February 2004 Minister officiates at two ceremonies in NUI Galway

Mr. Noel Dempsey, TD, Minister for Education and Science, will be in NUI Galway tomorrow (Friday) to open a suite of research laboratories and also to open an international conference on Learning.

At 12.00 noon, the Minister will open the newly established Genome Stability Laboratories which currently include the Laboratories of Professor Noel Lowndes and Drs Morrison and Nasheuer and form part of the recently established Genome Stability Cluster. This Cluster was established at NUI Galway two years ago to carry out cancer research and is the first of its kind in Ireland.

The Genome Cluster is headed by Professor Noel Lowndes of the University s Department of Biochemistry and the National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science, which is also on the NUI Galway campus. Professor Lowndes has established an international reputation in cellular responses to DNA damage. His research team is studying how normal cells respond when the genetic material is damaged and how defects in these responses result in cancer.

Later in the day, at 2.00 p.m., the Minister will open the second annual Irish Universities Quality Board Conference, entitled "Learning in the Europe of Knowledge", which will take place in the Ó hEocha Theatre. The two-day conference is an official event of Ireland's Presidency of the European Union.

Education experts from the U.S., Australia, Britain and Spain will address issues such as learning technologies; improving learning through teaching development; and meeting the challenge of engaging students with diverse experiences and expectations.

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