University of Swansea Retains NCE Status

Swansea University’s College of Medicine has been awarded three million pounds to continue its hosting of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s (EPSRC) premier research facility in Mass Spectrometry against fierce competition from leading universities throughout the UK.

The University has been a National Centre of Excellence for mass spectrometry for over three decades beginning with the Royal Society Research Unit founded by Professor John H Beynon FRS. This latest award, granted through the work of Professor Gareth Brenton and his colleagues in the Institute of Mass Spectrometry, (Institute of Life Science), represents one of the longest continuous funding programmes by the EPSRC in the UK.

The Swansea centre, is available to all UK university research groups, specialising in the most difficult chemical analysis and underpinning leading research of UK scientists. It was recently in the news after its researchers discovered two steroid type molecules that could help treat Parkinson’s disease

Professor Gareth Brenton, head of the Institute of Mass Spectrometry said: “Mass Spectrometry at Swansea has consistently delivered high-quality research, training and teaching. It is an analytical technique that underpins many scientific areas and has major impact in the competitiveness of UK Science. We will continue developing this important scientific discipline and train future research leaders for academia and industry.”

Over the past three decades, the Swansea Centre has analysed over 250,000 unique compounds, recorded over one million exclusive spectra that act as chemical fingerprints and trained over 250 PhDs, thereby contributing not just to the economy of the region but also to the many industries throughout the UK that rely on mass spectrometry.