Institute to put UCC at centre of life sciences

Yesterday's launch by the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, of University College Cork's new £8 million Biosciences Research Institute marked a milestone for the university and will enable researchers there to compete at the highest level on the world stage.

UCC president Dr Gerry Wrixon said the new institute would bring together in one building major research projects in the biomedical and life sciences areas which had been scattered through the campus and the city.

The institute will be headed by Prof John Fraher. From Bishopstown, Cork, Prof Fraher qualified in medicine in UCC and held academic posts at Edinburgh and London Universities before becoming professor of anatomy at UCC, where he has carried out research into neuroscience over the past 20 years.

"I'm very much looking forward to my new role," he said. "Bioscience is at the forefront of 21st century research, adding crucially to our knowledge of fundamental life processes in both health and disease where novel approaches to diagnosis and treatment are continually being discovered."

Prof Fraher said planning permission would soon be sought for the 5,000 square metre building behind the Food Science building. The institute was designed by Dublin architects Murray O Laoire and construction will take 18 months. The building is expected to open in early 2002.

Prof Fraher explained the thinking behind locating diverse specialist groups in one centre. "The idea is that such an environment is much more conducive to cross-fertilisation of ideas - it will enhance existing collaborations and foster the development of larger-scale interdisciplinary research programmes."

Initially, some 100 researchers currently working in UCC will move into the building but ultimately it's expected to become home to some 200-plus research scientists drawn from the medical and science faculties at the university, with the focus of research on cell, molecular and tissue biology.

"The initiative encompasses fields of study ranging from cell and molecular biology through cell function and behaviour to tissue structure and development. This will take full advantage of the most recent technological developments in the study of genes and of the proteins which these encode," said Prof Fraher.

The research programmes will focus on fundamental life processes at both basic and applied levels. Its unifying theme is improving quality of life through both a deeper understanding of disease states, leading to new therapies, and by enhancing the health-promoting qualities of foods.

"Two major research themes will be explored in the institute. One is signalling in biological systems in health and disease. It will involve investigation of the fundamental mechanisms of diseases and what happens to cells when a particular disease affects them," he said.

Among the conditions and illnesses currently being researched is cancer. A team working under Boyle Medal winner Prof Tom Cotter is studying a process called apoptosis or programmed cell death and how it might be applied to the biology of cancer and other degenerative diseases.

Cystic fibrosis is another disease being studied by a team working under Prof Brian Harvey, director of the Wellcome Trust cellular physiology research unit at UCC. "They're examining the way that the molecular function of cells is impaired by cystic fibrosis," said Prof Fraher.

Another team working under Prof Tommie McCarthy of the department of biochemistry is researching the structure of genes in cases of degenerative muscle diseases, while a research team from the department of anatomy is looking at developing new methods of treating Parkinson's disease by preventing cell death.

"The other major research theme is one of food and health," said Prof Fraher. "It involves looking at areas like retarding the ageing process through diet. For example the role of diet in bone metabolism - and improving the sensory qualities of food - making them more presentable to taste and smell."

Although Prof Fraher admits his administrative duties as institute director will eat into his research time, he is determined to continue his work as part of an EU project on developing treatments for spinal injuries.

"It's part of an international study with researchers at the University of Uppsala in Sweden. Its objective is the effective regeneration of damaged tissue in the spinal cord, to get restoration of function to the spinal cord following spinal injuries," he said.

Funding for the institute comes from the Higher Education Authority's programme for research in third-level institutions, as well as from private sources. Prominent sources for research funding are the Wellcome Trust, the EU, the Health Research Board and the HEA.