CRC - the jewel in Dundee's crown

The latest addition to Dundee's already flourishing biomedical community will be officially opened in July. The £10.5 million Clinical Research Centre, built adjacent to Ninewells Hospital, welcomed its first patients in April. CRC Director Professor Alastair Thompson, is confident the new University/NHS Tayside facility will bring real benefits to patients and researchers.

The new Clinical Research Centre has been described by Director Professor Alastair Thompson as the "latest jewel" in Dundee's biomedical crown.

Professor Thompson, who is also Professor of Surgical Oncology within the School of Medicine, said the bespoke facility was capable of delivering advances on health care which could have an international impact.

"Dundee is already renowned for its discoveries and what happens here today often happens elsewhere tomorrow," he added. "The CRC is a very impressive facility both in terms of what we can do here and the quality of the building itself".

"I have studied other research centres particularly in the USA and this is state-of-the-art. We talked to a lot of people and tried to reproduce excellence wherever we found it."

The custom-built CRC, which sits close to the Ninewells site's multi-storey car park, will be used to develop new approaches, drugs and devices to tackle disease and ill health and will act as a "hub" for the research community.

It includes an Imaging floor designed to accommodate MRI and PET scanners and a Clinical Research floor with a range of ward areas, laboratories and office accommodation.

Although the building has its own entrance and reception area, it links straight through to the main Ninewells Hospital building on one side and the new Translational Medicine Research Institute facility on the other.

It is these facilities and connections which Professor Thompson believes makes the new centre unique.

"The CRC has the great advantage of being linked into the NHS," he said. "It is connected to the main hospital building which means all the medical expertise there is on hand. It means we are able to cover all safety aspects.

"It is a joint University and NHS facility. A huge number of people have had an input into the CRC which has been a real team effort. I think the collaboration between the University and the NHS is exceptional on a world wide level. There is a real air of cooperation here.

"It shows that Dundee is capable of delivering discoveries. There are really good things happening here that weren't happening say 20 years ago. Life Sciences in Dundee is obviously very strong but Ninewells Hospital itself is renowned world wide for its teaching and its medical care. Engineering at the University is also very innovative and they have also been involved in this project.

"There are a lot of jewels in the already heavily laden Dundee crown and this is the latest. The next will be the TMRI facility which is being built next door to the CRC and links into it. Where else in the world would you get that sort of linkage?"

The first patient to use the new CRC for a diabetes study arrived in April, well ahead of the 9 July opening. Further trials into a range of medical specialties including cancer, cardiovascular disease and neurosciences are already ongoing or planned.

"We have about 30 or 40 trials lined up," said Professor Thompson. "Most run for 6, 12, 18 months and there are different stages including a follow-up phase. We have a constant flow of trials at different stages and because the CRC will be a hub of research activity we expect there will be an upturn in the number of trials across Tayside and Fife."

He added that the patient experience will be greatly improved as a result of the facilities at the CRC.

"We were doing studies wherever we could before, sometimes in cramped rooms adjacent to wards. There were some very good existing facilities but often studies were done wherever there was space. Obviously this wasn't ideal as researchers wouldn't have all their kit and patients weren't in a relaxed atmosphere.

"Now with the CRC operational and the fact it has its own entrance patients are coming into a much more welcoming and comfortable environment. It is non-threatening and homely but in a very modern 21st century way. It really doesn't feel as if its a hospital at all.

"The atmosphere in the CRC is much more relaxed and that makes it easier for researchers to explain to patients what is happening. It also makes things like taking blood samples easier. The facilities are more private and it is also better for patients in terms of parking.

"It has the added advantage of being easier to get to. Patients don't have to traipse through miles of corridors. Previously people taking part in a trial might have to go to one place one day and then another place on a different visit whereas now they will know just to come here."

There will be advantages too for researchers who will use the centre for the duration of their studies. As well as the bespoke facilities which include a specialist ward with air lock to provide stable environmental conditions, a radioactive pharmacy, imaging area and intervention suite, there are core staff of experienced health care professionals on site.

"The researchers will come and go but there is a cohort of staff based here," explained Professor Thompson. "They know the day-to-day running of the centre. Therefore, when researchers come into the CRC there is a knowledgeable environment they can plug into."

There will also be more long-term benefits for the community in general with pioneering work carried out at the centre influencing the delivery of health care in the future.

"We will be doing many different types of investigations here over the coming years which will help not only patients locally in Tayside and Fife but much further afield. These studies will benefit patients nationally and internationally."

The CRC will be officially opened on July 9.