- The Rosalind Franklin Institute and Henry Royce institute are set to receive over £162 million to drive forward vital medical and materials research.
- Package includes funding for one-of-a-kind microscope which will throw new light on conditions like Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Crohn’s Disease
- Funding to strengthen UK’s status as a world leader in life sciences and materials industry by developing game-changing new tech and getting it to market quickly
Thousands of patients and innovative businesses are set to receive a boost from over £162 million of funding for trailblazing science announced today (Monday 14 September) for two leading research institutes to create the medical technology and materials of the future.
The Rosalind Franklin Institute, a research centre dedicated to developing new technologies to address health challenges, will receive a £67.7 million investment to build on its pioneering work in next-generation imaging, engineering, biology and diagnostics. This tech will help us address some of the most pressing health challenges facing our society, from Alzheimer’s to bowel disease by helping researchers to understand more about how these illnesses work and how they can be diagnosed and treated.
The Henry Royce Institute will receive £95 million to continue its world-leading work to keep the UK at the forefront of advanced materials research and turn scientific discoveries into commercial products. The Royce’s work helps to create solutions to some of the key issues facing our society, including developing lighter, more efficient battery technology or using AI to design a new alloy that could replace scarce rare-earth materials used in electrical equipment. It works closely with businesses to commercialise new tech quickly and fuel growth in the UK.
To mark the announcement, Science Minister Chris McDonald unveiled a new one-of-a-kind microscope at the Rosalind Franklin Institute, which will play an important part in the Franklin’s cutting-edge medical research over the coming years.
The Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) microscope will allow researchers to see inside living gut cells in far greater detail than ever before and in real time, offering new understanding of inflammatory bowel disease. These insights could pave the way for new treatments for the half a million people living with the condition in the UK.
Whereas a normal microscope shows the outer shapes of a cell, the STED microscope lets researchers see the fine structures and layers inside it. The research team will use it to see how cells in the gut and other surfaces in the body behave when healthy versus when affected by illnesses like Crohn’s disease, gastric cancer and IBD.
Science Minister Chris McDonald said:
“We have world leading science research in the UK that pushes the boundaries of knowledge. It is the foundation of our mission to reindustrialise the country, creating good, well paid jobs by developing new technologies and growing British companies.
“The Rosalind Franklin Institute and the Henry Royce Institute are world leading in their fields. Combining biological knowledge, advanced physics and materials development to understand how the cells in our bodies function, and can be repaired and treated with precision medicines.
“The research gives our country a competitive edge, so long as we commercialise it in industry. Developing new medical technologies and treatments and bringing them to market is good for jobs and good for health, making a real impact on people’s lives.”
Executive Director for the Strategy Directorate at the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (UKRI), Dr Kedar Pandya, said:
“The Rosalind Franklin Institute and Henry Royce Institute have a proven track record of turning public investment into research that advances knowledge, improves lives and drives growth.
“This continued funding from UKRI builds on that success. It will give researchers the tools and resources to answer some of the biggest questions in the health and advanced materials industries, keeping the UK at the forefront of global science and engineering.”
These two institutes are turning brilliant science into real-world impact, and contributing to the UK’s leadership in two vital sectors – life sciences and the advanced materials industry, both of which are among the eight high growth sectors targeted for support in the government’s Industrial Strategy.
Their world-leading facilities, anchored at Harwell in Didcot for the Franklin and Manchester for the Royce, will provide new equipment and infrastructure for scientists, industry partners and as well as working closely with businesses across the country.
Already, Royce’s battery development facility has supported Molyon, a University of Cambridge spin-out, in creating a new generation of lithium-sulphur batteries that are lighter, more sustainable and can store twice as much energy as current models. The breakthrough has helped Molyon raise $4.6 million in seed funding to bring the technology to market.
This is just one example of how these institutes support connections between cutting edge research and British businesses, helping to make sure that the UK’s scientific excellence translates into jobs, new investment and economic growth in every part of the country, as set out in the government’s 10-year Industrial Strategy. This funding is delivered through UK Research and Innovation, with the intention to deliver the greatest possible impact.
Professor David Knowles, CEO, Henry Royce Institute, said:
“This renewed UKRI investment marks an exciting new chapter for Royce. I’m incredibly proud of how we’ve grown into a truly national capability for advanced materials research and innovation, connecting the UK’s world-class facilities and expertise with the needs of industry and wider society and raised the profile of Materials putting at the heart of the UK Industrial Strategy.
“Our next phase gives us the opportunity to build on this, with an even greater focus on translating materials innovation into real-world impact through our developing ‘lab to business’ platform. We’ll be focused on accelerating promising new technologies, supporting their journey towards commercialisation and continuing to work with Government to deliver the ambitions of the UK’s National Materials Innovation Strategy.
“We’re also delighted to enter this next chpter alongside our sister, The Rosalind Franklin Institute. Together, our institutes demonstrate the extraordinary value of sustained national investment in research infrastructure and expertise, focussed on turning world-leading research into lasting economic and societal benefit.”
Professor Paul Monks, Chair, Henry Royce Institute said:
“The achievements of the Henry Royce Institute demonstrate what can be accomplished when the UK brings together outstanding people, facilities and institutions around a shared national purpose, but ultimately the measure of our success is in the outcomes that this enables.
“This renewed investment is both a recognition of what the Royce Partnership has achieved and a huge vote of confidence in its future. Advanced materials underpin almost every technology that will shape a more sustainable and prosperous economy, and our next phase will be increasingly focused on translating our national capability into tangible outcomes for the economy, society and the environment.
“By deepening our national and international impact and forging stronger connections between research and industry, we want to ensure that great materials science leads to real-world innovation, while keeping the UK at the forefront of advanced materials.”
Annalisa Gigante, Deputy Chair, Henry Royce Institute said:
“Royce has built an exceptional national capability in advanced materials, and the opportunity in the next phase is to ensure that even more of the innovation emerging from that capability makes the journey from the laboratory into industry, new products and growing UK businesses.
“As Deputy Chair, I’ve been closely involved in shaping our ‘lab to business’ ambitions and in strengthening the technology translation and commercialisation expertise around our Board. The UK has extraordinary strengths in materials research and innovation. By bringing together world-class science, facilities, industry expertise and a stronger focus on translation, Royce can help turn more of that strength into technologies that scale, businesses that grow and economic and societal value for the UK.”
Professor Philip Withers, Inaugural Chief Scientist, Henry Royce Institute said:
“More than a decade ago Royce began with an ambition to give the UK a national institute capable of bringing together our extraordinary strengths in materials science and turning them into real-world impact. In 2015 I had just a sketch of what the Royce Hub could look like…
“To see that idea become a national partnership, with world-class facilities and a community spanning universities and industry across the UK has been immensely rewarding and is a testament to continued UKRI support. This next five years of investment is an opportunity to go further still, ensuring that the UK has the materials capabilities and partnerships it needs to turn scientific discovery into technologies that make a difference to our economy, our society and our planet.”
Chris McDonald MP, Minister of State for Science, Innovation and Investment, visits the Rosalind Franklin Institute, Harwell Science Campus, Oxfordshire, to mark the announcement of new UK Government funding for trailblazing science.
Left to right: Laura Holland, Director of Strategic Marketing, the Franklin; Prof Sir Ian Chapman,Chief Executive, UKRI; Prof Paul Matthews, Institute Director, the Franklin; Chris McDonald MP, Science Minister; Prof David Knowles, CEO, Royce; Mark Driver, Chief Operating Officer, the Franklin; Dr Kedar Pandya, Executive Director, EPSRC; Dr Roger Ecclestone, Executive Director, STFC
Photograph by: Sean Dillow
