New Quadrum Institute at Norwich Research Park
UKSPA News
New Quadrum Institute at Norwich Research Park
A new research centre to develop solutions to worldwide challenges in human health , food and disease is to be built at Norwich Research Park
Construction of a new £ 81.6 million facility to house the new Quadram Institute has already started , with an anticipated opening in 2018 .
The initial investment for the Quadram Institute is being provided by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council together with its three Norwich-based partners : the Institute of Food Research ( IFR ); the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust ( NNUH ); and the University of East Anglia ( UEA ).
The Quadram Institute will integrate research teams from the IFR and UEA ’ s Faculty of Science and Norwich Medical School with the NNUHs ’ gastrointestinal endoscopy facility under one roof .
To be led by Prof Ian Charles , currently Director of the IFR , the concept behind the Quadram Institute is to enable a step-change in food and health science research by providing new insights and accelerating innovation that will
The new Quadram Institute
deliver new foods and treatments as well as proactive health and lifestyle interventions , for the benefit of society and the bio-economy .
The strategy is to work across four research themes : the gut and the microbiome ( the gut flora ); healthy ageing ; food innovation ; and food safety . These research themes will link closely to the world-class plant and crop research at the John Innes Centre and bioinformatics at The Genome Analysis Centre , both also located at the Norwich Research Park , creating a powerful plant-food-health pathway to deliver clinically-validated strategies to improve human nutrition , health and wellbeing . The Quadram Institute will work closely with the food industry , healthcare and allied sectors to transfer its scientific knowledge into practice . Prof Charles said : “ This is an exciting time to have the opportunity to be truly at the forefront of an emerging new discipline of health and food research . Recent understanding of how food and our gut flora interact is creating a fundamental shift in the way we will understand and address the impact of food on health .”
He added : “ We will be engaged in fundamental and translational research , alongside clinical studies and endoscopy and our goal is to become recognised globally for research excellence and clinical expertise , and impact on patient care and outcomes ."
Norwich science grows into a new plant development
A
landmark technique in plant science is being given a £ 5 million backing in the form of a new business and purpose-built facility a stone ’ s throw from the Norwich laboratory where it was developed .
Prof George Lomonossoff and Dr Frank Sainsbury , based at the John Innes Centre , have discovered a new way to use individual plants to produce new high value products , including therapeutic drugs and vaccines .
The technology is already being used in Canada and the US , where licensee Medicago Inc is using plants
An artist ’ s impression of the new Leaf Systems facility
for the rapid production of vaccines against influenza for clinical trials .
Now the John Innes Centre has partnered with the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and Plant Bioscience Ltd to bring the use of the technology closer to home .
A new company Leaf Systems has been established and planning permission is being sought from South Norfolk Council to build a new facility at Norwich Research Park .
The new building would comprise plant-growing areas and development laboratories , while the presence of the new company on the Park is already attracting interest from biotechnology companies which could use its services .
12 SUMMER 2016