The cancer-combatting effects of a natural constituent of cow’s milk; the combination of different fertiliser types to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions; new tests to detect antibiotic residues in meat and dairy products; improvements to human IVF procedures; reduction of spoilage in meat plants; and deeper understanding of consumer preferences for different types of food and food services in Ireland.
The common denominator here is that they are all-award winning outcomes of projects carried out under the Teagasc Walsh Fellowship postgraduate agri-food research programme. Under the programme, Teagasc offers up to 50 fellowships each year, mainly at PhD level, to graduates to undertake postgraduate research in agriculture, food, environmental science, agri-food economics, rural development, horticulture, and other related disciplines.
Each student receives a grant of €22,000 a year for a maximum of four years. This grant includes a contribution to higher-education institution fees up to €6,000 a year.
More than 1,100 fellows have come through the programme over the past 25 years, with 280 students currently studying for PhDs and masters degrees. “The programme has grown considerably over the past few years as a result of the overall increase in research funding,” says Teagasc head of research operations Jane Kavanagh. “A further 40 Walsh fellows in the Knowledge Transfer Directorate are involved in the MAgrSc agricultural extension and innovation programmes.”
According to Teagasc director of research Dr Frank O’Mara, there are three reasons the programme is seen as so important to the organisation. “Firstly, the Walsh fellows conduct a huge amount of research, and this allows us to deliver a very large research programme, much bigger than it would be in their absence. Very often, our most important and ground-breaking research is conducted by Walsh fellows and their supervisors.
“Secondly, the programme allows us to develop collaborations with top scientists in all the Irish universities and most of the institutes of technology, and very importantly, we have collaborations with 22 international universities in 12 countries, allowing us to access the best of global expertise in our fields of research.”
The third is possibly the most important, O’Mara believes. “The programme makes a huge contribution to developing the human capital needed by the Irish agri-food sector. Our Walsh fellows end up in leading roles in agri-food companies, academia and research, the public sector, and representative organisations, as well as in similar roles internationally. This human capital is a very important building block for our industry.”
Many of the current group of Walsh fellows are working on projects directed at key areas identified in the Teagasc Technology Foresight 2035 report. Published in 2016, the Foresight Report identified the technology areas which Teagasc will prioritise in its research programmes to support Ireland's agriculture and food sectors in facing the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in the next two decades.
The five priority technology themes identified were plant and animal genomics and related technologies; human, animal and soil microbiota; digital technologies; new technologies for food processing; and transformation in the food value chain system.
Presentations
These themes were reflected in some of the presentations made by current Walsh fellows at a special seminar at Johnstown Castle, Wexford, in October, held to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the programme. Eoin O'Connor from the Teagasc Crops, Environment and Land Use programme was the overall winner of this year's Walsh Fellowship Medal for his work entitled FISH for Fungi: Visualisation of viruses in the mycelium of the commercial mushroom Agaricus bisporus. As part of his research, O'Connor has developed a new "fish" (fluorescence in-situ hybridisation) method to detect mushroom virus X, a disease to which Irish mushroom crops are susceptible.
Other presentations included Áine O’Brien of the Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation programme for her work on genetics and genomics for performance in a multi-breed Irish sheep population; Orla Power, of the Food programme for her study on unlocking the true potential of high-protein dairy powders; Amar Daxini, Rural Economy and Development programme, for work on farmer adoption of nutrient management planning; and Amy Connolly, Knowledge Transfer programme, for her work on using nutrient management plans to deliver soil fertility advice.
There has been considerable change in the nature of the research experience in Teagasc, according to Walsh Fellowships programme manager Dr Lance O’Brien. “The nature of research across much of agri-food and life sciences has changed. Traditional agriculture, biological, food and engineering disciplines are melding together, and new specialties are developing. The traditional image of a Walsh fellow, chosen from the elite of Irish graduates, undertaking specialised research within a narrow technical topic, has been overtaken by a changing external environment in which there is far more competition for the best graduates and far greater attention to a broader training and a changing internal Teagasc environment, in which the role and organisation of the fellows’ research is also changing.”
The fundamental principles underlying the programme have not changed, however: “Working on targeted applied research questions of relevance to the sector within teams with a high focus on disseminating results to relevant stakeholders, our students develop specific analytical skills, as well as more generic teamwork and communication skills,” says O’Brien.
“These skills are highly transferable, making our alumni of value in many different roles across the Irish economy and internationally. In addition to the alumni working in industry and the public sector, many also work in the university sector and now act as co-supervisors to our PhD students, continuing the collaborations started when they themselves were students.”