NUI Galway Celebrates 20 years of Biodiagnostics R&D

From NUIG Press Office: NUI Galway will celebrate 20 years of success in biodiagnostics research and development on Saturday, 17 May, with a symposium reflecting on the University’s leadership in supporting and collaborating with Ireland’s BioIndustry.

The University is a world leader in molecular diagnostics for infectious diseases. Molecular diagnostic technologies have been licensed to companies who are market leaders in this area. Recently, NUI Galway launched a four year R&D partnership with Beckman Coulter Inc. to develop molecular diagnostic products for the clinical sector.

Special guests at the symposium will include Professor Frank Gannon, Science Foundation Ireland; Dr. Jim Walsh, Stokes Bio; Dr. Patrick Cunningham, Chief Scientific Advisor to the Government; and Dr. Bruce Wallace, Beckman Coulter Inc. The meeting will be chaired by Feargal Ó Móráin from Enterprise Ireland who will be addressing issues including the importance of industry and academic collaborative interaction and the role NUI Galway has played in the development of the Irish BioIndustry sector.

The event takes place on Saturday at the Salthill Hotel, Galway from 2-5pm, for further information contact Dr. Marian Kane (Tel. 091-492071 or e-mail marian.kane@nuigalway.ie). Pictured above are Dr. Marian Kane of the National Diagnostic Centre and Prof. Terry Smith of the NCBES.

Curiouser and curiouser....

Browsing the spring issue of 'Discover' magazine, I came across a highly readable and interesting article (by Brad Lemley) about Juan Enriquez, a scientist whose mission appears to be to spread the news about the prime importance of understanding 'life' and 'the code'. According to Enriquez, the future wealth of nations depends on how their peoples understand and make use of the life code. A follow-up search of the web inevitably brought me to another 'TED' talk, this time delivered by Enriquez. Take the time to sit through this thought-provoking 22-minute webcast.




Embedded in the 'Discover' article also, are a couple of 'bug-generated' images. Amazingly, these were generated using light-sensitive e. coli! Further details can be found at http://www.utexas.edu/opa/media/051123photos.php. Here's an example image: