£1.7m containment facility will help tackle globally important diseases and prepare for future pandemics - EurekAlert

image: Containment laboratory equipment. view more 

Credit: The University of Warwick

A £1.7m laboratory gathering which volition analyse infectious diseases has opened astatine the University of Warwick – helping to tackle immoderate of the astir globally important quality diseases and hole for pandemics of the future.

The caller containment suite volition alteration scientists to behaviour cutting-edge probe into infectious diseases, including tuberculosis (TB), influenza and COVID-19. It is hoped that the Containment Level 3 (CL3) laboratory – truthful called due to the fact that it volition let probe connected pathogens rated astatine Hazard Group 3, which are precocious hazard biologic agents – volition assistance scientists safely probe immoderate our astir important infectious diseases including preparing for viral outbreaks and pandemics.

Academics from Warwick Medical School and the School of Life Sciences volition person entree to the CL3 lab, enhancing Warwick’s presumption successful the apical league of biomedical probe universities. The CL3 laboratory formally opens contiguous (Wednesday 7 December) and volition beryllium afloat operational successful the New Year.

Chris Ennew, Provost astatine the University of Warwick, said: “Over caller years, we person each witnessed the destructive powerfulness of diseases, including COVID-19, and the worth of the UK’s exceptional strengths successful biomedical research. This state-of-the-art installation volition lend to the UK’s probe efforts successful this important country and volition let for the grooming of caller generations of researchers, capable to respond to pandemics with caller diagnostics, therapies and robust societal guidance.

“The University has bold ambitions crossed the STEM subjects and contiguous sees different measurement guardant with this concern for our world-leading probe successful aesculapian and beingness sciences. While the laboratory is chiefly a associated installation for Warwick Medical School and the School of Life Sciences, the world is that galore much probe departments volition payment from the CL3 laboratory – including Chemistry, Engineering and Maths arsenic good arsenic collaborators based astatine different institutions.”

Richard Napier, Deputy Head of School of Life Sciences astatine the University of Warwick said: “Disease-causing organisms person been astir for arsenic agelong arsenic beingness connected earth. Research to trim the suffering threatened by unsafe quality and carnal pathogens remains the apical precedence of healthcare hazard absorption policies worldwide.

“Despite Warwick’s past of elegant biomedical research, caller circumstances person shown that we inactive person overmuch to larn astir however these pathogens enactment and however we tin power them. These caller labs supply world-class facilities for probe that volition beforehand amended illness power for medicine and for agriculture.”

Dr Meera Unnikrishnan, Associate Professor astatine Warwick Medical School, said: “I volition beryllium progressive successful probe into tuberculosis (TB) successful the caller CL3 laboratory. TB is 1 of the starring causes of decease globally, truthful knowing this pathogen and discovering amended drugs to dainty it are a priority. We are excited astir the opening of the CL3 lab, with cutting-edge facilities that volition alteration america to safely survey the bacterium liable for this infection, arsenic good different viruses and parasites that origin life-threatening infections”

Further details of the probe departments tin beryllium recovered present https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/lifesci and https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/med

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