Program Overview

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Course Overview

Winner of the Best New Postgraduate Course 2020 award in the GradIreland Higher Education Awards. To read more about this accolade, click here.

Why choose this programme?

Professor Frank Barry, Scientific Director of the Regenerative Medicine Institute

Cell and gene therapy was identified as the most exciting therapeutic innovation by 79% of the 151 international biopharmaceutical manufacturers surveyed by the NIBRT, the Irish National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (Trends in Manufacturing Report).  The same organizations have difficulty filling available positions, specifically citing the need to hire bioprocess engineers and automation engineers.

The primary objectives of the MSc in Cellular Manufacturing & Therapy at the University of Galway is to A) provide formal training in cellular bioprocessing for clinical application and B) cultivating a rigorous scientific underpinning for the development of a cellular therapy.  The course curriculum balances the scientific aspects of cellular therapy (in 3 modules), bioprocessing and manufacturing regulation (in 2 modules) and offers optional modules in cancer biology, business, clinical trials and bio-ethics.  A student’s practical skills are developed beyond the classroom laboratory activities with supplemental activities such as workshops in sterile gowning and a 4-month work or laboratory placement, thereby gaining research or enterprise-centric skills. When launching, this MSc programme was the first of its kind worldwide.

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Unique position

The MSc in Cellular Manufacturing and Therapy is the one and only course in Ireland offering the following opportunities in support of a career in cellular therapy:

Instruction in the clinical-grade manufacturing of therapeutic cells for clinical application.

Modules in the biology underpinning the therapeutic application of mesenchymal stromal cells, immunotherapy and induced pluripotent stem cells, three types of cellular therapy currently in translation for clinical application.

Instruction by a multidisciplinary team of experts, the first to translate cellular therapies from the bench to clinical application in Ireland.

Four-month work placements where student are embedded in a host environment corresponding to their carer of choice.

New skills

Through the course activities, students will have the opportunity to develop both technical and transferrable skills.  Technical skills will be acquired through practical activities and module assessments, including aseptic technique in mammalian cell culture; cryopreserving and thawing cryopreserved cells; plating and expanding adherent and mammalian cells; quantifying cell number, viability, density; pipetting large and small volumes; sterile gowning; data collection, presentation and analysis and technical writing.  Transferable skills will be developed through course workshops and group activities, including the ability to meet deadlines; adaptability and flexibility, analysis and decision making, critical thinking and evaluation of the literature, research/scientific integrity, team leadership, networking, organization, public speaking, time management and written communication.

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What makes this course unique ...

Modules in the biology underpinning the therapeutic application of mesenchymal stromal cells, immunotherapy and induced pluripotent stem cells, three types of cellular therapy currently in translation for clinical application.

Instruction by a multidisciplinary team of experts, the first to translate cellular therapies from the bench to clinical application in Ireland.

Four-month placement where student are embedded in a host environment corresponding to their carer of choice.

Allied University of Galway courses

MSc in Regenerative Medicine. Click here to learn more.

MSc in Microscopy and Imaging. Click here to learn more

Scholarships available

Find out about our Postgraduate Scholarships here.

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Applications are made online via the University of Galway Postgraduate Applications System.

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Who Teaches this Course

Collaborative delivery of course content

The MSc in Cellular Manufacturing & Therapy is delivered by experts in the field of cellular manufacturing and pre-clinical research supporting the development of new therapies; those directly responsible for pioneering cellular manufacturing and therapy in Ireland.  As an example, the Centre for Cell Manufacturing Ireland (CCMI) team (Ireland’s first centre for cell manufacturing) are active instructors in the Cellular Manufacturing 1 and 2 modules where the learning activities are centred around bioprocessing and its regulatory and quality oversight.  Professors O’Brien, Barry and Griffin, pioneering coordinators of the first cellular therapy clinical trials in Ireland, deliver an in-depth lecture series in the Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy module where they describe the pre-clinical and clinical aspects of developing cellular therapies.

Developing, producing and applying a cellular therapy clinically is a multidisciplinary challenge.  We rely on collaboration with experts in each of these fields to contribute their knowledge and insight within this programme.  Examples of these collaborative activities in the past include:

Industrial collaboration

Project managers from Cell Medica UK host a CV and interview skills workshop

Bioreactor workshop hosted by Terumo technicians provided training on novel equipment.

Guest lecturing from Biostor Ireland on cell bank storage and worldwide distribution for scientific research and clinical application.

Staff from ONK Therapeutics providing immunotherapy practical activities, upskilling students in non-adherent cell culture, characterization and cryopreservation.

Dissertation placements hosted by Regeneron, Avectas, Intas Pharmaceuticals, Aerogen, Charles River, Stempeutics, Galway Blood and Tissue Establishment (GBTE), Centre for Cellular Manufacturing Ireland, etc.

Academic Collaboration

Lecturing and workshops provided by the scientists within the Regenerative Medicine Institute specializing in discovering novel applications for cellular therapies and understanding their mechanism of action

Lecturing and gowning activities by the Centre for Cell Manufacturing Ireland who produce cellular therapies for clinical application

Guest lecturing visionaries in the field, such as Prof. Martin Leahy (Chair of Applied Physics at NUIG), emphasizing the advantages of multidisciplinary collaboration to investigate biologic queries

Dissertation placements hosted by scientists and primary investigators including Dr. Roisin Dwyer (cellular therapy for breast cancer), Dr. Kasia Whysall (muscle-derived progenitor therapy), Dr. Daniel O’Toole (cellular therapy for acute repertory distress) or at Hebei Medical University in China by Dr. Jun Ma (cellular therapy for neural disorders)

Collaborations with Clinicians and Patients

Lecturing and mentoring by scientist clinicians, the first in Ireland to translate cellular therapies to clinical trials

Assessment of scientific poster presentations describing ongoing clinical trials by the clinical trial recruitment specialists at (Galway University Hospitals)

Module coordination by Dr. Veronica McInerney (Cellular Therapy Clinical Trials Manager), offering a unique insight into initiating first in man clinical investigations

Dissertation placements hosted by Cancer Trials Ireland (CTI), Prof. Timothy O’Brien (coordinator of two cellular therapy clinical trials) and Prof. O’Dwyer (coordinator of trials in multiple myeloma)

Mr Andrew Finnerty Dip., MBA View Profile