The inaugural BioAnalysis and Therapeutics (BioAT) Research Day takes place today at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI). The event brings together over 80 delegates including the PhD students and their supervisors in the BioAT Structured PhD Programme, a joint initiative between RCSI, Dublin City University, NUI Maynooth and IT Tallaght.

The BioAT Programme was established to address the challenge of increasing the quality, quantity and entrepreneurial skills of Ireland's graduate research in the critical areas of the biopharmaceutical and biomedical devices industries. The programme is further enhanced by the involvement of IT Athlone and Dundalk IT.

This is the first BioAT Research Day to take place and the event will be held annually at one of the four collaborating institutions. 29 BioAT PhD students, 10 who are based at RCSI, will make oral presentations and poster presentations on their research projects which span topics including tissue engineering, biosensors, cancer therapeutics and treatments for respiratory conditions.

The Guest Industry Speaker at the event is Dr James E. Coleman, Chief Executive Officer of Vasorum Limited who will speak on the topic 'Medical Device Start-ups - Requirements for Success', highlighting the programme's strong industry connections. Professor Paul Moynagh, Director, Institute of Immunology, NUI Maynooth is this year's BioAT Partnership Speaker.

Professor Kevin Nolan, Head of School of Postgraduate Studies, RCSI, who made the opening address said: "We are delighted to host the inaugural BioAT research day here at RCSI. BioAT is a truly collaborative programme and the participation of our colleagues from DCU, NUI Maynooth and IT Tallaght at today's event provides an excellent opportunity to showcase the research potential from such a joint initiative."

"Our industry guest speaker will be able to provide valuable insight to the BioAT PhD Students on the Medical Device Industry, building on the ongoing focus of the BioAT programme on employability of our graduates and commercialisation potential of their research which will make a valuable contribution to the knowledge economy," Professor Nolan concluded.

The BioAT programme is funded by the HEA under Cycle 5 of the Programme for Research in Third-Level Institutions. All research projects offered in the BioAT Programme are inter-institutional collaborative projects involving principal investigators from at least two of the partner institutions.