Exeter Uni receives £2 million gift for new approach to treating the world's most serious diseases

EXETER University of Exeter has received a £2 million gift to pioneer a new approach to treating the world's most serious diseases. The gift, from The Wolfson Foundation tol support a new Living Systems Institute, is the largest award made by foundation in 2014 and comes after a long history of key contributions from the charity towards the advancement of science at Exeter. The Living Systems Institute will bring together 200 cell and molecular biologists, mathematicians, physicists, biomedical scientists and engineers to investigate the fundamental cellular processes underlying human and plant disease. With a state-of-the-art building currently under construction, the £52.5 million project is the largest single investment in science in the history of the University. Paul Ramsbottom, Chief Executive of The Wolfson Foundation said: "The Wolfson Foundation supports excellence and so we are delighted to make this exceptional grant to the University of Exeter in support of establishing a new Living Systems Institute. "The University of Exeter is fast becoming a scientific power-house, with a major impact on the South-West. In making this award, the Foundation recognises the quality of research, the imaginative approach to understanding diseases and the effective working with local partners, particularly the NHS Trust." Professor Sir Steve Smith, University of Exeter Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive said: "The funding of scientific research in universities is absolutely critical to the future of the UK so that we can continue to attract the brightest minds from around the world. We are looking forward to the opening of the new home for the Living Systems Institute in Autumn 2016 as this will also be an opportunity for The Wolfson Foundation and the University of Exeter to celebrate a fifty year relationship." The University is pioneering a new approach to understanding how diseases develop and how they can be diagnosed more rapidly and accurately. This will inform more effective treatment strategies for some of the most severe diseases facing humanity, such as chronic neurodegenerative diseases – such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's – as well as diseases that threaten food security.