The University of Glasgow has been awarded £10 million towards the development of a new clinical research facility at the South Glasgow Hospitals Campus.

The award, announced by David Willetts, UK Minister of State for Universities and Science, was made by the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund (UKRPIF) and will contribute towards the ambitious plan to promote collaborative stratified medicine across Scotland.

The facility will build on the collaboration across universities, business, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and recent investment from the Scottish Funding Council.

The new facilities will help to address chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease and diabetes, rheumatology, respiratory and infectious diseases through a new physically-linked Clinical Research Facility and state-of-the-art imaging suite. The total value of the project is £58 million.

Regius Professor of Medicine Anna Dominiczak, Head of the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences and Vice Principal at the University of Glasgow said: “We are delighted to have secured this funding for the clinical research facility and imaging suite which will help establish a unique resource for the city and for Scotland.

“Bringing together clinician scientists, NHS clinicians, and industry partners in one place and providing them with cutting-edge technologies is key to developing new innovations in medicine.

“Stratified medicine promises a new era of treatment that is personalised to an individual’s genetic make-up and therefore more effective. The facilities we are creating at South Glasgow Hospitals Campus are the kind of fantastic resources we need to translate our research into treatments for patients.”

The latest funding was awarded on the basis the University provided double the UKRPIF contribution and this was met largely through generous philanthropic donations and industrial partnerships.

Professor Anton Muscatelli, Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Glasgow, said: “Without the support and generosity of many people this fantastic outcome would not have been possible nor the full potential for real health benefits realised.

“This tremendous outcome will have a huge and lasting impact on the development of clinical science and the treatment of chronic diseases. The success of this bid is based on two key factors: on a dynamic collaborative approach between academic, industry and NHS partners and on the vital impact philanthropic and charitable giving has to provide and leverage matched funding essential for a project of this scale, importance and ambition.”

Announcing the awards at a speech in London, David Willetts said: “The UK’s world-class universities are at the forefront of our economic recovery. It’s vital we do everything we can to encourage collaboration with the private sector and boost funding for research. 

"With funding from the Research Partnership Investment Fund, this excellent project at the University of Glasgow will not only deliver new knowledge and applications for industry, but will accelerate growth and foster innovation between the research base and business, keeping the UK ahead in the global race."

The UKRPIF supports investment in higher education research facilities, to stimulate investment in university research and to strengthen the contribution of the research base to economic growth.

The fund was set up in 2012 to run for three years until 2015 and is managed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). The Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the 2013 Spending Round, announced a further two years of funding until 2017.

Find out more

For more information contact Stuart Forsyth in the University of Glasgow Media Relations Office on 0141 330 4831 or email stuart.forsyth@glasgow.ac.uk

 

First published: 10 October 2013

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