within the context of cutting-edge research; and a structured transition year work experience programme designed to give 4th year pupils an insight into the exciting possibilities of careers within science.

UCD Conway Institute has successfully integrated elements of postgraduate training into outreach activities, perhaps most notably through AccesScience; a competition for postgraduate students to explain their research to an audience of the general public without using the jargon of science. The event has been expanded to involve primary and secondary school pupils.

The associated poster competition sparks the imagination of the younger audiences to visually represent science. Winning posters are displayed in DART trains and stations as part of Science Track; a joint initiative between UCD Conway Institute and Iarnroid Eireann.