SFI awards for two leading research projects at DCU
26 January 2004

Professor Martin Clynes, Dr Carmel Daly and Dr Paula Meleady

DCU has received funding for two major research projects from SFI in its latest round of awards, which were announced by Ms Mary Harney td earlier this month. The SFI have awarded over EUR 320m since 2001 to support research projects in the fields of Biotechnology (BioT) and Information and Communications Technology (ICT). In this latest round of awards, DCU has been awarded a total of just under €7m.

The first award is for a project led by Professor Martin Clynes with fellow researchers Dr Carmel Daly and Dr Paula Meleady within the National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology. They will exploit leading-edge technology in DNA microarray gene expression profiling proteomics and cell culture to develop improved processes for using animal cells in culture as vehicles for production of cheaper biopharmaceuticals.

The project which will make a significant contribution to the knowledge-base on how mammalian cells function in vitro, and how they can be manipulated to maintain high levels of productivity or to maintain expression of specific differentiated functions. The research will be carried out in close collaboration with industrial partners which will ensure that the knowledge generated will be applied to improvement of animal-cell-based processes of industrial relevance.

For further details on animal cell biotechnology research - click here

The second award is part of the SFI Fellows-Research Professorship programme which assists Irish research institutions in attracting outstanding researchers to their institutions from outside the state. DCU has successfully recruited Professor Oliver Dolly from Imperial College, London, where he proposes to develop novel therapeutic drugs which will act upon nerve cells affected by neurological diseases. Additional studies will examine potential therapies for the treatment of chronic pain and disorders of the involuntary nervous system.