2006 IRISH SCIENTIST YEAR BOOK

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University College Dublin
Orla Donoghue
Centre for Synthesis and Chemical Biology (CSCB)

On Thursday February 2 2006 An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern T.D. officially opened the new UCD CSCB building on the Belfield campus. It is a 2,300m2 building comprising six state-of-the-art laboratories for synthetic chemistry and mass spectrometric and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic facilities.


An Taoiseach Mr Bertie Ahern T.D. and Director of the CSCB Professor Pat Guiry at the official opening.

The CSCB, a collaboration in the chemical sciences between UCD, Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), was funded under a �26 million grant from the Higher Education Authority through the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI) Cycle 3. This is the largest single investment in chemistry research ever made by the Irish Government and represents a significant platform for the creation of "4th level Ireland".


UCD CSCB Building

There are currently over 40 principal investigators and their research groups in the CSCB, located across all three institutions. Since its establishment in December 2002, there were over 300 scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals by CSCB researchers and over �17 million in external grant funding was raised. In addition, 100 PhD graduates and over 50 postdoctoral fellows worked in labs supervised by CSCB investigators. These scientists will play a pivotal role in the existing pharmaceutical and emerging biopharmaceutical industry in Ireland.


Recent Advances in Synthesis and Chemical Biology IV Symposium

Over 200 visitors including academics, postdoctoral scientists and postgraduate students from the RCSI, UCD, TCD and other institutions attended the fourth annual CSCB symposium in the Astra Hall in UCD on December 2, 2005. The plenary lectures were given by Professor Tadhg Begley (Cornell University, USA), Professor JoAnne Stubbe (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA), Professor Linda Hsieh-Wilson (California Institute of Technology, USA), Professor Volker D�tsch (Institut f�r Biophysikalische Chemie, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany), Professor Amos B. Smith (University of Pennsylvania, USA) and Professor David MacMillan (California Institute of Technology, USA).


Professors Volker D�tsch, JoAnne Stubbe, David MacMillan, Amos B. Smith, Linda Hsieh-Wilson and Tadhg Begley.


New Appointments

In January 2006, Drs Paul Evans and Xiangming Zhu joined the UCD School of Chemistry and Chemical Biology as permanent lecturers in organic chemistry, Dr Hasim Ibrahim took up a position as a lecturer in organic chemistry for three years and Dr Francesca Paradisi was appointed as the CSCB lecturer in chemical biology.


Outreach

The CSCB launched its Science@CSCB outreach programme in January 2006. To date, second level students from 22 schools have attended half-day workshops in the UCD CSCB building. The half-day visits included a building tour, career talk, laboratory experiments and a quiz. During the UCD Open Days in March, over 125 students were given tours of the building and participated in laboratory demonstrations. This provided a unique opportunity for the students to learn more about the BSc degree in Chemistry and the new BSc degree in Chemical Biology.


Fifth Year Students from St Louis High School Rathmines at one of the UCD Open Days in March 2006.


CSCB Newsletter and Website

CSCB NEWS was first issued in December 2005 and again in April 2006. It details all the major events and research news from CSCB researchers and provides an opportunity to advertise upcoming events and seminars.

The CSCB launched a new website on March 13, 2006. The home page features research stories from principal investigators across all three institutions. The Scientists at Work interviews are aimed at second level students considering a career in science. During the interviews postgraduate scientists from a range of disciplines answer a series of questions about their research and their path into science.
Web: www.ucd.ie/cscb

Contact: Dr Orla Donoghue, Communications Officer, Centre for Synthesis and Chemical Biology, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4. E-mail: [email protected] ; Web: www.ucd.ie/cscb