MSc Cellular Manufacturing and Therapy

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

“Cell and gene therapy comprise an extraordinary range of technologies that are already having an impact on patients and society and, in many ways, represent the future of medicine.   However, these products present many challenges in terms of advanced manufacturing strategies, aseptic processing, automation and product characterisation.  This MSc course provides the skills needed to address these challenges"-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 National University of Ireland 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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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:

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.

Allied University of Galway courses  

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