Having recently celebrated its first five years of pioneering biomedical research, the Wellcome Trust biocentre has now helped the school of life sciences reach a significant milestone. Since the biocentre opened, staff in the school have been awarded over £100 million in external research grants.
Philip Cohen, director of research at the WTB, said, "The great success of our scientists in winning such a large amount of research support from government agencies and charities in open competition with other universities in the UK is a testimony of the calibre of staff that we have recruited. The Wellcome Trust biocentre has acted as a flagship for the expansion of biomedical and life sciences research and the development of the local biotechnology industry, which has recently led to the siting of the Intermediary Technology Institute for life sciences in Dundee. Some 2,200 people are now employed directly in this sector in Dundee and with the other jobs that are created indirectly I understand that it now accounts for about 12% of the local economy."
The breadth of research across the school covers a variety of disciplines. The funding allows the scientists to pioneer work in understanding the causes of many diseases and conditions including allergies, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, hereditary skin diseases, hypertension and stroke, plus research on microbial, plant and animal ecophysiology and physical and inorganic chemistry.
Last year alone, 102 grants were awarded totalling £23.2 million. These included a £3.5 million strategic award in integrated biosciences from the Wellcome Trust for new facilities in light microscopy, fluorescence activated cell sorting and X-ray crystallography.