 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |  |  |
 |
Faculties & Departments
Department of Biology
Welcome
Irish Area Section - Biochemical Society
Annual Meeting
NUI Maynooth, Ireland
1-2 December 2011
Current Vacancies
- National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology
- Institute of Bioengineering and Agroecology
- Institute of Immunology
- The Marie Curie Laboratory for Membrane Proteins
- Combat Poverty Consortium
- BioAnalysis and Therapeutics (BioAT), a 4-year structured PhD programme
- Biology Society, NUI Maynooth
- Biology Department Safety (local access only)
- Counselling Service
- Useful Links
A brief history of the Department.
The Department of Biology was established in 1970. From a small department, heavily dependent on bought-in, part-time academic staff the department has grown to be amongst the largest in the College. Until 1979, the Department was involved solely in teaching a component of the three year BSc (General) degree. In that year, three events, significant to the development of the Department, occurred:
- The Department was approved for participation in the 4 year (Joint Honours) BSc programme.
- The first research grants were awarded to the Department.
- The Department recruited its first postgraduate student.
Since that time, the Department has expanded steadily in terms of numbers of undergraduates, postgraduates, post-doctoral workers and academic and support staff and in the range of courses offered. The research activities of the department have increased significantly in scope and the department has established international reputations in areas of Biological Control, Bioinformatics, Immunology, Medical Mycology, Molecular Genetics and Plant Biotechnology. The success in research is measurable in terms of publications and research grants obtained and postgraduate students who have completed their degrees.
The department has grown in the accommodation available for its teaching and research activities. Initially the Department was housed in Logic House on the South Campus, two halls of which had been converted into teaching laboratories. Research and office space were provided by adapting what had previously been student bedrooms. In 1978 a purpose-built teaching laboratory housing sixty students was added. This laboratory was named the McCullagh Laboratory after Dr. (Bro.) Patrick McCullagh one of the first staff of the Department. As the department grew, particularly in its research activities, it spread to temporary buildings which were mostly linked with the McCullagh Laboratory. Although these buildings had been well converted, they deteriorated steadily and were not particularly pleasant places in which to work. It was with much joy and some relief consequently, when, in the summer of 1993, the Department crossed the Galway Road to its present home on the North Campus in the excellent Callan Building.
By the end of 2002, the Department was further enhanced by the addition of the new Biosciences building, which houses two research institutes and a variety of core equipment for biological and biomedical research, which are closely associated with the Biology Department. The scientific directors of the Institute of Immunology and the Institute of Bioengineering and Agroecology, Prof. Paul Moynagh and Prof. Philip Dix, respectively, have assembled teams of internationally recognised researchers who have attracted considerable amounts of external funding underpinning the core support under PRTLI.