Centre to Strengthen Fight Against Disease

A new £5 million home for the Centre for Immunology and Infection (CII) is helping researchers better understand some of the world’s most important chronic diseases, and develop strategies for prevention and cure. In developed countries, lives are severely debilitated by Crohn’s Disease, diabetes and HIV/AIDS. In the world’s poorest regions, neglected diseases including leishmaniasis and sleeping sickness cause untold misery to hundreds of thousands of people every year. Jointly created by the Hull York Medical School (HYMS) and the Department of Biology at the University of York, the CII was

officially opened by Dr Robert Ridley, Director of TDR, the World Health Organization’s Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases. Welcomed by Professor Brian Cantor, Vice-Chancellor of the University of York, and Professor Paul Kaye, Director of CII the centre’s new clinical facilities will provide greater opportunities for translational research, and its new Wolfson Laboratories will enable the development of further cutting-edge in vitro models for the assessment of immune modulators, microbicides and pathogen-specific drugs.

The Higher Education Funding Council for England contributed more than £3 million towards the new premises. The Wolfson Foundation donated £700,000 towards construction costs and a further £300,000 for equipment while The Holbeck Charitable Trust provided £1 million for technical equipment and new staff appointments. Further funding has come from the University of York and Hull York Medical School.

Principal contractor GB Building Solutions started work on the building in July 2009.