Dr Liam Downey is a graduate of bio-chemistry from University College Cork, and spent the first decade of his career researching milk and dairy products. Awarded a PhD from Reading University, he then went to work in the agricultural research institute of Moorepark, County Cork. In 1979, he was made Chief Executive Officer of An Foras Forbartha, followed in 1983 by directorship of An Chomhairle Oiliúna Talamhaíochta (ACOT). One of his major research interests lay in the eradication of bovine tuberculosis and he was made director of ERAD (Eradication of Animal Disease Board) in 1988. In 1992, he became director of Teagasc and remained at the helm until his retirement in 2002. Prior to his retirement, Downey was made Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Agriculture, University College Dublin. He has also been awarded with a Doctor of Laws from the National University of Ireland, in recognition for his contribution to science, nationally and internationally.