£30m research neuroscience research boost at UCL
4 Aug 2017 by Evoluted New Media
The UCL Institute of Neurology has won a £29m infrastructure award to enable the creation of the world’s leading translational neuroscience facility.
The UCL Institute of Neurology has won a £29m infrastructure award to enable the creation of the world’s leading translational neuroscience facility.
The move will combine the UCL Neurology Institute with the operational headquarters of the UK Dementia Research Institute, also based at the university. This move will find better ways across the university of diagnosing and treating neurological disorders such as dementia, stroke and epilepsy.
Professor Michael Hanna, from the Institute of Neurology, said: “This major award significantly advances progress towards our vision to create the world’s leading centre for translational neuroscience which will enable us to find treatments, train the next generation and work in close partnerships with industry, funders and patients."
Funding will provide new integrated spaces for laboratories, drug discovery and experimental neurology and it’s hoped that this drive closer collaboration with patients, funders and industry.
The grant from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has also been supplemented by a number of philanthropists such as a consortium of retailers. Including Iceland, ASDA, HSS Hire, Morrisons and Waitrose, they have all donated the levy on plastic carrier bags to the UCL Dementia Research Initiative. In addition, other partnerships have been formed with medical charities and industry partners who are contributing to this project.
The UK Research Partnership Fund (UKRPIF), which awarded the money to UCL, was launched in 2012 with £100m. Since then, government investment has risen to £900m with UKRPIF funded until 2021.
