12 May 2011
Wellcome Trust grants more than £6million to Dundee Researchers
Photo shows Jason Swedlow, on the right, receiving his award from David Willetts. (Photo copyright: Andrew Davs, John Innes Centre)
Two researchers at the University of Dundee have been awarded a total of more than £6million in grants from the Wellcome Trust.
Professor Jason Swedlow and Professor Tom Owen-Hughes, both based in the Wellcome Trust Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression at the College of Life Sciences, have received grants of £4.2million and £2million respectively.
Professor Swedlow, recently named 'Innovator of the Year' at the BBRSC's Excellence with Impact Awards, has received the £4.2 million grant for his research project, 'The Open Microscopy Environment: image informatics for biological sciences'
'It is not only a recognition of the quality of work done by the Open Microscopy Environment team based in our Wellcome Trust Centre - it is confirmation that Dundee is a significant hub in biosciences research and continues to thrive and grow.' said Professor Swedlow. 'In the current economic climate it is great to have our research grant application funded in full by the Wellcome Trust.'
Explaining the nature of his work Professor Swedlow went on to say, 'The rise of quantitative biology has driven the generation of ever increasing stores of experimental data.
'Our team at the Open Microscopy Environment (OME) has built open software tools that enable access, analysis, viewing and sharing of large data sets. Initially built for light microscopy, we have successfully extended these tools to many other domains of biological imaging.'
The OME data-sharing software recently won them the accolade of 'Innovator of the Year' and 'Social Innovator of the Year' at the BBRSC's Excellence with Impact Awards, recognising the team and Dundee’s significant contribution to knowledge-sharing, world-wide.
'In this newly-funded project, we aim to make OME’s tools widely used by biologists all over the world,' added Professor Swedlow.
The funding will support a total of 25 posts, 16 of them at Dundee, and the rest at collaborating universities in the UK, USA, France and Italy.
Professor Tom Owen-Hughes has received over £2 million from the Wellcome Trust to continue his basic research into the mechanisms for remodelling chromatin structure.
In response to the news Professor Owen-Hughes said, 'My research team benefit from the long term vision shown by The Wellcome Trust in funding basic research into processes such as gene regulation which lie at the heart of all biological systems. We are also fortunate to have a critical mass of facilities and expertise available in Dundee.'
The grant will support six positions within Professor Owen-Hughes' team.
Professor Angus Lamond, Director of the Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression said, 'I am delighted to see the outstanding work of Jason and Tom, and their respective teams, recognised for its importance and creativity. This major funding award demonstrates the exceptionally high regard for the work being done here in Dundee.'
NOTES TO EDITORS
About the College of Life Sciences
With more than 900 staff and research students and external funding in excess of £40 million per year, the College of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee is one of the largest and most productive research institutes in Europe.
www.lifesci.dundee.ac.uk.
About the Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. It supports the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities. The Trust’s breadth of support includes public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. It is independent of both political and commercial interests.
www.wellcome.ac.uk.
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