Work begins on €20m NUI Galway Clinical & Translational Research Facility

BAM has started construction on a €20m Clinical Research Facility and Translational Research Facility (CRF-TRF) at NUI Galway.

The four-storey 5,345m² building will facilitate cutting-edge medical research side-by-side with patient care in University Hospital Galway. This sharing of medical expertise and accommodation including HSE in-patient facilities will help inform new strands of clinical research. The construction period is anticipated to be 16 months and the project will create 125 construction jobs at its peak.

The CRF-TRF building is located on the grounds of University Hospital Galway and is directly adjacent to the University’s Clinical Science Institute, UHG’s Critical Care Facilities, Ward Accommodation Block and the Maternity Wards.

The Translational Research Facility will be on the second and third floor of the building and will accommodate open and flexible lab spaces. It will have direct links to the Clinical Science Institute where many of the University’s medical students are located, at both ground and second floor levels.

The HRB Clinical Research Facility occupies the ground and first floors. This facility will form part of an Irish Network of Clinical Research Facilities which will allow patients access to state of the art clinical research in stem cells, gene therapy, biomaterials and immunology. It will also have a space specially designed for clinical research in regenerative medicine. The CRF will have direct links to the existing hospital at both ground and first floor levels and will be fully owned and operated by the Health Services Executive and University Hospital Galway.

Discussing the new project, Theo Cullinane, Chief Executive, BAM said: “BAM is delighted to return to the campus of NUI Galway to commence this innovative project. Our team has the specialist skills to produce world-class medical research and care facilities and this project will have a significant impact in the field for many years. We look forward to delivering a cutting edge facility which is as successful as the awarding winning Engineering Building we constructed on campus in 2010.”

Pictured (l to r) Professor Martin O’Donnell Associate Director HRB Clinical Research Facility, Dr Jim Browne, President NUI Galway (seated), Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics Larry Egan, Theo Cullinane, CEO, BAM Contractors (seated), and Professor Frank Sullivan Director HRB Clinical Research Facility.