Food for thought in APC funding

THE announcement last week of a €50m Government and industry research investment for the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre of food and medicine underlines its growing status as a national centre for food and medicine research excellence.

The investment supports key growth areas in the Action Plan for Jobs 2013 as well as targeting research into major social challenges, including food and health. The funding, which directly supports 109 top research jobs, includes an investment of €14m from 12 key industry partners in the food and health spheres.

The APC spans across University College Cork, Teagasc and the Cork Institute of Technology where teams of researchers will be employed at the centre over the next six years. It is expected that this talent pool will enable Ireland to leverage significant additional investments from EU funding streams and additional industry partners in the years ahead. The Exchequer funding is through the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centres programme, supporting world-class research into how bacteria in the human gut impacts on population health, leading to the development of future foods and medicines.