IDA Ireland Chooses UCD to Lead �90 Million Project for Research and Training in Bioprocessing

IDA Ireland picked the UCD bid, made in conjunction with Trinity College and the Institute of Technology at Sligo, over proposals from Dublin City University and University College Cork. 

Bioprocessing refers to techniques used to produce biological material -- such as genetically engineered microbial strains -- or to produce commercially useful chemicals by a biological process such as microbial fermentation. Ireland's pharmaceutical industry employs more than 17,000 people at 83 bioprocessing operations around the country, accounting for more than �30 billion in exports in 2003. 

The NIBRT will train bioprocessing technicians, generate research, and serve the needs of institutions and companies engaged in such work. 

The UCD proposal includes an advanced fermentation facility. The university already has three small bioreactors, along with the Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, which conducts research on proteins, cell biology, and molecular medicine. 

IDA Ireland will pick up 90 percent of the estimated �66-million cost of setting up the institute. Operating costs, estimated at �53-million over the first few years, will be met by the university and its partners with help from the private sector and grants from Ireland and the European Union.