New diabetes research centre to be opened

A new multi-million pound centre of excellence for research into the origin and causes of diabetes and related conditions is to be opened in Exeter, it has been announced. Building work on The Wellcome-Wolfson Centre for Translational Medicine will start in early 2012, with completion expected in summer 2013.
The Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry in Exeter, which already has a strong reputation for the study of diabetes, has been awarded GBP4.75 million by the Wellcome-Wolfson Capital Awards initiative, and will also be financially backed by the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust and Exeter University. An appeal to raise a further GBP1.5 million will be launched this September.
This exciting project will unite clinical and biomedical scientists who are working in cell biology, human genetics, human physiology and interventional studies of diabetes, all currently in different locations, and will make possible a much greater and more varied amount of research to be carried out on the disease. It is expected that over 150 people will work in the building once it is fully operational.
Angela Pedder, chief executive of the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, said “Creation of this innovation and learning centre was closely aligned to our commitment to delivering patient-centred health services, postgraduate medical education and allied healthcare education in a research culture.”
“Our new building and its facilities mean that we can develop our work and reputation to the benefit of patients across the world, placing our research carried out in the South West firmly on the global stage.”