A major fundraising campaign to extend facilities and clinical research programmes for diabetes in Angus receives its local launch on Monday June 12th.

Angus Provost Bill Middleton will host the reception for the "People’s Launch" of the Diabetes Research Campaign, which has been launched by the University of Dundee and aims to raise £3 million across Tayside.

Professor Andrew Morris, one of Scotland’s leading diabetic specialists, highlighted the effect a successful fundraising effort will have on diabetes services in the region.

"Creating an adequate infrastructure across the region is vital to accelerate the research effort into diabetes," said Professor Morris, who is based at the University Medical School.

"One of the aims of this campaign is to boost our facilities in Forfar, which will make it much easier for people in Angus to engage in our research programmes, something which is hugely important."

"We have had magnificent support in the past from people right across Tayside, and we really do need that to continue, both in fundraising and in joining our clinical research programmes."

The goal of the campaign is to raise £3million over two years and will support three major initiatives:

* State-of-the-art outpatient clinical research facilities in Angus, Perth and Dundee, enabling scientists and doctors to work together to undertake research from "the cell to the community".

* An extension of dedicated diabetes laboratories at Ninewells Hospital and Medical School which will strengthen clinical research in Angus and Perth by enabling teams to link research and patient care together.

* Clinical research equipment and recruitment of an international researcher to lead research into Type 1 diabetes, complementing much of the work already being done at the University.

Provost Bill Middleton said, "I am happy to support this major fundraising campaign as it has the potential to bring huge rewards for the increasing numbers of people in the region and beyond who suffer from diabetes. The University of Dundee is already recognised worldwide as a leader in diabetes research and this ambitious programme offers an opportunity to further accelerate their progress in the research and treatment of this disease."

In addition to the £3 million campaign of public fundraising, there will also be significant investment from NHS Tayside, including £650,000 which has been granted from the NHS Tayside Endowment Fund.

The University of Dundee has been hailed as a "world-leading centre" for research into diabetes and is home to the Dundee Diabetes Research Centre, which hosts over 25 research teams engaged in diabetes research, ranging from the study of single molecules to complex clinical studies.

NOTES TO EDITORS

The Diabetes Research Campaign is being launched with three civic receptions - "The People’ s Launches". The Dundee and Perth receptions took place in May. The Angus launch will take place on June 12th. Local fundraising plans will be announced at each of the receptions.

Dundee was hailed as "a world-leading centre" for research into diabetes by Douglas Smallwood, chief executive of Diabetes UK, on a visit to the University in August 2005. Diabetes UK are a major funder of diabetes research at the University, directing over 90% of its Scottish research funding to Dundee.

The Dundee Diabetes Research Centre is a joint venture between the Faculty of Life Sciences and the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing, currently hosting over 25 research teams that have a shared interest in diabetes research, ranging from the study of single molecules to complex clinical studies. Professor Dario Alessi, diabetes researcher in the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit at the School of Life Sciences, is Director of the Diabetes Research Centre.

Professor Andrew Morris, Scotland’s lead clinician for diabetes, is based within the Medical School at Ninewells Hospital. Professor Morris co-ordinates a collaborative research programme that looks at health informatics of diabetes (DARTS/MEMO Collaboration), the clinical epidemiology of diabetes and genetic epidemiology of diabetes (with the Biomedical Research Centre). Prof. Morris also plays a leading role in the Generation Scotland project (www.generationscotland.org)

The Medical School, in collaboration with NHS Tayside, hosts the £2 million development of SCI-DC, the national diabetes computing system for Scotland. The cardiovascular implications of diabetes are being explored in collaboration with The Institute of Cardiovascular Research, also based at Ninewells Hospital.

The Tayside NHS Board Endowment Fund represents monies held in trust on behalf of the ordinary people of Tayside, who through fundraising efforts or legacies have chosen to allocate sums to NHS Tayside. The funds are not used directly for patient care but may be used for patient comforts in wards and departments and, in this case, to support clinical research.

For media enquiries contact:

Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk