The official 'topping out' of two new buildings, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre and the Glasgow Biomedical Research Centre will take place at a ceremony tomorrow Friday 1 October.

Principal of the University, Sir Muir Russell will lay a small area of concrete screed to mark the development reaching its highest point.

To commemorate the event the Directors of both new centres, Professor Anna Dominiczak and Professor Eddy Liew, and the Director General ofthe British Heart Foundation (BHF) Mr Peter Hollins will also toast the new buildings.

This major development will enhance Glasgow's position at the hub of the molecular genetics revolution which is transforming medicine and therapeutics. The facilities will complete a 'triangle of excellence', alongside the award-winning Wolfson Medical School Building which opened its doors in 2002.

The BHF Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre, core funded by a gift of £5M from the BHF, will provide state-of-the-art experimental and clinical facilities to further vital research into cardiovascular disease. The proximity of a clinical investigation unit to modern laboratories will greatly enhance the integration of research and clinical practice, enabling patients to benefit more rapidly from work at the cutting edge of cardiovascular research.

The University's success in securing £8.1M from the Wellcome Joint Infrastructure Fund, and £7.5M from the Scottish Research Infrastructue Fund towards a new building to house the Glasgow Biomedical Research Centre, represents a major vote of international confidence in the excellence of our research in this field. This world class research centre will bring together basic and clinical scientists to achieve increased understanding of biological processes, and will facilitate the development of novel approaches to the treatment of disease.

These Centres will have a national and international impact upon areas of health and welfare that affect the entire community, bringing direct benefits in prevention, diagnosis and treatment. They will provide the West of Scotland with a base committed to targeting and combating the many problems associated with heart disease.

In addition, they will bring together researchers of international standing, most of whom are currently working on different sites across the city, often in cramped and outdated accommodation.

The BHF Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Professor Anna Dominiczak, Director of the BHF Glasgow Cardiovascular Centre, said: 'The overall aim is to consolidate, on a single site, cardiovascular research effort ranging from the molecular genetic basis of cardiovascular disease through physiology, and pathophysiology to patient-centred studies.'

Professor Eddy Liew, Director of the Glasgow Biomedical Research Centre, commented: 'The main aim of the new centre is to create and increase extensive multidisciplinary research, seeking scientific solutions to problems of diseases of major morbidity and mortality and applying this knowledge rapidly in the clinics. The link from basic to clinical science is a unique feature of the new Centre, as around 20% of the scientists are medically qualified with active clinical practice.'

Commenting on the construction of these state-of-the-art buildings, Ken McAlpine of HBG Construction Ltd said: 'From the outset, the challenges presented by the site in terms of public relations, noise and access restrictions, lack of space, complexity of the substructure and the shear volume of work within the time constraints have brought out the best in the construction industry, with Client, Designers and Contractors all working together with the single objective of delivering this unique project on time and within budget and HBG Construction is delighted to be part of the team.'

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First published: 30 September 2004