Research jobs in Waterford, County Waterford

The SETU Strategic Plan, Connecting for Impact, articulates high ambitions for SETU’s research over the period to 2028. The plan includes as Objective 2 the intention to “elevate our research and innovation activity to levels consistent with a top young global university”. This Postdoctoral Fellowship programme is one of a number of actions associated with building research capacity and performance, but it is also intricately linked with other objectives in the plan associated with empowering Postdoctoral Fellows and providing favourable career development opportunities.

The routine use of in-feed antibiotics was banned in the EU in 2006 and a ban on the preventive use of antibiotics in groups of animals and via medicated feed came into force in 2022. The use of pharmacological levels of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) in pig diets is also no longer permitted since 2022. Effective alternative feed additives which can achieve at least the same level of benefits to animals as in-feed antibiotics/ZnO are therefore required. Probiotics are one such alternative. A team of researchers at SETU/Teagasc Moorepark have isolated and characterised Bacillus strains, which offer potential as probiotics for pigs. This project will generate additional data on safety and functionality of these candidate probiotic strains through the use of in vitro and in silico methodologies. Based on the results, a roadmap to commercialisation for selected probiotic strains, not only as feed additives for pigs, but also other livestock, and potentially as food supplements for humans, will then be developed.

This project has been funded by the TU RISE Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme (see information attached). This programme offers early career researchers research and professional development training; mentoring and career development, a 6-week placement with an industry partner and the chance to be part of a vibrant, interdisciplinary research environment at SETU.

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