1- “Human health advantages of pasture feeding derived milk fat rich products” Walsh Scholarship Ref Number 2019244
Background: The VistaMilk SFI Research Centre represents a unique collaboration between Agri-Food and ICT research institutes and leading Irish/multinational food and ICT companies. The Centre is hosted by Teagasc, the national agency with responsibility for agriculture and food research, in partnership with the Tyndall National Institute, Ireland’s national microelectronics institute, the Telecommunications Software & Systems Group (TSSG) at Waterford Institute of Technology and the Insight Centre for Data Analytics (at UCD, NUIG, DCU). VistaMilk is funded by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine (DAFM) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Requirements: The Walsh Scholar will take part in wider VistaMilk Centre activities such as annual conference, relevant Masterclasses and workshops and Education and Public Engagement activities. A minimum level of competency in English is required.
Award: The Scholarship funding is €24,000 per annum and includes University fees of up to a maximum of €5,500 and student stipend at a flat rate of €18,500 per annum and is tenable for 2 years. Starting 1st November 2022.
Further Information: The results of this project will provide detailed information on the health benefits of milk fat products derived from cows on pasture, compared with that of milk derived from cows housed indoors and fed a silage-concentrate based diet. This will generate information for the Irish Dairy Industry to better promote its products on the global market and develop new functional food ingredients for infant nutrition and other dairy applications. This project will deliver results on the potential of milk from pasture fed cows as dietary ingredients with efficacy to enhance health and development in infants and adults and provide a scientific basis for the health benefits associated with consumption of milk produced from cows on pasture.
Application Procedure: A curriculum vitae and contact details of two referees should be sent by 20th August 2022 to Professor Catherine Stanton (Catherine.stanton@teagasc.ie) and Professor Paul Ross (p.ross@ucc.ie). Closing date for application: 20th August 2022
2- TEAGASC MSC WALSH SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY “Optimizing grazing infrastructure on dairy and beef farms” Ref 2019048
Background: Increasing grass utilization is a key driver in increasing net profit and farm sustainability on grassland farms. Improved grassland management relies upon robust grazing infrastructure, that is; appropriately sized paddocks with multiple access points, serviced by roadways of sufficient quality and an adequate supply of drinking water. Grazing infrastructure is generally underdeveloped on many grassland farms. Appropriate partitioning of the grazing area allows ease of management and maximum efficiency in allocating forage for grazing livestock. Farm roadway networks can undermine management due to inadequate configuration, length, width or condition while water supply can be compromised by inadequate source, pipe network, or trough capacity.
A significant increase in herd sizes, particularly in dairy enterprises since the abolition of milk quotas, has rendered existing grazing infrastructure wholly inadequate for current stock numbers. The restrictions placed on grassland management by inappropriate grazing infrastructure have not yet been quantified, while associated financial and labour costs are unknown. This project will quantify costs associated with current infrastructure status on a range of dairy and beef farms and implement improvement strategies for both the partitioning of grazing area into paddocks and the provision of roadway infrastructure and drinking water. Current infrastructure deficits hinder effective grassland management and animal performance significantly and therefore drastically reduce efficiencies on grassland farms.
Pasturebase Ireland has highlighted that there is significant scope for increases in herbage production, through improved grassland management and grazing infrastructure. This research aims to categorize a selection of farms in terms of current infrastructure status, outline key deficits in current infrastructure and assess financial and labour costs associated with inadequate infrastructure. Furthermore, it will establish best practice in infrastructure design specification.
Requirements: The work programme of the student will involve a blend of course-work, experimental design, modelling, data collection, data analysis and networking with experts in the field. Applications are invited from graduates holding a first or upper second-class primary degree in a relevant discipline (Agricultural Science; Biosystems, Environmental or Civil Engineering; Computer Science; or any related disciplines). The candidate will also have the opportunity to identify the practical implications of their research results on farm management and will have the opportunity to speak at international scientific conferences. A full EU driving licence is required.
Award: The MSc Scholarship is a joint research project between the Teagasc Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark and Munster Technological University (MTU). The student will be based at Teagasc Moorepark and will be registered at MTU, working under the supervision of Drs Pat Tuohy, Michael Egan, (Teagasc) and Dr Michael Murphy (MTU). The scholarship funding is €24,000 per annum and includes University fees of up to a maximum of €6,000 per annum and is tenable for 2 years.
Further Information: Dr Pat Tuohy, Teagasc, Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork; email: patrick.tuohy@teagasc.ie Dr Michael Murphy, MESSO Research Group, School of Mechanical, Electrical & Process Engineering, Munster Technological University, Cork; email: MichaelD.Murphy@mtu.ie
Application Procedure: Applicants should submit a CV and covering letter detailing their qualifications and experience to Pat Tuohy (patrick.tuohy@teagasc.ie) and Michael Murphy (MichaelD.Murphy@mtu.ie)
Closing Date; Friday August 5th, 2022
3- TEAGASC MSC WALSH SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY “VistaMilkDigest – Assessing the impact of milk proteins on tissue-metabolome” Walsh Scholarship Ref Number 2019212
Background: We are seeking an MSc candidate to undertake a project to investigate the effect of dairy ingredients on the metabolic activity in organs. The work will be undertaken in the Digestive-Characteristics of Dairy Product-Platform within the €40 Million VistaMilk Research Centre1, and the Nutrition, Biomarkers and Health Research group in University College Dublin (UCD). The MSc student will conduct a specified programme of taught and research training and development under the supervision and direction of two Principal Investigators.
Further information: Tissues do not function in isolation, but rather communicate with one another to sustain life. We have shown that this communication can be influenced by dairy ingredients by changing the metabolism of nutrients in tissues. This new project aims to determine the mechanisms for the dairy effects using various metabolomic and metagenomic platforms and gene expression analyses, with the view to developing novel dairy ingredients that can improve tissue functions, their communication and thereby reduce diet-related diseases such as obesity.
Requirements:
A minimum of 2.1 Honours degree in Nutrition, Microbiology, Physiology, Biotechnology, Molecular Biology or a related field.
Experience of working in a research environment.
The successful candidate should be enthusiastic, self-motivated, and who will interact well within a larger research team, and contribute to VistaMilk activities.
Award: The funding will commence on 3rd of October 2022 and is €24,000 per annum. This include University EU fees of up to a maximum of €5,500 and student stipend at a flat rate of €18,500 per annum and is tenable for 2 years.
Application Procedure: A curriculum vitae and contact details of two referees should be sent by 5th of August 2022 to Dr. Kanishka Nilaweera (Kanishka.nilaweera@teagasc.ie) and Professor Lorraine Brennan (lorraine.brennan@ucd.ie) Closing date: 5th of August 2022
1VistaMilk Centre is hosted by Teagasc in partnership with the Tyndall National Institute, Ireland’s national microelectronics institute, the Telecommunications Software & Systems Group at Waterford Institute of Technology and the Insight Centre for Data Analytics (at UCD, NUIG and DCU). VistaMilk is funded by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine (DAFM) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).