Biomedical Science centre set for Leeds Beckett launch

The Centre for Biomedical Science Research will be launched at a half-day event on Wednesday 18 May and will bring together biomedical researchers across Leeds Beckett in a broad range of disciplines including molecular biology, yeast genetics, biochemistry and biophysics, virology; microbiology and antimicrobials, toxicology and DNA repair.

Researchers in the centre are currently working on a range of studies focusing on a variety of aspects contributing to human diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, infectious diseases caused by bacteria, fungi and viruses, gene expression studies in cancer, pain research and pain management as well as research investigating how substances cross cell membranes.

Director of the Centre for Biomedical Science Research, Professor Gary Jones, explained: “The launch of this new centre provides a solid platform for the development of biomedical research at Leeds Beckett and for the enhancement of research-focused teaching activities. Importantly, with our growing research profile, the Centre for Biomedical Science Research also presents an excellent opportunity for future development of cross-faculty research collaborations between biomedical scientists and public health researchers in areas such as nutrition and dietetics, neuroscience, and dementia.”

In recent years Leeds Beckett biomedical researchers have published research articles in leading internationally-respected scientific journals and have a wide network of well-established international research collaborations with research laboratories located in China, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Scandinavia, Africa and the USA.

As part of the launch event, Professor Sue Hill OBE, Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) for England, will deliver a keynote address, following a series of presentations by Leeds Beckett researchers about their ongoing research.

Professor Gary Jones graduated from the University of Liverpool with a first class BSc (Honours) degree in Genetics followed by a PhD in molecular biology. He then embarked on a research career beginning with his post-doctoral training at University of Wales Swansea, University College London and the National Institutes of Health in Maryland USA, studying how cells respond to various stresses.

Prior to joining Leeds Beckett on 1 February 2016 he was appointed as a Lecturer and Principal Investigator at Maynooth University, Ireland, in 2004 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2011.  As an independent investigator, he has attracted significant competitive research funding, published extensively in leading international peer-reviewed journals, established an extensive international collaboration network and has been an expert evaluator for the European Commission since 2010.