New research Centre to rise to scientific challenges
Posted on 25 September 2007
The Centre for Magnetic Resonance (CMR), a joint initiative of the University’s Departments of Chemistry, Biology and Psychology, will be opened on 27 September. Dr Randal Richards, the Deputy Chief Executive of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), will perform the opening ceremony.
We are using the CMR to understand mechanisms of bacterial infection at the molecular level
Dr Jennifer Potts
The £3.5 million building includes high magnetic field spectrometers and the first commercial HyperSense polariser. It is the first facility in the UK to have spectrometers, imaging equipment and polariser in one location.
The centre’s scientists will address problems such as the development of new catalysts for use in the production of everyday materials such as plastics and margarine. Other work will aim to obtain a deeper understanding of infection and disease to aid in the development of novel medicines, particularly new antibiotics.
Professor Simon Duckett, of the University's Department of Chemistry, develops techniques with NMR spectroscopy for studying how catalysts work at a molecular level. Professor Duckett said: "One of the Centre’s principal aims will be to improve catalyst design to reduce the production costs and enhance the quality of common materials."
Professor Duckett will also be working with Professor Gary Green, of the Department of Psychology and Director of York NeuroImaging Centre, on devising new approaches that allow precise imaging of specific chemical reactions in the body. The work will involve the use of the new Centre's advanced equipment and the York NeuroImaging Centre's MRI scanner.
Dr Jennifer Potts, of the Departments of Chemistry and Biology, will use the CMR in her studies of the three-dimensional structure and interactions of proteins. Her research establishes how the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus interacts with human proteins during infection.
Dr Potts, a British Heart Foundation Senior Basic Science Research Fellow, said: "We are using the CMR to understand mechanisms of bacterial infection at the molecular level and to obtain data that could aid the development of new therapeutics."
The Centre has been funded through a £3.5M Science Research Infrastructure (SRIF) grant from the Office of Science and Innovation (OSI) and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS). The University of York is grateful to Oxford Instruments and Bruker BioSpin Ltd. for their contributions to the facility.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- The Department of Chemistry at the University of York has an excellent reputation for teaching and research, being placed first in the latest national student survey. In the last Research Assessment Exercise the department was awarded a 5 rating. It is led by Royal Society of Chemistry prize-winners in all three branches of physical, organic and inorganic chemistry. It has 55 members of academic staff, more than 380 undergraduate students, 150 graduates and 90 research fellows. More information at www.york.ac.uk/chemistry.
- The University of York’s Department of Biology is one of the leading centres for biological teaching and research in the UK. The Department, with more than 400 scientific and support staff and 400 undergraduates currently has one of the highest research ratings in the UK. More information at www.york.ac.uk/depts/biol/.
- The York NeuroImaging Centre was opened in 2005 at York Science Park's Biocentre with the help of a £1.2 million grant from the Wolfson Foundation. The centre boasts two of the most powerful brain scanners in the UK, which cost a total of £3.5 million, and produce visually stunning images, allowing detailed study of a huge range of brain functions and conditions. More information at www.ynic.york.ac.uk/.