New equipment to support health research
Researchers at the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) have received a boost with the delivery of new scientific equipment.
UHI’s health innovation team has welcomed the arrival of a new mass spectrometer and a physical vapour deposition chamber at the Life Sciences Innovation Centre in Inverness.
The devices will support UHI’s research in areas such as the pharmaceutical contamination of hospital waste water, peatland resilience and aquaculture. They will also help researchers explore how antimicrobial coatings could be used on pacemakers and catheters to reduce the risk of infection.
UHI’s new equipment was showcased during a visit by John Lamont, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Scotland today (Friday 24 November). It has been purchased with funding packages from the UK Government as part of the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal, the Wolfson Foundation and the European Regional Development Fund, through the European Structural and Investment Funds 2014-2020 Programme Scotland.
During his visit to the Highland capital, Minister Lamont toured the new Life Sciences Innovation Centre. Officially opened by HRH The Princess Royal in April, the £9.5m building, situated on Inverness Campus, is the result of a collaboration between Highlands and Islands Enterprise and UHI. The development has been supported with funding from UK Government as part of the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal and the European Regional Development Fund.
UK Government Minister for Scotland John Lamont said: "It was fascinating to tour the Life Sciences Innovation Centre and see how researchers are using these pioneering instruments in the health and aquaculture sectors. Their ability to prevent the spread of infections, improve patient care and tackle climate change is truly impressive.
"The UK Government has invested £9 million in the Life Sciences Innovation Centre to help foster its world-class research and support high-quality jobs, investment, and growth as part of the wider £315 million Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal.
“The Chancellor’s recent Autumn Statement included more than £200 million in additional levelling up money, meaning that more than £2.7 billion has now been directly invested by the UK Government to level up Scottish communities.”
Professor Ian Megson, Head of Health Research and Innovation at UHI, said: “This outstanding equipment will underpin our world-class research in a wide range of life sciences applications. A number of projects are already primed to use the equipment and we are actively engaging with companies and other universities across the world to fully exploit the capabilities that these instruments bring.”
Scottish Government Wellbeing Economy Secretary Neil Gray said: “I welcome the arrival of this new equipment at the Life Sciences Innovation Centre, which aims to improve research supporting the growth of the sector in the Highlands and Islands.
“£4.8 million of funding from the Scottish Government through Highland and Islands Enterprise (HIE), which includes £1.2 million of ERDF, has supported the overall development of the Life Sciences Innovation Centre - a building that is shared by HIE and UHI.
“The research supported through the Inverness and Highland City Region Deal will attract further investment and high value jobs to grow the economy of the Highlands.”
UHI’s life sciences programme, including its element of the Life Sciences Innovation Centre, secured £9m from the UK Government through the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal, which is managed by the Highland Council. The deal is a joint initiative supported by up to £315m investment from the UK and Scottish governments and regional partners including the Highland Council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and UHI, aimed at stimulating sustainable regional economic growth.