Scientific research is expensive but the returns are impressive. According to the National Institutes of Health in the USA, every $1 invested in basic research returns an average of $80 in economic benefits. Surprising? Hardly, given that modern knowledge economies are built on, and driven by, research. UCD Conway has prospered on the initial strategic investments from the Government, but has successfully taken on the challenge to procure research funding from alternate sources including industry and the European Union. Today, non-exchequer funding accounts for ca. 50% of our funded research. This remarkable success in securing competitive non-exchequer funding has now reversed the dramatic decline in grant funding precipitated by the financial crisis in 2008.
Project: ASSET - Analysing and Striking the Sensitivities of Embryonal Tumours
Funder: European Commission
This collaborative project is funded for 5 years by the EU FP7 Cooperation Health work programme (FP7-Health-2010) under the theme ‘tackling diseases through systems biology approaches’. Prof Walter Kolch, Director of Systems Biology Ireland and UCD Conway Institute, is the project coordinator with responsibility for the scientific and operational delivery of the €12 million project. The main goal is to identify signalling network vulnerabilities that can be exploited for new approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of highly aggressive and devastating major paediatric tumours including neuroblastoma, medulloblastoma and Ewing sarcoma family tumours’. Prof Kolch’s research group aims to map the signalling pathways altered in these diseases, and design new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches exploiting aberrations in signalling pathways.
Project: Novel Biocatalysts Derived through Genetic Modification of Enzymes by Random Mutagenesis Assisted by Single-Cell Screening
Funder: Johnson Matthey Catalysis and Chiral Technologies
Prof Paul Engel and his team generate novel biocatalysts by mutating genes for existing enzymes. This project focuses on developing a versatile method for rapid screening to detect activity in single cells in liquid culture. Conventional high-throughput screening involves growing up a colony for each cell that might harbour a mutant. While feasible for single mutants, it becomes incredibly onerous if achieving screenable activity requires two or more mutations. Using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), the team can now look more closely at only a tiny fraction of apparent ‘positive’ cells of interest. The industry partner is interested in the possible use of biocatalysis in their business. With their support, the team advanced this methodology and secured further funding through Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council in collaboration with Glaxo-Smith Kline.
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