The UCD Conway Institute was founded in 1999 and the Institute’s 11,500m2 building was opened in 2003. It was awarded approximately €92m in PRTLI funding across Cycles 1-3 and has since been awarded over €143m in grant income from sources including SFI, HRB and Wellcome Trust.
Edward J. Conway (1894 – 1968)
The Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research is named after Professor E.J. Conway, FRS, the first Professor of Biochemistry and Pharmacology at UCD (1933-63). He graduated from Medicine at UCD in 1921 and used his medical course as a springboard to train for research in the biological sciences. His research comprised three main areas: renal function; ionic balance of tissue; and acid secretion by yeast and gastric mucosa. Professor Conway is perhaps best remembered for his invention of the ‘Conway unit’, which is a simple but accurate method of measuring minute quantities by distillation using a glass dish with two concentric chambers. The method has been used to measure levels of ammonia, carbon dioxide or glucose in blood. His book on the use of the units has had five editions and has been translated into Japanese.
There are approximately 450 people working in the building at any one time, comprising over 60 PIs with their research teams of postdoctoral researchers and graduate students. There are also a number of Conway Fellows based in the UCD-affiliated teaching hospitals throughout Dublin. 185 PhD students have graduated from the UCD Conway Institute since it was founded:
