New hub for structural biology research
24 Jul 2015 by Evoluted New Media
The University of Leeds has announced a £17 million investment for a structural biology laboratory.
The new facility will provide Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology – part of the University of Leeds – with instruments for electron microscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance.
Professor John Ladbury, Dean of the Faculty of Biological Sciences at the University of Leeds, said: “I am impressed by the University’s vision and commitment to growth. The new investments mean that we will be able to build on the existing scientific excellence in the Astbury Centre by making a number of new senior appointments to the BioStructure Laboratory, in addition to our biggest ever academic fellowship recruitment drive and schemes to increase PhD Student recruitment.”
The funding will pay for two electron microscopes that will allow researchers to study cells, viruses, bacteria, as well as the structures of individual molecules. It will also invest in an ultra-sensitive nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer which will help scientists observe the motion of biological structures in real time. The new equipment will be housed in fully refurbished facilities in Astbury Centre. Development of the new BioStructure Laboratory will start immediately.
“This latest investment in Leeds will ensure that we become one of the best resourced centres for instrumentation in structural biology in the world. We are immensely grateful to the University Council for backing the Astbury Centre in this way,” said Professor Sheena Radford FRS, Director of the Astbury Centre.
