2 April 2005

Tartan Week

A senior delegation from the University of Dundee will be flying the flag for the city's burgeoning life sciences sector at the Tartan Week celebrations in the United States this week.

The university is one of four leading academic institutions in Scotland - together with Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow universities - which have been invited by the Scottish Executive to present a major life sciences conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Monday.

Each of the four universities will host a session at the "Health of Nations: Scotland and America - defining Life Science Partnerships" event.

Sir Alan Langlands, Principal of the University of Dundee, will chair Dundee's session which centres on the Genetic Health Initiative, the innovative genetic health project which has brought together Scotland's five medical schools to assess genetic predisposition to heart disease, diabetes, stroke, osteoporosis and mental health.

The session will include talks from Andrew Morris, Professor of Diabetic Medicine at Dundee and a leading clinician in Scotland, and Dr Julie Schneider, Technical Program Manager for the US National Cancer Institute.

Cambridge, MA, is a global hub for life sciences, and the Scottish universities are hoping the event will help foster US links and develop business opportunities.

Dundee is already extremely well placed on the global life sciences stage, and the city's research facilities will be significantly enhanced by the new £20m Centre for Interdisciplinary Research (CIR) at University of Dundee, which will house 250 scientists and support staff and is scheduled for completion in late 2005.

It will be integrated with the world famous Wellcome Trust Biocentre - home to more than 500 scientists from 60 countries.

Please note: We will be sending out a release on Monday regarding the event, including quotes from Tom McCabe, Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform, who is the Scottish Exec representative launching the event in the States.

We will also include words from Sir Alan Langlands and hope to be able to provide pics as well.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Andrew Morris, Professor of Diabetic Medicine at the University of Dundee, leads a translational research team that is making enormous strides in making research work for the practical benefit of patients. His team focuses on the epidemiological and molecular aetiological basis of diabetes complications and he co-ordinates one of the largest and most complete international studies of the clinical epidemiology and molecular epidemiology of diabetes. He has published over 100 original papers and attracted over £6.4 million peer reviewed grant funding. Andrew is chair of the Scottish Diabetes Group and is Lead Clinician for Diabetes in Scotland.

Basic Facts about Life Sciences and Medicine in Dundee:

Dundee scientists have won more than £100m of research funding since 2002.

22 the world's top scientists are working in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee.

A peer-reviewed survey by US published Scientist magazine voted the University of Dundee as the No 1 best institution in Europe and No. 3 in the world to work in as a scientist.

An independent University of Oxford study found that University of Dundee Medical School provides the best training for doctors in the UK.

The University is the lead institute in a consortium of more than 80 medical schools across the world to create the world’s first International Virtual Medical School.

95% of our researchers work in areas of international or national excellence.

An investment seed fund of £3.5m with the Universities of Aberdeen and St Andrews has been created to encourage further business start-ups.

14 spin-out companies have been created by the University - 7 of which have been launched since 2001.

73 licenses in operation, 285 patents granted, and 255 further patents pending.

Life Sciences at Dundee

The new £20m Centre for Interdisciplinary Research (CIR), which will house 250 scientists and support staff, is scheduled for completion in late 2005 and will be integrated with the world famous Wellcome Trust Biocentre - home to more than 500 scientists from 60 countries. Over 70 scientists in the new CIR complex will research the causes of diabetes to identify protein targets for therapeutic intervention. New facilities in synthetic organic chemistry, computational chemistry and compound screening laboratories, aimed at discovering new drugs for the treatment of malaria, sleeping sickness and other global parasitic diseases will also be housed in the CIR.

The School of Life Sciences hosts a unique research consortium of six of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies who have provided £15 m (believed to be the largest such funding to a UK university) in second-phase funding for 'curiosity-driven' research directed by our world-class life sciences team.

Medical Research at Dundee:

The development of a new Clinical Research Centre will attract int ernational clinical academics researching disease prevention, diagnosis and early therapy for cancer, cardiovascular and thoracic diseases, nutrition, diabetes, metabolic disease and neuroscience is being built at the university’s medical school. The Clinical Research Centre will house patient rooms, investigation rooms and day rooms integrated with advanced diagnostic, analytical and imaging facilities.

Interface Science in Dundee

The Universities of Dundee and St Andrews have founded the Institute for Medical Science and Technology which will bring together leading scientists from a range of disciplines including physics, surgery and engineering. The centre will be dedicated to the medical needs of patients, the modernization of healthcare systems and technological advancement. It will develop systems for efficient knowledge transfer from lab to clinic, promoting opportunities for business start-ups and commercialized research.

By Roddy Isles, Head of Press 01382 344910, out of hours: 07968298585, r.isles@dundee.ac.uk