Centre to give new dimension to fight against disease
Posted on 10 September 2010
The new £5m home for the Centre for Immunology and Infection (CII) will help researchers to make an important contribution to international efforts to better understand some of the world's most important chronic diseases, and develop strategies for prevention and cure.
These new facilities will further enhance our world-class research into immunology and infectious diseases
Professor Brian Cantor
In developed countries, lives are severely debilitated by Crohn's Disease, diabetes and HIV/AIDS. In the world's poorest regions, neglected diseases including leishmaniasis and sleeping sickness cause untold misery to hundreds of thousands of people every year.
The CII is a joint research centre created by the Hull York Medical School (HYMS) and the Department of Biology at the University of York. The new building is on the University's campus at Heslington.
The building will be officially opened by Dr Robert Ridley, Director of TDR, the World Health Organization's Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases.
He will be welcomed by Professor Brian Cantor, Vice-Chancellor of the University of York, and Professor Paul Kaye, the Centre's Director. The opening ceremony will follow a one-day conference on immunity and infection featuring speakers from across the world.
Professor Cantor said: "York is already in the vanguard of research into immunology and infectious diseases and these new facilities will further enhance our world-class research in this area. We are all excited that Rob Ridley of the World Health Organization has agreed to open the Centre officially, which reflects its global stature."
Professor Kaye added: "This is a significant day in the history of the CII. This new building will help to take our work to a new level. The CII represents what can be achieved by a seamless link between biology and medicine, something rarely seen in long-established medical schools. Our strategy ensures we maximise the quality and impact of our research and maximises the benefits from having both infectious and non-infectious diseases studied side by side."
The Centre is recognised as a leading facility in the fields of immunology, pathogen biology and experimental medicine, publishing its research in the highest impact international journals and already helping to develop new medicines.
The new 1,350m2 building includes an additional three floors of laboratories, increased facilities for handling high risk pathogens and a specialist clinical suite for volunteer studies and clinical trials.
The new clinical facilities will provide the CII with greater opportunities for translational research, and its new Wolfson Laboratories will enable the development of further cutting-edge in vitro models for the assessment of immune modulators, microbicides and pathogen-specific drugs.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England contributed more than £3m towards the new premises. The Wolfson Foundation donated £700,000 towards construction costs and a further £300,000 for equipment while The Holbeck Charitable Trust provided £1m for technical equipment and new staff appointments. Further funding has come from the University of York and Hull York Medical School.
Principal contractor GB Building Solutions started work on the building in July 2009.
Speakers at the conference include: Adrian Hayday, King's College London; Fiona Powrie, University of Oxford; Sarah Rowland-Jones, University of Oxford; Philippe Sansonetti, Institut Pasteur, Paris; Alan Sher, NIH, Bethesda and Ken Stuart, University of Washington, Seattle.
Notes to editors:
- The Centre for Immunology and Infection is a joint research centre created by the Hull York Medical School and the University of York's Department of Biology.
- More about the University of York's Department of Biology at www.york.ac.uk/depts/biol/
- More about the Hull York Medical School at www.hyms.ac.uk/
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