̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Supported by philanthropic funding

Endangered Landscapes Programme receives £26m funding boost for ecosystem restoration research

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 11:25:29 +0000

̽��ֱ��Programme has been awarded a second phase of funding from Arcadia, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin, to restore more landscapes in Europe.

New research facility for neurodegenerative disorders opened in Cambridge

sc604 — Fri, 21 Sep 2018 10:52:08 +0000

̽��ֱ��building houses the Centre for Misfolding Diseases, a world-leading research facility focused on the misfolding of proteins in human cells - a phenomenon that causes a number of disorders including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and Motor Neurone Diseases.

̽��ֱ��building has been funded by £17.6 million from Research England’s UK Research Partnership Investment Fund (UKRPIF), as well as with contributions from Elan Pharmaceuticals and AstraZeneca.

Among the philanthropic contributions to the project is a donation of £5 million from Cambridge alumnus Derek Finlay in memory of his wife, Una, who died in May 2016 after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. ̽��ֱ��first-floor laboratory is named the Una Finlay Laboratory in her memory and as the name-plaque was unveiled, Mr Finlay said: “This is a special and very poignant day for myself and my family. This building will enable world-class research that will speed up the search for ways to delay, ameliorate and – I believe – ultimately abolish these dreadful neurodegenerative diseases.”

“ ̽��ֱ��research carried out in this new facility has the potential to affect millions of lives around the world for the better,” said Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Professor Stephen Toope, who opened the building today. “Through collaboration and the sharing of ideas, our research teams will work to find the keys that unlock the mysteries of neurodegenerative disorders, one of the greatest health problems of our age.”

A 2015 report suggested that by 2030, there will be 75 million people worldwide living with Alzheimer’s disease. While the number of cases of Alzheimer’s diseases and other neurodegenerative disorders continues to rise, so too do the costs to society, both economic and emotional.

̽��ֱ��Centre for Misfolding Diseases is co-directed by Professor Sir Christopher Dobson, Professor Tuomas Knowles and Professor Michele Vendruscolo, three world leaders in their fields who have been studying the molecular origins of neurodegenerative diseases.

“This building will for the first time bring together a large number of scientists from different disciplines who are dedicated to establishing the molecular basis of neurodegenerative disorders and to identifying new ways for treating or preventing these debilitating conditions,” said Dobson.

“ ̽��ֱ��treatment of neurodegenerative disorders represents a major challenge, requiring both the development of innovative biophysical approaches and their translation into diagnostic and therapeutic tools,” said Vendruscolo. “With this new building, we have created favourable conditions to combine these two steps.”

“This facility will be a crucial element in helping us to tackle the challenge of understanding the molecular mechanisms of dementia and develop effective ways to counteract them,” said Knowles.

̽��ֱ��new building is also home to a Chemistry of Health Incubator, which will enable closer collaborations between researchers and industry and host spin-out companies in order to increase the rate at which scientific discoveries are translated into new therapies. ̽��ֱ��new incubator is the first in Cambridge to be directly integrated into a ̽��ֱ�� department, and will provide the resources and complementary know-how required to ensure that fundamental research is ultimately used to develop new treatments for patients. ̽��ֱ��first spin-out company to move into the Incubator will be Wren Therapeutics, which is based on a ground-breaking drug discovery method for neurodegenerative disorders developed at the Centre for Misfolding Diseases.

̽��ֱ��Chemistry of Health building, a new facility dedicated to the use of chemical techniques to combat disease, in particular neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, was officially opened today in Cambridge.

L-R: Vice Chancellor; Derek Finlay; Fiona Finlay; Dame Fiona Reynolds, Master of Emmanuel College; Lord Wilson, former Master of Emmanuel College; and Professor Sir Christopher Dobson

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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New home for Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology officially opened

sc604 — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 13:00:35 +0000

̽��ֱ��new building is the first of its kind to house the whole cycle of scientific investigation in chemical engineering and biotechnology, and its teaching and commercialisation, under one roof: from fundamental research right through to technology innovation, development and spin-out.

̽��ֱ��Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology was formed in 2008 by the merger of Chemical Engineering with the former Institute of Biotechnology. ̽��ֱ��Department works at the interfaces between engineering, chemistry, biology and physics. Its scientists work together with industry leaders and entrepreneurs at the interfaces of these science disciplines to develop innovative solutions to a range of global challenges: from finding new ways to create sustainable energies and conserve the environment to developing innovative healthcare technologies to diagnose and combat disease.

“We create a unique multidisciplinary research environment within the ̽��ֱ��, in which collaborations with academic and industrial organisations flourish,” said Professor John Dennis, Head of Department.

“In this new home the Department draws together expertise that bridges traditional boundaries of chemical engineering and biotechnology” said the Chancellor in his remarks. “It is also the home of a Department which has an outstanding track record of innovation. Its research spans from artificial heart valves to affordable disease diagnostic tools. Partnerships are the key: with entrepreneurs and companies around our city; with health partners near and far; with NGOs and institutes across the globe.”

Today’s opening ceremony was followed by tours of the new building, demonstrations of some of the department’s world-leading research, and overviews of its teaching and learning activities.

̽��ֱ��construction of the building was supported by donations from the Wolfson Foundation, Infinitus (China) Company Ltd, Johnson Matthey Plc, the Garfield Weston Foundation, Dr Robin Paul, and the Gillham Charitable Trust.

̽��ֱ��new building was designed by BDP architects, with a project team that includes Ramboll UK as civil and structural engineers and Hoare Lea as services engineers.

It features a wide range of biological laboratories to Bio Safety Levels Two and Three, cleanrooms, sensitive laser, optics and imaging laboratories, a Magnetic Resonance Research Centre, materials and processes laboratories and an undergraduate teaching laboratory.

̽��ֱ��teaching facilities support these laboratories through dedicated spaces that include two 120-seat lecture theatres, a postgraduate open plan researcher write-up space, and academic and administrative offices.

A new home for the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology on the ̽��ֱ��’s West Cambridge site was formally opened today by the ̽��ֱ�� Chancellor, ̽��ֱ��Lord Sainsbury of Turville.

In this new home the Department draws together expertise that bridges traditional boundaries of chemical engineering and biotechnology.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville

Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology

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New Cambridge institute to tackle policy challenges in our age of disruption

fpjl2 — Sun, 15 Apr 2018 23:06:35 +0000

A major gift from Cambridge alumnus and philanthropist Peter Bennett has enabled the launch of a groundbreaking new institute at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge dedicated to researching solutions to some of the greatest challenges facing society in the 21st century.

̽��ֱ��Bennett Institute for Public Policy has been founded to address the new patterns of inequality and social unrest emerging around the globe, while training the policy-makers of tomorrow.

Its researchers will investigate the ways in which scientific or technical expertise and policy choices interrelate, in a world where so many now feel that the economic and political odds are stacked against them.

Led by inaugural Director, Professor Michael Kenny, and the Bennett Professor of Public Policy, economist Diane Coyle, the Institute will combine fundamental research and rigorous analysis with the search for new practical solutions to challenges such as the digital divide, resource scarcity and the need for more equitable growth.

“We live in an age of unprecedented disruption. More and more people are disenchanted with politics, and many feel that the rules of the economic game are rigged. At the same time, technological innovations and breakthroughs in scientific knowledge are gathering speed,” said Professor Kenny.

“Public policy thinking needs to engage much more deeply with the challenges which these trends pose. It is time to set aside the ingrained assumption that there are technical fixes or ready-made solutions to our most intractable problems.”

“We want the new Institute to become one of the primary academic venues across the world for understanding these changes and devising responses to them. It will offer a unique combination of deep research, high-level training and effective policy engagement.”

̽��ֱ��Bennett Institute aims to blend Cambridge’s world-class research in technology and science with analysis of the political dimensions of policy. Based at the Department of Politics and International Studies, it will be launching interdisciplinary research programmes on policy challenges in different parts of the world – from California to Calcutta, as well as in the city of Cambridge itself.

̽��ֱ��Institute is already establishing research projects on the constitutional future of the UK and Ireland post-Brexit and the increasing role of ‘GovTech’ as states grapple with digital technologies.

̽��ֱ��territory linking the knowledge our societies produce with the decisions taken by policymakers is becoming harder than ever to navigate, says Professor Coyle.

“ ̽��ֱ��tensions between expertise and public participation are an unavoidable feature of our complex, technology-powered global world. Universities have a vital civic role to play in this context, ensuring that their accumulated expertise and new knowledge contribute to the development of solutions to significant policy challenges.”

“ ̽��ֱ��trend toward the creation of new independent policy institutes such as the Bennett Institute marks the growing recognition of this responsibility by the academic world. There could not be a more important time to be launching this endeavour.”

Peter Bennett established the Peter Bennett Foundation in 2012 to seek innovative ways to reduce poverty and promote equality. He has a long-standing belief in the role of public policy as the most effective way to reach solutions to major social issues.

He said: “It has long been my vision to see a global institute that can work to address one of the greatest challenges of our age – that for so many of the world’s citizens, the economic and political odds are stacked against them.”

“ ̽��ֱ��Bennett Institute for Public Policy will harness the remarkable research in technology and science at Cambridge with the economic and political dimensions of policy-making. I am confident that under the leadership of Michael Kenny and Diane Coyle, it will be a leading force in achieving sustainable solutions to some of our most pressing global problems.”

̽��ֱ��Vice-Chancellor Professor Stephen Toope said: “This is a very significant launch for Cambridge. ̽��ֱ��world faces a new age of anxiety, marked by the widespread distrust in business-as-usual politics. Cambridge must take a lead in bringing its unique breadth and depth of expertise to respond to social, political and economic conditions. We are enormously grateful for this generous gift from Peter Bennett. I am certain that the Bennett Institute for Public Policy will be transformational.”

Cambridge launched its £2 billion Dear World… Yours, Cambridge philanthropic campaign for the ̽��ֱ�� and Colleges in October 2015. To date more than £1.1 billion has been raised towards the total, including the gift from Peter Bennett.

̽��ֱ��Bennett Institute for Public Policy will address emerging global patterns of inequality and social unrest by offering a unique combination of deep research, high-level training and effective policy engagement.

It is time to set aside the ingrained assumption that there are technical fixes or ready-made solutions to our most intractable problems

Michael Kenny

Alice Donovan Rouse

Demonstration

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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Unique science for health policy think-tank joins ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

Anonymous — Thu, 29 Mar 2018 07:00:00 +0000

̽��ֱ��PHG Foundation, which has received major funding from the Hatton Trust for over ten years of its twenty-year history, will be hosted by the ̽��ֱ��’s School of Clinical Medicine. ̽��ֱ��Foundation already enjoys close links with other parts of the ̽��ֱ��, including the Centre for Law, Medicine and Society at the Faculty of Law, the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Health Partners and Hughes Hall.

̽��ֱ��think-tank will also be working with the Clinical School, the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) and the Cambridge Institute for Public Policy (CIPP) to create cross-cutting policy impact in the application of science to benefit health and society.

Commenting on the new association, the Vice-Chancellor Professor Stephen Toope said:

‘This initiative brings together the unique research strengths of both the PHG Foundation, which has led such exemplary thinking around how science can best work for health, and the ̽��ֱ��’s world-leading School of Clinical Medicine. It marks a new stage in a long association between our two organisations, and one which has great potential in working across disciplinary boundaries. I am enormously grateful to the Hatton Trust for making this possible, and look forward to the ̽��ֱ�� and the Foundation jointly addressing some of the major health challenges facing society today.’

̽��ֱ��Regius Professor of Physic and Head of the School of Clinical Medicine, Professor Sir Patrick Maxwell, said:

“As the world of medicine changes more rapidly than perhaps ever before, and the ethical and societal questions that we face become ever more complex, interdisciplinary collaboration will increasingly be the key to success. I am delighted that we will be working so closely with the PHG Foundation, an organisation which shares our unswerving commitment to excellence in healthcare and to ensuring that biomedical innovation can truly deliver better health for all.’

̽��ֱ��Founder and Chair of Trustees of the PHG Foundation, Dr Ron Zimmern, said: “It has long been my vision that excellence in medicine should combine with that in law, ethics, philosophy and the humanities to consider both practical policy needs and wider societal implications posed by scientific innovations for health. I am delighted to see the work of the PHG Foundation over the last twenty years recognised by the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, and I am sure that the unique combination of a policy think-tank and Clinical School will be highly successful.”

PHG Foundation Director Dr Mark Kroese said: “We support policy development that accelerates the appropriate use of the very best new science in healthcare, offering better patient experiences and outcomes. ̽��ֱ��Clinical School is a world-leading source of medical excellence, research and leadership, and we are very much looking forward to working more closely with colleagues there as we continue to provide multidisciplinary perspectives on the policy issues around cutting-edge medical interventions and technologies.”

A leading multidisciplinary think tank, the PHG Foundation, will become part of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge from 1 April this year, with a focus on making science work for health. This has been made possible by a philanthropic gift from the Hong Kong-based Hatton Trust, which has recognised the ̽��ֱ��’s global eminence in science, medicine and the humanities alongside the pioneering policy development work of the Foundation.

As the world of medicine changes more rapidly than perhaps ever before, and the ethical and societal questions that we face become ever more complex, interdisciplinary collaboration will increasingly be the key to success.

Patrick Maxwell

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

Yes