1 February 2008

Opening of the Division of Molecular and Environmental Microbiology

Photo opportunity - 9-9.15 am, Friday February 1st,
Medical Sciences Institute,
University of Dundee
(meet at Wellcome Trust Building foyer)

The continued expansion of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee has been marked with the opening of a new Division of Molecular and Environmental Microbiology.

The new Division is housed in the Medical Sciences Institute, which has been given a £6 million refurbishment to accommodate this and other new units within the College of Life Sciences.

Research in the new Division is focused on understanding how micro-organisms help to shape and control our environment, which can lead to the development of new antibiotic treatments.

"Since microbial activities underpin all aspects of our daily lives, this encouragement and support for microbiology is very timely" said Professor Geoff Gadd, the Head of the new Division.

"Our application of modern molecular and analytical techniques now ensures a level of understanding that we could not imagine a few years ago and we are looking forward to exciting discoveries."

The Division, part of the College of Life Sciences, currently hosts five research groups and employs 40 staff and there are already plans to recruit more researchers.

"We are now actively searching worldwide for more excellent recruits to the Division to reinforce existing research programmes and also to initiate novel research directions in microbiology relevant to, for example, health, the environment and biotechnology," said Professor Gadd.

Two new Professors have already been recruited to the Division with Tracy Palmer and Frank Sargent arriving from the John Innes Centre in Norwich and the University of East Anglia respectively.

Professor Palmer said, "Microbiology at the University of Dundee has tremendous potential which is the major reason I moved here. The opening of the new research division coupled with the laboratory refurbishment makes the College of Life Sciences at Dundee a very attractive place for future microbiology research."

The launch of the Division is being marked with a Microbiology Symposium on Friday February 1st, with over 75 scientists from around the UK and Europe attending.

The Division is one of two new units formed from the former Division of Environmental and Applied Biology, the other being Plant Sciences.

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