News archive 2004

Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases opened

09 Nov 2004, PR 71/04

The numbers of people suffering from stroke and dementia continue to rise as the population of the UK ages, but at present our ability to repair a damaged brain is limited. Now a new centre at King’s College London brings leading clinical researchers and basic scientists under one roof, with the aim of developing treatments for age-related diseases.

The Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, opened by HRH The Princess Royal on 9 November 2004, houses world experts in brain development, stem cells, neurodegenerative diseases, and brain repair. Working together and sharing their expertise will help the researchers to answer more complex questions about dementia, Parkinson’s and stroke, and enable research findings to be more rapidly translated into therapies.

Professor Patrick Doherty, Head and co-Director of the Wolfson Centre is excited about what the new centre could achieve. ‘We have assembled a team of outstanding scientists who on their own might have had some impact on this problem; but by working together we aim to make a substantial difference,’ he said.

Professor Clive Ballard, co-Director of the Centre explained why this centre is so important: ‘Neurodegenerative diseases are a major problem in this aging society. In the UK alone, over 700,000 people are suffering from dementia. Many of the current treatments only control the symptoms of these diseases, but by understanding more about the brain we might be able to develop therapies that prevent further degeneration, or even begin repair the damage.’

The Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases places King’s College London at the forefront of research into age-related diseases. Funded by a generous £6 million donation from the Wolfson Foundation, the state-of-the-art building provides laboratory and office space for 25 research groups around an atrium entrance hall.

Notes to editors

Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases
The Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, part of the School of Biomedical Sciences, was established on the back of a £6 million grant from the Wolfson Foundation. The Centre was opened on 9 November 2004 by HRH The Princess Royal, Chancellor of the University of London. Situated on the Guy’s campus of King’s College London, the building was designed by Watkins Gray International LLP. For more information about the research taking place in the Centre visit the Wolfson Centre website.

School of Biomedical Sciences
The School of Biomedical Sciences at King’s is one of the largest in Europe, and benefits from its interactions with the world-renowned hospitals of Guy’s, King’s College and St Thomas’. The School has also benefited from a major capital building programme worth over £100 million in the last five years, and has access to excellent modern facilities for research, teaching and library services.

King’s College London
King’s is one of the oldest and largest colleges of the University of London with 13,800 undergraduate students and some 5,300 postgraduates in ten schools of study. The College had 24 of its subject-areas awarded the highest rating of 5* and 5 for research quality, demonstrating excellence at an international level. King’s is in the top group of five universities for research earnings with income from grants and contracts of more than £93 million (2002-2003) and has an annual turnover of £320 million. King’s is a member of the Russell Group, a coalition of the UK’s major research-based universities.

Further information
Public Relations Department
Email: pr@kcl.ac.uk
Tel: 020 7848 3202

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