Irish Minister welcomes Swansea-Ireland collaboration on nanohealth

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An Irish Government Minister has welcomed academic co-operation between Swansea and Ireland in nanohealth, on a visit to the Celtic Alliance for Nanohealth, based at Swansea University and involving three Irish universities.

Irish ministerial visit 3

Brendan Howlin T D, Irish Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, whose portfolio includes EU Cohesion Policy, was on a visit to Wales to discuss the Ireland Wales INTERREG Programme and visit projects supported by the Programme.   Brendan Howlin is pictured with Swansea University Vice-Chancellor Professor Richard B Davies and Gearoid O Keeffe, Head of EU North South Unit.

The Celtic Alliance for NanoHealth (CAN) is a cross-border innovation partnership linking business and academia in nanohealth.  It involves Swansea University, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin City University, and University College Dublin. 

CAN helps companies on either side of the Irish Sea stay at the forefront of innovation and growth in what is a fast developing and hugely influential healthcare sector.  Swansea University is the lead partner in the alliance, which is backed by £765,000 from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the Ireland Wales Cross Border (INTERREG 4A) programme.

Irish Ministerial visit

Nanohealth is the application of nano-technology to healthcare.   Areas of work include miniaturised healthcare devices and improved disease diagnosis using nanoscale materials.  Regenerative medicine, which aims to reconstruct damaged tissues and organs, can also draw on nanotechnology, such as stem cells, tissue engineering or functional biomaterials.

What is Nanomedicine?   2-minute animated clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VcNpl8-PRI&feature=youtu.be

Leaders of the project, including Professor Steve Conlan of Swansea University and Dr Karen Griffin fromUniversity College Dublin, outlined CAN’s work for the Minister, before taking him on a tour of the nanohealth facilities at Swansea University.

Speaking after the tour, Minister Howlin remarked, “It’s wonderful to see academic co-operation at the cutting-edge of technology, an area which will drive our continued economic recovery.  There is much to be gained from the the kind of co-operation that the Celtic Alliance for Nanohealth is developing”

Professor Steve Conlan of Swansea University, director of the Celtic Alliance for Nanohealth, said:“Nanohealth will deliver major advances in healthcare, driving innovation and delivering economic development, but success requires collaboration.   The Alliance brings together strengths in Swansea and Dublin.

“Already, the Alliance has made advances in developing research technology and in building partnerships between academia, small companies and multinationals.   Companies are being set up in the field, creating jobs, and we have built links not only between Wales and Ireland but also at European level.”

 

Celtic Alliance for Nanohealth: Nano Science Event – 15 April

The Celtic Alliance for Nanohealth held a Nano Science and Networking event on 15 April in the Liberty Stadium. The event featured talks from a number of world leading companies and academics and explored the current and emerging opportunities in the field of NanoHealth.

Participants were welcomed by Director of the Celtic Alliance for Nanohealth, Professor Steve Conlan. The morning session centred on the theme: ‘NanoHealth is Big Business’ and featured business presentations including ‘Delivering New Technologies and Patient Care’ by Dr Jeff Horton from GE Healthcare; and ‘Safety Assessment of Nanomaterials: Scientific Developments for the Requirements of Industry’ by Dr Sergio Anguissola from nanoTox Innovations.

The afternoon consisted of several Nanoscience workshops which covered topics including: ‘An introduction to nano-imaging capabilities’ by Dr Seydou Yao, Swansea University; ‘Image analysis of cell populations – from Data to Knowledge’ by Professor Huw Summers and Paul Rees, Swansea University; and ‘An introduction to vibrational spectroscopy’ by Dr Paul Lewis, Swansea University.

The final session looked at Data Analysis: Getting the most from your results and was presented by Dr Georgina Menzies, Swansea University.