Introduction - Gut Reaction Autumn 2023
Hi everyone,
What a few months it has been at APC what with our Annual Symposium, the Fonterra launch and more ERC success just to mention a few things - all of which you can read more about in this issue of GutReaction.
Many of us are still on a high following what must be one of our most successful symposia ever held at Maryborough House on the 26th of October – the venue itself was spectacular and the staff and atmosphere were amazing.
Highlights from the day in
cluded Prof. Ruth Ley’s talk on being awarded the annual Charles Donovan Microbiome Prize. Ruth is Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen, and is a true pioneer in Microbiome Science – many will remember the seminal work she did on obesity and microbiomegut ecology at Prof. Jeff Gordon’s lab (who coincidently won our prize two years ago).
Another highlight was the fireside chat with our guest industry partners from Kerry, Danone, Fonterra, FrieslandCampina and Novozymes - sharing their views in a lively debate on commercial strategies and opportunities in Microbiome Science.
The science on the day was delivered in a colourful collection of fast and furious ‘Lightning Talks’ from 16 of our postdocs, students, and investigators which worked really well and covered a broad spectrum of microbiome research topics.
The talks on PPI (Public Patient Involvement) engagement and our action plans for Equality Diversity and Inclusion rounded off the day nicely.
The timing for the Symposium capped a busy week as the night before UCC President Prof. John O’Halloran together with Dr Mark Malone, General Manager for Science at Technology at Fonterra, along with Prof Paul O’ Toole, Dr Sally Cudmore, Shalome Bassett of Fonterra and myself launched the new Fonterra Microbiome Research Centre Ireland here at UCC’s Western Gateway building which will be home to the new centre.
And staying on this event high-note, we will be celebrating our 20 year anniversary at another keynote event to be held here at UCC on Dec 15th and I look forward to seeing many of you again then to join with us as we look back at some of the highlights of the past 2 decades.
All the best,
Paul
