New SFI-funded facility at TCD’s Institute of Molecular Medicine to benefit cancer, inflammatory bowel disease and asthma-related research

Posted on: 26 January 2009

A new Science Foundation Ireland-funded Flow Cytometry Facility in Trinity College’s Institute of Molecular Medicine at St James’s Hospital was officially opened on 26th January last.

The €850,000 state-of-the-art technology at the Facility, of which €750,000 was an equipment grant provided by Science Foundation Ireland, will enable precision analysis and isolation of cell samples towards the development of treatments and cures for a range of conditions.

Speaking at the opening, Professor Padraic Fallon from the Institute of Molecular Medicine, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, said “This is a landmark occasion for cell research in Ireland. This new facility will greatly assist in increasing our understanding of diseases such as cancer, inflammatory bowel disease and asthma. We are equipping ourselves today with the instruments of tomorrow.”

Professor Fallon added “Importantly, as well as being used by clinicians in St. James’s and associated hospitals, the new instruments at this facility will be available for use by external academics, industrial scientists and other researchers involved in analysing disease processes. The investment in this innovative, open-access facility represents real value for money.”

The funding has also facilitated the appointment of a dedicated Facility Manager, Ann Atzberger, who has been recruited from the University of Oxford.

Commenting on the opening of the Facility, Director-General of Science Foundation Ireland, Professor Frank Gannon, said “By helping to fund highly-specialised equipment such as this, SFI is equipping Ireland’s leading scientific and medical professionals with the appliances that will expedite critical future discoveries. This investment will significantly enhance the nature and quality of cell research and, ultimately, patient treatments in this country”.

Flow cytometry image of two different populations of fluorescently- labelled T cells.