1997-1998 Annual Report

Annual Report

Campus Developments

The scale of developments around the campus - the completion of new buildings and the re-equipping of existing ones - can be regarded as a measure of the institution's dynamism and its success in securing scarce resources in competition with its peers.

Wellcome Trust Building
Pride of place must go to the formal opening of the Wellcome Trust Building on 1 May 1998. Three days of special events culminating in a special honorary degree ceremony for those scientists, philanthropists and academics who had made a significant contribution to the establishment of the building, which is widely regarded as one of the most significant events in the University's history.

The building, built and equipped with donations totalling over £13 million, including £10 million from the Wellcome Trust (the largest single donation ever given to a Scottish institution), will house over 250 scientists and support staff and its Principal Investigators have so far been awarded grants totalling over £23 million to fund their research over the next five years. Among those attracted to Dundee are Professors Jeffrey Williams, Christopher Proud and Cheryll Tickle, FRS.

With a formidable team of international scientists now at work we look forward to a series of discoveries in the fight against diseases such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, skin diseases, defects of the immune system and malaria.

Medical School Projects
Appropriately enough after celebrating its centenary in 1997 the Medical School is forging ahead with £12 million of projects at the start of its second century.

The Low Centre
Named after its principal benefactor, Dr Ian C Low, the Low Centre is a recreational area for students and staff who have long suffered from a lack of 'social space'. Because space is at a premium at Ninewells the new Centre has been created by roofing over in glass a former courtyard and inserting a mezzanine floor to provide two levels of accommodation. The Centre has dining facilities for everyday use as well as catering for functions.

Oncology Suite
Two new laboratories for cancer research will be situated next to the Biomedical Research Centre for use by the teams led by Professor Roland Wolf and Professor of Cancer Medicine, Elaine Rankin. The £600,000 development was funded by the highly successful Ninewells Cancer Centre Appeal, 'Help Dennis Beat the Menace'.

Tayside Institute of Child Health
The first phase of a £3.5 million project to create a children's hospital within the grounds of Ninewells has been completed. The new facility will bring together clinical and medical research facilities for children on one site. The new Institute will further enhance the Department of Child Health's reputation for research into new-born lung disease, cystic fibrosis, diabetes and infant nutrition. Phase I provides a play and school centre (within a former courtyard) for children in the wards. Next year should see the building of a new entrance approach road and car parking as well as overnight rooms for parents, reception rooms and nursing areas.

Cuschieri and Lane Laboratories
The statement that two corridors of laboratories are to be refurbished at £1 million apiece gives no hint of their potential significance. But as these corridors will bring together the research teams of Professor Sir Alfred Cuschieri, pioneer of 'keyhole' surgery, and Professor David Lane, FRS, discoverer of cancer gene p53, you begin to appreciate the possibilities for collaboration between these two leaders in their fields.

Biomedical Research Facilities
A newly-formed group of biomedical scientists, the Eukaryotic Membrane Dynamic Group, brings together eight leading researchers with a common interest in cell membranes. To help their collaboration the Medical Research Council has awarded them £400,000 to improve electron microscopy facilities. A better understanding of the assembly and movement of membranes in cells will help in the development of treatments and in the design of drugs.

Research Equipment
Against stiff competition the University recently secured over £0.5 million of research equipment. Seven of the 25 successful projects allocated to Scottish Universities were awarded to Dundee; a total matched only by the University of Edinburgh.

The successful Dundee bids for specialist equipment will aid research into:

cancer - by allowing cells to be irradiated under controlled conditions and their responses analysed.

computer chips - detecting minuscule defects and impurities in silicon.

heart disease - by analysing blood cells using a cytometer.

photomasks - a laser facility for making photomasks in advanced silicon chips.

micro-injection workstation - by injecting antibodies and DNA directly into single cells by means of a micro-needle the effects on a variety of functions implicated in diseases including cancer can be studied.

solar UV radiation - measuring equipment for clinical and environmental research.

advanced mass spectrometer - awarded jointly with Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Strathclyde Universities.

Chemical Sensors
Professor Jim Cairns has received £0.5 million from the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council to established a new centre of excellence in chemical sensors incorporating specialist silicon chip technology.

Currently chemical sensors have a variety of uses world-wide from domestic use as carbon monoxide detectors to more complex functions such as controlling entire chemical plants. By monitoring these sensors with the aid of microfabrication techniques the Dundee team envisage a significant expansion in the industrial potential of these devices. The microsensors will be produced using essentially the same methods as for silicon chips but incorporating an active chemical component into the final product.

Northern College Merger
The University has agreed in principle to merge with Northern College of Education's Dundee campus. The University's preferred option is to re-house the College's staff and students within a new building on the main campus for closer integration with associated Departments, notably Education and Lifelong Learning and Social Work. This will be the University's third merger in recent years: Duncan of Jordanstone College merged with the University in 1994 and 1996 saw the merger with Tayside College of Nursing and Midwifery and Fife College of Health Studies.

Conservation Unit
The University's Conservation Unit recently moved into purpose-built accommodation in the new library extension following a grant of £0.75 million from the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council. Funded by a mixture of public and private money the Unit is unique in Scotland. Its six-strong team of specialists, under the director of Ylva Player-Dahnsjo, employ a mixture of high-tech and well-tried techniques to restore artefacts and make them accessible again. Much of the work comes from other Universities - 16th century books, original art works, prints and fabrics - but the Unit is also in demand from private clients and has become self-financing.

DNA Sequencing Service
DNA Sequencing is vital in determining gene differences between a healthy volunteer and a patient with a particular skin disease. Sequencing genes by hand using a pipette is very time-consuming. Therefore, the DNA Sequencing Service was established a year ago. The process is automated using expensive machinery including banks of specialised computers capable of handling scores of samples simultaneously on a 24-hour basis. Results can then be posted electronically - another time saver.

The existence of this facility was a crucial factor in recruiting a team of skin disease researchers from the USA.

Dental School Facilities
The X-ray facilities at the Dental School have been completely re-equipped using digital equipment. Images can be viewed on computer monitors within the X-ray area. Radiographic imaging plays a significant role in the diagnosis of patients.

The Oral Pathology Laboratory is the first in the UK to be granted full accreditation. It provides a diagnostic service for dentists and specialist head and neck surgeons and supports teaching and research within the Dental School.

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