The University of Glasgow has been awarded a £38 million grant by UK Research and Innovation to create a lab that brings cutting edge science and innovation into a real world clinical setting.
It will form part of the University’s Glasgow Riverside Innovation District (GRID) which will be central to the creation of a cross-river Innovation District being developed through the City Deal.
The Living Lab will be based next to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital where researchers will work on tailoring medical treatments to patients, helping treat people more quickly and minimising side effects. More than a dozen public and private partners are involved in the project. Alongside the £38 million provided through UK Research and Innovation’s Strength in Places fund, the Living Lab will be supported by more than £22 million from industry partners and infrastructure investment of £27.5 million through the Glasgow City Region City Deal.
Project director Dr Carol Clugston said: “The Living Laboratory and Health Innovation Hub project will enable a step-change for companies operating in this sector, by proactively addressing one of the most significant challenges for precision medicine – translating innovation into standard clinical practice.
“The City Deal originally enabled the University of Glasgow to establish the Clinical Innovation Zone several years ago, which provided space to attract our industry partners – without whom today’s £38 million Strength in Places award wouldn’t have been possible.”
The £27.5 million City Deal funding is sourced through Glasgow City Council’s Clyde Waterfront and West End Innovation Quarter (CWWEIQ) project. In May last year, £1 million was assigned for design, site investigations and technical studies, with a further £7 million earmarked to address access constraints and for remediation of the vacant site. The balance will meet the costs of supporting infrastructure in the wider area. Investments in projects such as the Govan – Partick Bridge will improve connectivity and ensure that the development of the Living Lab supports the regeneration of Central Govan.
The Glasgow Riverside Innovation District (GRID) project aims to regenerate the waterfront as an attractive urban quarter that will bring significant private sector investment to Glasgow; unlock the economic potential of vacant and derelict sites close to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital; create an estimated 4,000 new jobs and 184,000 square metres of new commercial floor space.
