CABR hosted ‘Connecting the Wool Value Chain: Research, Industry and Action’, an event dedicated to wool research and innovation, on Thursday, 29 October 2026 at MTU Cork’s Bishopstown Campus as part of Bioeconomy Ireland Week. 

The event was delivered through the TU-RISE programme and included a design thinking workshop exploring opportunities and barriers within the wool sector, current and potential government supports for wool innovation, and case studies highlighting wool-related initiatives and bioeconomy policies. 

The event showcased findings from several CABR wool research projects, including the REVEIRE project (funded by the Environmental Protection Agency Ireland and led by Dr Archishman Bose), the SPRINGWOOL project (funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, DAFM), and the WOOLMARKED project (funded by DAFM). We were delighted to have Sarah Quinn (DAFM) to officially launch the WOOLMARKED project. 

Dr Tielidy Lima (Bioengineering Organ-on-Chip Research Group at CABR, TUS) and Dr Arnold Marisa (CABR, MTU) presented findings from the SPRINGWOOL project, including work on keratin and ceramides derived from Irish sheep wool, and investigating microalgae cultivation in wool scouring wastewater. 

Dr Archishman Bose (University College Cork) provided an overview of the project. Ameera Naeem Butt is conducting PhD research at CABR, TUS as part of the project. Her research is supervised by Dr Yin Zhu (Circular Agriculture and Biotechnology Research Group at CABR, TUS), Dr Catherine Collins (Circular Agriculture and Biotechnology Research Group at CABR, TUS), Dr Archishman Bose (UCC), and Dr Tim Yeomans (CABR). 

Dr Tim Yeomans and Isabelle Ben-Chika (CABR, MTU) presented on the WOOLMARKED project. Isabelle is conducting PhD research at CABR, MTU as part of the WOOLMARKED project. Her research is supervised by Dr Archishman Bose, Dr Patrick Quille (CABR, MTU), Dr Tracey O’Connor (Circular Bioeconomy Research Group at CABR, MTU), and Dr Tim Yeomans. 

Thank you to everyone who presented during the event and was involved in organising it, including Dr Tim Yeomans, Dr Tielidy Lima, Dr Arnold Marisa, Dr Archishman Bose, Isabelle Ben-Chika, Dr Tracey O’Connor, Dr Fred Creedon (MTU), Maria Nugent (MTU) and Damian Gornik (CABR), as well as everyone who attended the event.