Release date: 3 December, 2001 Announcement of New Chair of BioMedical Engineering Science at NUI Galway NUI, Galway wishes to announce the appointment of Dr. Terry Smith as the first Professor of Biomedical Engineering Science and Director of the National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science (NCBES) which is also based on campus. A graduate of Trinity College, Dublin and Oxford University, Professor Smith has been General Manager of the National Diagnostics Centre, NUI, Galway since 1994. His major research interest is focused on using functional genomics approaches to investigate the molecular basis of human disease, in particular, human reproductive disorders. As Director of the NCBES, Professor Smith s main priority will be to lead the development of a world-class research Centre in Biomedical Engineering Science. "This goal will be achieved through the development of interdisciplinary research programmes within the Centre in selected areas where significant expertise already exists, and by establishing research collaborations nationally and internationally with key research Institutes and researchers. Through our interdisciplinary approach, the NCBES will establish itself as a world-leader in key areas of Biomedical Engineering Science research", he said. Professor Smith s other priorities include the development of collaborative research programmes with local and national biomedical and biotechnology industries and to harness the expertise within the NCBES towards the development of novel diagnostics tests and treatments for human disease. Ends Information from: Máire Mhic Uidhir, Press Officer, NUI, Galway. Tel. 091 750418

Release date: 21 December, 2000 Poland honours NUI Galway Lecturer Dr. Oliver Ryan, a lecturer at the Department of Education, National University of Ireland, Galway has been awarded "The Knights Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland" (Krzyz Kawalersky Orderu Zashugi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej). The Polish Ambassador Janusz Skolimonwski, made the presentation on behalf of the Polish Government, at a reception in NUI, Galway, hosted by Professor Ruth Curtis, Vice-President for Development and External Affairs. Dr. Ryan has been working closely with a number of Polish Universities and Teacher Training Colleges since 1991. He has co-ordinated five major TEMPUS programmes, on behalf of the EU and during that time, has organised programmes in NUI, Galway for 407 students and 264 lecturers from the various colleges. The programmes included English Language Teacher Training; European Life and Institutions; Modernisation of Primary Health Care in Poland; and Poland and the European Union. All of the programmes resulted in a restructuring of courses in the Polish Colleges and in the provision of additional teaching equipment. In 1995 NUI, Galway signed protocol agreements with the Universities of Poznan and Katowice. Dr. Ryan has already been awarded the Marie Curie Medal (1993) by the University of Lublin, The Medal of Honour (1994) by the University of Silesia and the Medal of Distinction (1997) by AMU University. Ends Information from: Máire Mhic Uidhir, Press Office, NUI, Galway. Tel. 091 750

Release date: 20 December, 2000 Major award for NUI Galway Human Rights Expert Professor William Schabas, Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights, which is based in NUI, Galway has been awarded the Medal of the International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law. The presentation was made at an International Conference in Johannesburg, where Professor Schabas was delivering a paper on "Fair Trial and Fit Punishment: How International Human Rights is Transforming Criminal Justice". The opening address of the conference was delivered by former South African President, Dr. Nelson Mandela. The International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law is an international non-governmental association of judges, legislators, lawyers, academics, and governmental officials, who have come together to work actively on the administration of criminal justice both in their own jurisdiction and internationally. The Society publishes the Criminal Law Forum , whose current editor in chief is Professor William Schabas. The Forum is intended to promote new thinking about the fundamental principles of criminal law, to encourage comparative criminal law analysis, and trace the development of new international criminal law. Established in 1987, when over 200 experts from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, other Commonwealth Countries, the United States, Europe, and Israel, gathered at the Inns of Court in London, to discuss the reform of criminal law and the criminal justice system, the Society encourages joint research and policy development among individuals and government bodies from different jurisdictions. The Society participates as a professional organisation in the work of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Program, through the International Scientific and Professional Advisory Council. Members of the Society have participated in numerous UN meetings. In September 1991, the Society was accorded observer status on crime problems, by the Council of Ministers of the Council of Europe. The Society s participation in the work of the Council in this area provides criminal justice policy makers in Europe with another valuable link with their counterparts in the jurisdictions in which the Society has members. Professor Schabas recently published Genocide in International Law, which is currently being used by lawyers dealing with the criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Ends Information from: Máire Mhic Uidhir, Press Officer, NUI, Galway. Tel. 091 750418

Release date: 11 December, 2000 NUI Galway establishes unique initiative with Polish College NUI, Galway has been co-operating with the prestigious Wroclaw University of Technology (WUT) in Poland for more than seven years under the EU Tempus Programme, whereby students and staff from Wroclaw came to Galway to study. However, Irish students tended to favour the UK, US, France and Germany for their study-abroad periods. That is now set to change as a result of a new agreement signed between NUI, Galway and Wroclaw University, with the support of a Polish bank. Academic staff from WUT visited Galway last week to attend a function in the Universiry marking the signing of the new agreement. The agreement provides for six NUI, Galway undergraduate students (mainly from the Faculty of Engineering) to go to Poland for their Professional Experience Programme activity. Four Polish postgraduate students will come to Galway to undertake Masters or Doctoral studies in the Faculties of Science or Engineering. The distinctive element of the agreement is the support of Bank Zachodni, WBK, AIB Group, Wroclaw. The total cost of the initiative is estimated to be £130,000, with Bank Zachodni providing £38,000 over a three-year period and NUI, Galway supplying the remainder. "We are delighted to be partners with this prestigious university. Wroclaw University of Technology with its 27,000 students is an exciting and pioneering institution in a country which is perceived as the economic leader in Eastern Europe", said Professor Ruth Curtis, Vice-President for Development and External Affairs at NUI, Galway. "I believe the benefits of this new agreement to students of both universities will be most beneficial and worthwhile". Ends Information from: Máire Mhic Uidhir, Press Officer, NUI, Galway. Tel. 091 750418

A new type of orthopaedic implant developed at NUI Galway, which could improve the lifespan of hip and knee replacements, is generating growing interest from the biomedical industry.  OsteoAnchor aims to overcome a problem of implants coming loose over time by using a revolutionary surface of hundreds of tiny gripping claws. The implant is designed to not only grip bone securely, but also to encourage new hard bone tissue to grow into the implant, though a specially engineered lattice of tiny struts and pores. Successful pre-clinical study A recent successful pre-clinical study of an OsteoAnchor hip replacement showed the technology immediately grips the bone effectively, leading to a quicker recovery after surgery. No other surface coating on the market provides such a secure initial fixation with such potential for quicker recovery after surgery. In addition, the hip replacement remained very secure over time due to extensive growth of the bone into the implant. The team is now moving towards clinical trials, with plans for a first-in-man trial in 2014. $8.7 billion market With the combined US and European markets for hip and knee replacements estimated to be worth $8.7 billion, the team behind OsteoAnchor will initially target a particular segment - the revision hip market - which is estimated at $800 million. “We are keen to engage with potential investors and business partners interested in commercialising this high potential technology”, explains Dr Pat Mc Donnell who has been developing OsteoAnchor over the last four years with Dr Noel Harrison, of the Biomechanics Research Centre at NUI Galway’s National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science. As people are living longer and undergoing hip implants later in life, the potential for reduced recovery times associated with OsteoAnchor is a key attraction. “We have put together a team of orthopaedic surgeons to work with us to design a hip implant with OsteoAnchor,” adds Dr Mc Donnell. “They will participate in the clinical testing of the implant, providing the initial path to market. The initial target application is for patients having their second or third hip replacement in the same leg - that is one of the most challenging kinds of orthopaedic surgery, and it’s where OsteoAnchor can make a huge impact. In the future we hope to have OsteoAnchor knee and shoulder implants, but for now we are concentrating on hips.” 3D printing OsteoAnchor is made from a standard titanium alloy using a process similar to 3D printing. A preclinical study showed the technology immediately grips the bone effectively, that recovery after surgery is quicker and the hip replacements remain secure due to extensive bone in growth. The product is also cheaper to manufacture due to one step manufacturing process, where the surface architecture is integral to the implant core. The commercialisation project was funded by Enterprise Ireland and showcased at Enterprise Ireland’s Big Ideas event at the Aviva in November. NUI Galway has a strong reputation for technology transfer, in recent years spinning out 25 High Potential Start Ups, 76 license agreements and over 100 patent applications, providing a significant basis for job retention and creation in Ireland. To view Dr Pat Mc Donnell and Dr Noel Harrison on the Late Late Show (46.55 minutes) click on the below image ‌ -ends-

NUI Galway’s J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics is organising a conference and gala dinner to mark the 40th anniversary of the first intake to its Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme. Celebrating this milestone, the events will take place Friday, 25 January in Galway and all MBA alumni, as well as past and current teaching faculty, are invited to attend. Focusing on a number of contemporary business, management and leadership issues and challenges, the conference, 40 Years A-Growing in Business & Management: Learning from the Past, Leading the Future, will draw together a panel of high-profile contributors from business and academia, many of whom are NUI Galway MBA alumni. These will include: Dr Alan Ahearne, Economist and Lecturer at NUI Galway; Mike Higgins, Managing Director and Head of CIBC World Markets Corporation and Chair of NUI Galway’s US Foundation Board; Seamus Kavanagh, Vice-President of Hollister in Chicago; Paschal McCarthy, Vice-President of GE Healthcare; Professor John McHale, Chair of the National Fiscal Council and Chair of Economics at NUI Galway; and Helen Ryan, CEO, Creganna Tactx Medical. Dr Alma McCarthy, Executive MBA Programme Director, NUI Galway, said: “We very much look forward to welcoming back our very successful MBA alumni.  This is a great opportunity for them to return to the University, see the new Cairnes Business School, reconnect with their MBA classmates and network with other NUI Galway MBA graduates and potential business partners.” A number of alumni who are located oversees have registered to attend the event and the conference has received funding from The Gathering.  “The NUI Galway MBA programme is the second oldest MBA programme in the Island of Ireland and is the flagship programme in the School.  The quality of our graduates is reflected in multiple successes in national MBA competitions with many of our alumni holding senior management positions in a variety of organisations nationally and internationally”, said Dr Emer Mulligan, Head of the J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics, NUI Galway. For further information about the conference and gala dinner, please contact the Alumni Office on 091 493750. ENDS

Former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, will give a public interview on her life and work with journalist Fintan O’Toole at NUI Galway on Monday, 14 January. The event will begin at 7.15pm and will take place in the Bailey Allen Hall on campus. While the event is free and open to the public, registration is essential and bookings should be made through www.conference.ie Following the interview a panel discussion will take place with representatives of NUI Galway’s Irish Centre for Human Rights including the Centre’s newly appointed director, Professor Michael O’Flaherty FRSA and Professor Bill Schabas as well as Dr Nata Duvvury and Dr Niamh Reilly from the University’s Global Women’s Studies Programme. Mary Robinson visited NUI Galway last November to mark the beginning of a new partnership with the University. Plans unveiled in 2012 to establish a Mary Robinson Centre in the former President’s home town of Ballina, Co. Mayo. The Centre, supported by Mayo County Council and Ballina Town Council will be established at Mary Robinson’s birthplace and will include both a Visitor Centre and an academic research centre, supported by NUI Galway and focused on scholarly research and education in the fields of Human Rights and Women’s Leadership. Mary Robinson’s archive will be the centrepiece of the educational facility, and as academic partner to the project, NUI Galway will bring researchers and students from all over the world to Ballina to engage with the archive. NUI Galway is internationally recognised as a leader in the field of Human Rights and Gender research, and offers undergraduate degrees and postgraduate programmes in the area. The University will also advise on the cataloguing and making available of the extensive archive which is valued at over €2.5 million. The proposed Visitor Centre, which is set to open to the public by the end of 2014, will provide a unique cultural tourism resource for Mayo as visitors will have the opportunity to learn more about Mary Robinson’s life and work, including her early roots in Ballina. The project will involve the refurbishment of Victoria House, a protected 19th century Georgian house, together with the construction of an Annex to the house. Parts of the house will be recreated to its original condition at the time of Mary Robinson’s birth in 1944. The property at Victoria House, which has been in the Bourke Family for generations, is being made available to the Centre by the owner, Mary’s brother Adrian Bourke, and will be leased in perpetuity. Mary Robinson’s archive is a vast collection illuminating the life and career of one of Ireland’s most distinguished public figures. The archive includes a library of books, and periodicals, Mary Robinson’s personal diaries, working files and detailed records of her career as a champion of human rights and women’s equality. Also included are numerous recordings and manuscripts from her time as President of Ireland. Shortlisted for the Political Book Awards 2013 Political Book of the Year Everybody Matters A Memoir by Mary Robinson was published in 2012.   ENDS

Secondary school students interested in NUI Galway are invited to an information evening in Thurles on Thursday, 17 January. Parents and guardians are also particularly welcome to the event which runs from 7-9pm in the Anner Hotel, Thurles, Co. Tipperary. The evening will begin with short talks about NUI Galway and some of the 60 courses it offers. Afterwards, current students and NUI Galway staff will be on hand to answer any questions in relation to courses and practical issues like accommodation, fees and scholarships, and the wide range of support services available to students. The ever-increasing popularity of NUI Galway is in-part due to a whole suite of innovative new programmes, developed in response to the changing needs of the employment market. Unique programmes include a Bachelor of Arts with Human Rights, an Energy Engineering degree which is taught in the University’s new Engineering Building, Ireland’s largest School of Engineering, and a Maths and Education degree aimed at training maths teachers. Visitors to the information evening will also get information on NUI Galway’s newest degree programmes, a BA in Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies and a Bachelor of Arts with Journalism which are brand new for 2013. “NUI Galway has a great deal to offer. Our own students tell us our lecturers are inspirational and challenge them to achieve their full potential. The student experience in Galway is second to none, and we want to bring a taste of that to Tipperary, while also providing all the practical information on accommodation, CAO points, fees, scholarships and courses. With so many courses on offer, this event in Thurles is a perfect opportunity to meet current students and our lecturers to see what degree might be the right fit”, says Caroline Loughnane, Director of Marketing and Communications at NUI Galway. To find out more about the information evening in Thurles, contact NUI Galway’s Schools Liaison Officer, Celine O’Donovan on 087 239 1219 or celine.odonovan@nuigalway.ie. ENDS

Research calls on screening and interventions to bring down costs and protect mother and baby A new study from NUI Galway, funded by the Health Research Board, has shown maternity care costs for pregnant women with gestational diabetes are 34% higher than average. Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is a form of diabetes which is first diagnosed during pregnancy. It develops in about 12% of pregnancies and is more common in women who are overweight or obese. Previous research has shown that it carries with it increased risks for both mother and baby, but this is the first time the economic implications have been studied in Ireland. This study explored the determinants of maternity care and costs for a cohort of 4,432 pregnant women in Ireland. In particular, it estimated the independent effects of GDM, over and above the effects of other potentially important determinants, on mode of delivery, neonatal unit admission, and maternity care costs. From the sample of 4,372 women, those with a diagnosis of GDM were almost twice as likely to undergo an emergency caesarean section, and their infants were three times more likely to be admitted to a neonatal unit. The resulting maternity care costs, specifically calculated by sampling patients from the public healthcare system, were increased by 34%.Of the other variables included in the analysis, maternal obesity was found to increase costs by 21%. “Aside from the serious health implications, GDM is also placing a substantial economic burden on maternity care costs. This burden is likely to rise in the future if current practices remain unchanged given projected increases in GDM prevalence rates. However, what our study really highlights are the potential cost savings which may go to offset the costs of interventions that aim to prevent the onset of GDM in pregnancy,” explains Dr Paddy Gillespie, from the School of Business and Economics at NUI Galway. Professor Fidelma Dunne, Consultant Endocrinologist and Head of School of Medicine at NUI Galway, headed-up the Atlantic DIP research and co-authored this week’s study.  Professor Dunne pointed out that the cost of interventions, such as universal screening, could potentially be offset by the reduced number of women requiring more costly medical care. “GDM is a significant public health concern for women and their babies in Ireland. It can lead to future diabetes in the mother and diabetes and obesity in their children, with indications that it is contributing to the global diabetes epidemic. Ireland needs to introduce universal screening of women in pregnancy for GDM, rather than the current approach of selective screening. We also need to look at lifestyle interventions and educating women about vitamin supplements, diet and exercise through their ante-natal centres and GPs.” The research, ‘Modelling the Independent Effects of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus on Maternity Care and Costs’, was funded by the Health Research Board, was published this week in the international peer-reviewed journal Diabetes Care. Data for the study came from the five-year project Atlantic Diabetes in Pregnancy (Atlantic DIP), which measured the incidence and outcomes of diabetes in pregnancy in the west and north-west of Ireland. -ends-

NUI Galway’s Irish Centre for Human Rights and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties will host a seminar acknowledging Ireland’s first term as a newly elected member of the UN Human Rights Council, which began on 1 January 2013. The seminar, Ireland and the Human Rights Council – Where to From Here? will take place on Friday, 1 February in the Aula Maxima, NUI Galway. This one-day seminar will explore the challenges and opportunities presented by Ireland’s recent election to the United Nations Human Rights Council. The event will bring together a range of experts from the field of human rights, including H.E. Gerry Corr, Irish Ambassador to the United Nations, to draw up a list of recommendations that can inform Ireland’s term of office on the Council. Other speakers at the seminar will include: Colm O’Gorman, Executive Director, Amnesty International (Irish Section); Mary Lawlor, Founder and Executive Director, Frontline Defenders; Professor Michael O’Flaherty, Co-Director, Irish Centre for Human Rights, NUI Galway; Suzanne Egan, Lecturer, School of Law, University College Dublin; Dr Niamh Reilly, Senior Lecturer in Global Women’s Studies, School of Political Science and Sociology, NUI Galway; Julie de Rivero, Geneva Advocacy Director, Human Rights Watch; and Caoimhe de Barra, Head of International Department, Trócaire. Professor Ray Murphy, Co-Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights, NUI Galway said: “The seminar will explore the challenges and opportunities presented by Ireland’s recent election to the United Nations Human Rights Council. The aim of the event is to address questions regarding the commitments made by Ireland during its election campaign, how Ireland can best contribute to the agenda of the Council, and the leadership role that Ireland can play in the promotion of human rights.” The Human Rights Council, which was established in 2006 by the UN General Assembly, is the most important UN body for the protection and promotion of human rights. The 47 member Council is an inter-governmental body within the UN system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the world and for addressing situations of human rights violations. The Council has a number of mechanisms at its disposal including Universal Periodic Review to assess human rights practices in member states, the Advisory Committee, which serves as the Council’s “think tank” providing it with expertise and advice on thematic human rights issues, and the Complaint Procedure, which allows individuals and organisations to bring human rights violations to the attention of the Council. To register for the seminar, or to view the programme, visit http://www.conference.ie/Conferences/index.asp?Conference=203 For further information on the seminar contact Annabel Egan in the Irish Centre for Human Rights, NUI Galway on 091 493946 or annabel.egan@nuigalway.ie. -ENDS-