Recipients of Royal Society Wolfson Laboratory Refurbishment scheme announced

The Wolfson Foundation has contributed a further £1.38m in a programme in partnership with The Royal Society designed to improve existing research facilities in UK universities to promote high quality scientific research.  

The Royal Society Wolfson Laboratory Refurbishment scheme provides up to £250,000 per award to enable UK universities to refurbish and modernise their laboratories. Funding for this round focussed again on "Infectious Disease" to support scientists researching infections of humans and animals. Focus of previous rounds have ranged from imaging, reduction in carbon emissions to technologies such as genomics or proteomics. 

The recipients of the scheme are: 

• Professor Jonathan Ball, University Of Nottingham
  
  
• Dr Rebecca Goss, University of St Andrews
  
  
• Professor John Kelly, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
  
  
• Professor Richard Maizels, University of Glasgow
  
  
• Professor Stephen Renshaw, University of Sheffield
  
  
• Dr Frederic Tripet, Keele University
  
  

The awards are generously supported by the Wolfson Foundation and is administered by the Royal Society, the world's oldest independent scientific academy, dedicated to promoting excellence in science.   

Since the launch of the programme in 1998, the Wolfson Foundation has committed more than £30 million to improve scientific work in a variety of areas within society, but over the past three years has focused on infectious diseases which affect both the developed, and to a greater extent, the developing world.

Paul Ramsbottom, Chief Executive of the Wolfson Foundation said, “Infectious diseases are a serious global issue and UK researchers are playing a key role in the fight against these. The Foundation is delighted to be working in partnership with the Royal Society to ensure that scientists in this field have, not only improved, but excellent facilities across the country to enable them to carry out this vital work.”

Dr Julie Maxton CBE Executive Director of the Royal Society said, “We are pleased to continue our partnership with The Wolfson Foundation. It is absolutely crucial that scientists have access to excellent equipment and infrastructure that facilitates their high quality scientific research. This generous donation of £1.3million will enable scientists at the forefront of the fight against infectious diseases to continue their important work.”