25 October 2005

Nobel Laureate to open revolutionary labs

Nobel Prize winner Professor Sir Paul Nurse FRS, will officially open the Wellcome Trust & the Wolfson Foundation Facility for Molecular Life Sciences at the University of Sheffield on Thursday 3 November 2005. The facility, which spans the Departments of Biomedical Science and of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, will revolutionise multi-disciplinary research in developmental genetics and biomedical science, regenerative medicine, molecular biology, genetics and microbiology.

The new facility will provide state of the art laboratory space for pioneering research in the area of molecular life sciences. This ranges from studies on the genetic basis of diseases like cancer, muscular dystrophy and Parkinson´s disease, research on the microbial pathogens that cause infectious disease, on disease states such as CJD and Alzheimers, through to fundamental studies on plant biology and photosynthesis. It will be used by the University´s Centre for Developmental and Biomedical Genetics, the Centre for Stem Cell Biology, the Krebs Institute and the Robert Hill Institute.

Sir Paul, whose ground-breaking research has provided profound new insights into the basis of diseases such as cancer, will also receive an honorary degree from the University of Sheffield and will be the honoured guest speaker at the University´s Centenary lecture later the same evening.

Professor Philip Ingham FRS, Chairman of the Centre for Developmental and Biomedical Genetics at the University of Sheffield, said: "This is a very exciting time for the life sciences. The University of Sheffield has a long history of cutting-edge research in this area and it is pleasing that through the support of the Wellcome Trust & the Wolfson Foundation we now have first class facilities to match our achievements and potential."

Throughout the day, Sir Paul will discuss the great opportunities for biomedical research in the coming decade. He said: "There is a real need to support basic research which provides the understanding of how living organisms work, crucial for future work on disease. It is also of great importance for scientists to engage the public in dialogue about science research. The new facility will provide excellent facilities to support biomedical science, allowing the University of Sheffield to take major steps in supporting these important initiatives."

Sir Paul, in conjunction with Tim Hunt and Leland Hartwell, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2001 for his elucidation of the genetic pathways that control cell division, one of the most fundamental of all biological processes.

Professor Bob Boucher, Vice-Chancellor of the University, said: "Sir Paul Nurse is one of the world´s leading scientists in this field and we are privileged to welcome him to Sheffield to officially open these new facilities, which will put the University at the forefront of research in molecular life sciences."

Notes for Editors: Born in Norwich, Professor Sir Paul Nurse began his pioneering research into the cell cycle in the late 1970´s and early 1980´s, first as a post doctoral scientist at Edinburgh and Sussex Universities and then as a staff scientist at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF – now CRUK) in London. After moving to Oxford to take up the Chair of Microbiology in 1988 Sir Paul rejoined the ICRF as its Director General in 1996, becoming CEO of CRUK in 2002. In 2003 he was appointed President of the Rockefeller University in New York. There he heads a community of 71 heads of research, including 8 Nobel Laureates, and a research and support staff of approximately 1,500.

The Centre for Developmental and Biomedical Genetics brings together developmental geneticists with cell biologists and human pathologists, to inform new approaches to screening, diagnosis and treatment of disease that will revolutionise health care in the coming decades. Creating a distinct interdisciplinary environment for the investigation of the cellular basis of development and disease, the centre currently has five associate members and eight full members, each an internationally recognised scientist heading an established research group.

The Krebs Institute for Biomolecular Research (named after the University´s Nobel Prize winning professor, the late Sir Hans Krebs) has as its central aim, the understanding of the structure/function relationships in biological macromolecules and the harnessing of that understanding in the application of biological science to new problems. Its prime aim over the last 15 years has been to foster interdisciplinary research between scientists in the Departments of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, of Chemistry, of Information Studies, of Biomedical Sciences and with the Medical School.

The Robert Hill Institute are an integrated group of biologists from the Departments of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology and of Animal and Plant Sciences studying photosynthesis from molecular, biophysical, biochemical, physiological and global viewpoints, using a variety of bacterial and plant species.

The Wellcome Trust & the Wolfson Foundation Facility was made possible through a substantial award from the Joint Infrastructure Fund sponsored by the Wellcome Trust and the Department of Trade and Industry as well as by a generous grant from the Wolfson Foundation.

For further information please contact: Lindsey Bird, Media Relations Officer, on 0114 2225338 or email l.bird@sheffield.ac.uk

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