The Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney, is to perform the official opening of the new Animal Bioscience Building, at Teagasc, Grange, Dunsany, today (Wednesday).

The building is part of the Teagasc Vision Programme to build centres of excellence in key sciences underpinning the Irish Agri-Food industry. The total area of the building is 2330 m² and this includes 852 m² of laboratories. There are two large molecular biology laboratories, a dark room, and a series of laboratories for DNA/RNA preparation, immunology, biochemistry, microbiology, cell culture and flow cytometry.

The building also includes a new canteen and conference room. Seven new researchers have been recruited to strengthen the capability in molecular and computational biology, animal metabolism and immunology.

Teagasc has invested in new computational biology infrastructure, and will soon start construction of a state-of-the-art animal house close to the Animal Bioscience Building.

Teagasc research is now based on programmes running across research locations to ensure efficient use of resources and transfer of technologies between areas of science and livestock systems. There are already strong linkages from the Animal Bioscience laboratories to dairy and sheep work at Moorepark and Athenry.

Teagasc says its investment in staff and facilities makes it an even more attractive research partner internationally and new staff have already established strong links with major animal bioscience groups in the US, Canada and New Zealand. External research income has already exceeded the cost of this building.

There will be an opportunity to tour the new laboratories and hear short presentations from four of the vision researchers immediately after the opening.