MSc (Cellular Manufacturing and Therapy)

Course Overview

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

Why choose this programme?

“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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Richa Krishna, MSc student, Cellular Manufacturing & Therapy, pictured at Poster Day.

Unique position

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:

1. Instruction in the clinical-grade manufacturing of therapeutic cells for clinical application.
2. Modules in the biology underpinning the therapeutic application of mesenchymal stromal cells, immunotherapy and induced pluripotent stem cells, three types of cellular therapy currently in translation for clinical application.
3. Instruction by a multidisciplinary team of experts, the first to translate cellular therapies from the bench to clinical application in Ireland.
4. Four-month work placements where student are embedded in a host environment corresponding to their carer of choice.

New skills

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.

What makes this course unique ...

• Modules in the biology underpinning the therapeutic application of mesenchymal stromal cells, immunotherapy and induced pluripotent stem cells, three types of cellular therapy currently in translation for clinical application.
• Instruction by a multidisciplinary team of experts, the first to translate cellular therapies from the bench to clinical application in Ireland.
• Four-month placement where student are embedded in a host environment corresponding to their carer of choice.

Allied University of Galway courses

• MSc in Regenerative Medicine. Click here to learn more.

• MSc in Microscopy and Imaging. Click here to learn more

Scholarships available

Find out about our Postgraduate Scholarships here.

Students must have completed one of the following with a minimum of 2^nd class honours (or equivalant):

1) An undergraduate degree in medicine, pharmacy, manufacturing, biology, engineering.
2) An equivalent biomedical science-related undergraduate degree.

Applicants from non-biomedical science related backgrounds will be considered on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the coordinators.

Students who have a degree without Honours in a related area and have 3+ years of practical experience in the subject area will also be considered for this programme.

For applicants where English is a second language, we will adhere to University of Galway guidelines of requiring IELTS scores of 6.5, TOEFL scores of 88, and/or Pearson PTE scores of 61 with no less than 6.5 in any component.

Initially a shortlisting procedure will be applied to prioritise applicants. Those who do not meet the primary entry criteria as described above will be declined entry into the programme. The remaining applicants will be reviewed in closer detail. Significant weight will be placed on:

A) the applicant’s essay describing their motivation for applying for this course and their career aspirations following the successful completion of the MSc,
B) the applicant’s previous academic performance.

An interview may be conducted.

Why choose this course?

Potential employers are seeking graduates of this course to fill gaps in their current staffing. To that end, students enrolled in the MSc programme will complete a 4-month long dissertation project that will enable them to develop technical and transferrable skills while networking within a successful organization. Historically, our students were placed in organizations such as the Centre for Cellular Manufacturing Ireland, Galway Blood and Tissue Establishment, Charles River, Stempeutics, Avectas, Cancer Trials Ireland, Regeneron, Intas Pharmaceuticals, Aerogen, Hebei Medical University, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Hi-Tech Health and Valitacell.

Our graduates have successfully secured employment as plant technologists, production assistants, manufacturing biotech associates, cell culture scientists, cell culture technical support, in quality assurance and assay development or as research assistants. They are employed by world leading organizations such as Takeda, Autolus, University of Galway, Fuji Diosynth Biotechnologies, Avectas, Abace-Biology and Charles River laboratories.

Potential employers have the following comments regarding the Cellular Manufacturing and Therapy programme at University of Galway:

“The students from the MSc in Cellular Manufacturing and Therapy at University of Galway [have an] excellent understanding of cell culture, cryopreservation and aseptic techniques and ability to work independently. This allowed for the [placement] student to generate high quality data key for the next step of our research programme.”—Dr Kasia Whysall, Irish Research Council Laureate, University of Galway

“A student from the MSc in Cellular Manufacturing and Therapy at University of Galway has joined our team at AVECTAS with a deep understanding of both the practical and theory aspects of cellular therapies, as well as familiarity with issues pertaining to quality and GMP. This knowledge has led to rapid integration of the student into the team to the benefit of both the business and the student.”—Dr Shirley O’Dea, Chief Scientific Officer, Avectas

“ The MSc in Cellular Manufacturing and Therapy at University of Galway is a wonderful programme providing graduates with the professional skills they require for employment in the research, development, translation and manufacturing of novel advanced therapeutic products. In particular, this course provides the laboratory-based skills and training in the practical techniques required for GMP-manufacturing of cell products. It delivers a solid scientific rationale underpinning the development of cellular therapies, the very skills and knowledge that I require in future employees.”—Andrew Finnerty, General Manager, Centre for Cellular Manufacturing Ireland

“Students from the MSc in Cellular Manufacturing & Therapy arrive in their placements with a very acute work ethics and professionalism, eager to learn and very aware of the importance of a high standard aseptic technique, mind-sets that are pivotal when constructing cell banks.”—Dr Silvia Almeida, Virologist at Charles River