The Government is to provide a new biology research centre with almost €15 million in funding over the next five years, it was announced today.
The Systems Biology Ireland research centre, which is being led by UCD, will be funded through Science Foundation Ireland (SFI).
Systems Biology uses computers and mathematics to understand biology, and the research at the centre will help develop quicker and better treatments of a range of medical conditions, including various cancers.
Systems biology could potentially speed up research and help target treatments to particular patient types.
“Systems biology takes a holistic view of the organism," said the centre's new director, Professor Walter Kolch.
"It looks at the processes rather than the single components of a cell or a gene. Our research is unique in that we work with stem cells but the outcomes of our research will feed into a global effort to provide better therapies for cancer patients. Our work will help speed up the experimentation process, thereby reducing by years the time it takes to develop a new drug therapy.”
The centre is also being supported by industry partners, including Ark Therapeutics, Hewlett Packard, Servier, Agilent Technologies, Siemens Ireland and Protagen AG, who have contributed almost €4.7 million to the project.
Up to 69 people will work on the project.
Announcing the funding, Minister for for Science, Technology and Innovation Conor Lenihan, said the country would be likely experience economic and societal benefits as a result of the centre's research.
"It is one of the critical emerging areas in the Life Sciences worldwide. Ireland is now very well placed to become a world leader in this field given the very strong foundation we have here in the pharmaceutical and IT sectors," he said.
It should greatly assist the IDA to attract further high-end foreign direct investment and also allow Irish SMEs to grow. This centre, with its deep-rooted academic – industry partnership, encapsulates the essence of what our smart economy should and can be.”
