£4.5 million EU funding for brain research centre
11 Sep 2015 by hjcmtbbcwq.d hjcmtbbcwq.d
As part of the 2015 Budget Tour of Wales, Finance and Government Business Minister – Jane Hutt – announced £4.5 million of EU funds will be used to develop a centre for brain research at Cardiff University.
The funding will support the construction works of the new Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC). The building will allow scientists to gain an understanding of the causes of a range of health conditions, including dementia, schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis.
The Finance and Government Business Minister said: “I am delighted to announce EU funds to help construct a centre of excellence in Wales with the capability for world-class, highly specialised collaborative, research in the field of neuroscience.
”This is another excellent example of how EU funds are supporting growth in the Welsh economy, helping our academic institutions to attract further competitive and private research investments and position Wales as a global leader in ground-breaking research and innovation.”
The expansion of CUBRIC is expected to not only attract up to £22 million in additional research investments over the coming years but also generate new, highly-skilled research posts at the site. The new centre will accommodate a number of laboratories and cutting-edge equipment including ultra-high field Tesla MRI scanner and it will be four times bigger than the University’s existing facilities.
“We are delighted to welcome this EU funding which cements CUBRIC’s position as a European leader in brain imaging and brain stimulation, and underpins our new £44m state-of-the-art home in Cardiff,” said Professor Derek Jones, Director of CUBRIC.
The centre is due to open next year.
