Alltech gives UK grant for research; $900,000 to study nutrition, genes

BYLINE: Art Jester, AJESTER@HERALD-LEADER.COM

Alltech Inc., an international biotechnology firm based in Nicholasville, gave the University of Kentucky $900,000 yesterday for research on the effects of nutrition on genes in animals.

In what Alltech founder and president Pearse Lyons called a "marriage of academia and industry," the company and UK will collaborate on advanced research in nutrigenomics.

Alltech is building a $20 million Center for Animal Nutrigenomics and Applied Animal Nutrition at the company's location in Jessamine County. It is scheduled to open in February 2008.

Lyons called the 20,000-square-foot facility the first ever built for the study of nutrigenomics.

He explained nutrigenomics this way: "Genes are like lights. It's a question of finding the nutrients that will turn these genes up or turn them down."

For example, he said, nutrigenomics would make it possible to know what it is in the genes of a thoroughbred horse that make it run faster. Once that is known, the appropriate nutrients can be added to the horse's feed to "ignite" the genes that affect a horse's speed.

Alltech does not produce feed, however. It produces ingredients that go into feed -- only about 1 percent of the feed's total composition, Lyons said.

Lyons said nutrigenomics is not genetic engineering.

"We do not spend one dollar on genetic engineering," he said.

UK will use the grant for seminars and to enable faculty and students in the UK College of Agriculture to do research in Alltech's new laboratory.

Lyons said Alltech benefits from the academic rigor and credibility of university research. In turn, UK researchers will gain further insight into the challenges of making commercial applications of their work.

Yesterday's announcement was clearly a display of mutual admiration between Lyons, an entrepreneur, and UK President Lee T. Todd Jr., a former entrepreneur.

Lyons, with a knowing smile and evoking laughter, said of Todd: "We're fortunate to have someone who knows what it is to make a sale, and what it is to not make a sale."

Todd said: "I can't tell you how excited I get about whatever subject Pearse Lyons is talking about."

Alltech's grant furthers UK's goals of conducting research that will have a real effect on Kentuckians' lives, Todd said.

Jamie Matthews, a UK associate professor in animal and food sciences, said the grant will directly affect and bolster work in his lab, which is used by undergraduates up to post-doctoral researchers.

Alltech is the sponsor of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, which will be held in Lexington in 2010. The company donated money several years ago that was key to the growth of UK's opera program to national prominence.

Alltech was founded in 1980. it has 1,800 employees in 85 countries.

UK's College of Agriculture has about 270 faculty and more than 2,500 students.

Reach Art Jester at (859) 231-3489 or 1-800-950-6397, Ext. 3489.