UCC scientists follow gut instinct to win recognition

IRISH scientists have known in their gut that they’re good at their jobs but now a group of them have international recognition of the fact.

The scientists, based at UCC, have been lauded for their work in alimentary pharmabiotics, in other words, gut health, and the products that boost it.

Their work at the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre (APC) has earned UCC a number two rating in the world for research in this expanding field, according to the scientific international ratings agency, Thomson Reuters Science Watch.

John Travers, director general of Science Foundation Ireland which funds the centre, welcomed the achievement.

“Global industry analysts have predicted the global probiotics food market will be worth $30 billion by 2015,” he said.

“This market has huge potential economic benefit to Ireland, and the role of the APC is to put rigorous science behind the mode of action and health claims of probiotics.”

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney also congratulated the researchers.

“Clearly they are reaching and maintaining high standards of research, making APC a global leader in the area of probiotic and food research.”

In addition to seed funding from Science Foundation Ireland, APC researchers have received research grants from other agencies including Enterprise Ireland and the Department of Agriculture.

They have also successfully competed for research grants from the EU and have produced a huge volume of work in a short space of time, generating over 700 scientific articles in the last seven years, many of which have featured in international journals. The APC has developed collaborations with more than 20 Irish and international food, bio-technology and pharmaceutical companies, and filed 23 patent applications and negotiated four licences.