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The National
Diagnostics Centre (NDC) is a Applied Bio-Sciences Research and
Development Centre located at the National University of Ireland,
Galway since 1987. It was initially established as a
constituent centre of BioResearch Ireland
(BRI), a
partnership between five Irish Universities and the Government, with
the goal of developing an R&D structure in selected areas of
biotechnology within Ireland, which would contribute to the
development and competitiveness of the Irish Bio-industry sector. Since
November 2003, the NDC is directly managed by the University,
receiving financial support from Enterprise Ireland, the
Irish Government enterprise development agency.
The NDC has dedicated laboratories on campus
at NUI, Galway and maintains a staff of approximately 40 experienced
research scientists, focusing on three major research themes:
In each of these areas, the focus has been on development and
broadening the applications of new technologies relevant to the
bio-sciences field. There
is considerable expertise at the Centre in basic biochemical,
microbiological and molecular biology techniques and a good
understanding of the demands of commercial research, many of the
research personnel having previous industrial experience.
NDC personnel also interact closely with their academic
colleagues at NUI, Galway , in particular, and have strong
collaborative links with national and international research groups.
Since it was established, the NDC has made a
significant contribution to the development of the Irish bio-science
industry sector and to boosting the profile of bio-science research
in Ireland. Through its
collaborative research activities, it has ensured that a high level
of expertise is available for exploitation by Biotechnology
companies within Ireland , both indigenous and foreign.
Its research activities have led to the development of new
products and processes, which are available for licensing by
national and international companies and which have been the basis
of a start-up company. It
has provided a contract research service to an industry, which to
date has limited facilities for in-house R&D.
The NDC has also undertaken an important training role,
ensuring an adequate supply of trained personnel for development of
bio-science companies within Ireland.
Key NDC personnel also represent the
recently-established Enterprise Ireland Biotechnology Directorate (http://www.enterprise-ireland.com/biores-irl/einet.htm)
on the NUI Galway campus. The
challenge facing this directorate is to ensure that the significant
scientific investment in biotechnology R&D in Ireland will
benefit the Irish bio-science industry sector by conversion into
commercial reality.
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