Lokesh Goki, Lead Principal Investigator at the AGRC.
AGRC is collaboration of research institutions and industry partners and was established with a government grant of €5.2million.
Launching the Strategic Research Cluster, Minister Lenihan said, “The participation of leading industry and government agency partners, Agilent Technologies Ireland Ltd, Alimentary Health, Biomining Inc., and Bristol Myers-Squibb, Teagasc and NBRT - illustrates the ambition and pharmaceutical expertise that the cluster possesses from the outset.”
Lokesh Joshi, Lead Principal Investigator of the AGRC, said glycosciences is a relatively new, but important and rapidly emerging area of research, that is both industrially and clinically relevant. “The AGRC is a globally unique and remarkable consortium that is exploring the roles played by complex sugars in host-bacterial interactions. This collaborative effort will aid in the discovery of novel diagnostics, therapeutics and nutraceuticals.”
The knowledge generated and technologies developed in this cluster will also be applicable to other infectious diseases, as well as cancer, immune system, inflammation and neuroscience research.
Speaking at the launch, Science Foundation Ireland director general Frank Gannon said the strategic research cluster model has shown, in a very short period, that the pooling of resources creates new opportunities which can potentially accelerate commercial outputs. “The AGRC has already built up considerable momentum around its specialised discipline,” he said.
AGRC is one of 18 SFI Strategic Research Clusters set up in Ireland involving higher education institutions, commercial enterprises and a variety of agencies.
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