University opens £600k unit to help fight against diabetes

Published on Tuesday 31 August 2010 15:15

A NEW £600,000 research facility at Perth Royal Infirmary, funded by the Dundee University's Diabetes Research Campaign, was officially opened yesterday by broadcaster Fred MacAulay, a former rector of the university.

The new Gannochy Trust Clinical Research Suite will provide state-of-the-art clinical facilities at the acute hospital, enabling scientists and doctors to work together to undertake research from "the cell to the community."

Professor Andrew Morris, the professor of medicine at Dundee University, said: "We have always enjoyed wonderful support from the public across Tayside for the research we carry out, and it would not be possible to do much of that research without people getting as involved as they have.

"Thanks largely to the outstanding efforts of the members of the public, Tayside is now internationally recognised as having arguably the best information and knowledge of a diabetic population anywhere in the world - over 20,000 people across Tayside have taken part in diabetes research."

He continued: "With this facility we are reaching out to people in Perth and Kinross and making it easier for them to engage with the research we are doing, all of which is helping provide new knowledge about diabetes and shape future treatments.

"We are delighted at the backing the campaign received, and particular thanks for helping to establish the Perth centre must go to the Gannochy Trust."

The university's Diabetes Research Campaign has raised a total of 3 million. The money is being used to establish state-of-the-art outpatient clinical research across Tayside, recruit international researchers to Dundee and build on existing clinical and laboratory research capacity.