Centre to research Physics of Medicine opens
A centre which will research the unique interface of physics and medicine was formally opened today, Tuesday 16 December, by Professor Sir Aaron Klug.
The opening of the Centre for the Physics of Medicine heralds a new era in research by bringing together researchers working in the physical sciences, life sciences and clinical sciences.
Over the past decade, an increasing cross-over in goals, philosophy and techniques has been emerging between researchers in the Department of Physics and those in the many biomedical departments and research institutes across the University. The vision of the Physics of Medicine initiative is to draw physics into the medical and life sciences by creating an environment where researchers from these different fields work together.
Just a few examples of the unique research projects which will be undertaken at the new Centre include pioneering research into how we see (optical fibres have been found to exist in vertebrate eyes, channeling light down their length and delivering it without distortion straight to cells that see), membrane research opportunities (soft matter physics offers the right tools to develop this field further), computational molecular biology and tissue scaffolds.
Coinciding with the opening is the third Physics of Living Matter symposium. The symposium will explore how the techniques and general philosophy of the physical sciences can be applied to biology.
At the symposium, the Lawrence Bragg lecture will be given by Professor Xiaoliang Sunney Xie of Harvard University, who is considered the founding father of single molecule enzymology (the study of enzymes). Other confirmed speakers include Professor Denis Noble, a pioneer of systems biology, Professor Winfried Denk and Dr Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz.
To help establish the Centre at the forefront of the research, four new lecturers in experimental bio-medical physics, Drs Jochen Guck , Pietro Cicuta, Ullrich Keyser and Julian Huppert have been appointed.
The completion of the Centre (which is housed in a brand new £12m building) is the first step in the University's investment in Physics of Medicine on the West Cambridge Site. It includes state-of-the-art laboratory space and core facilities and houses researchers from different disciplines alongside a team from the Department of Physics.
Professor Athene Donald, currently Director of the Centre, said: “The opportunities offered by bringing cutting edge physics to important clinical problems are proving very exciting, and we find young researchers see this as an extremely attractive area to work in. Novel developments in techniques and approaches mean new questions can be asked about important biological and disease-related issues. Having a building in which diverse teams of researchers can come together and share ideas and methods offers a tremendous opportunity for advances to be made.”
Professor Peter Littlewood, the Head of the Department of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, said: “Much of modern medical bioscience is built around techniques and ideas from the physical sciences. The Braggs' 1912 Nobel prize for X-ray scattering started the long march to modern structural biology, and is one example of the Cavendish Laboratory's long history of involvement with biology. This new Centre will act as an incubator for the development of next generation tools and ideas, and will be a place where researchers with very different backgrounds and experience can interact.”
For additional information please contact:
Genevieve Maul, Office of Communications, University of Cambridge
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 332300, +44 (0) 1223 765542
Mob: +44 (0) 7774 017464
Email: Genevieve.maul@admin.cam.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
- The Physics of Medicine Initiative is a major new expansion of research activity in the University of Cambridge. It aims to create an environment where researchers can freely mix, discuss and share ideas at the interface of the physical sciences, life sciences and clinical sciences. http://www.pom.cam.ac.uk/initiative.html
- For more information regarding the different research projects currently underway at the Centre for the Physics of Medicine, please visit http://www.pom.cam.ac.uk/research/