Fifth MRC Centre at King's
05 March 2007
King's College London has been awarded a new MRC Centre for Transplantation to address some of the ongoing problems associated with transplantation. The Centre will be directed by Professor Steven Sacks and brings the total to five prestigious Medical Research Council (MRC) Centres at King's.
The Centre will bring together experts in basic biology and transplant medicine to focus research on delivering more rapid and effective methods of diagnosis and treatment. The programme of research will apply an extensive knowledge of human immunology, stem cell biology, genomics and imaging to develop new areas that will benefit human health. The Centre will also play a pivotal role in training and education and will work closely with the Centre for Medical Law and Ethics at King's on the regulation and ethics of transplantation research.
Replacement of diseased organs and cells by healthy tissue has partly been realised through progress in transplantation over the last 50 years. But several outstanding issues are hindering medical progress in this area. These include a shortage of donor organs, high rates of mid-term graft loss and cumulative drug toxicity.
‘For transplantation therapy to achieve greater success, advance is needed in several directions', said the Centre's Director, Professor Sacks. ‘We need to find alternative sources of donor tissues and cells that lend themselves to therapy for a larger number of conditions, such as kidney and liver failure, arthritis, diabetes and tooth decay. Also, we need to find a way of ensuring that the replacement tissue is accepted without requiring lifelong drugs to block the immune system.'
Other key investigators collaborating in the new Centre include Professors Robert Lechler, Adrian Hayday, Reza Razavi, Ellen Solomon, Paul Sharpe, Frank Nestle, Genevra Richardson, Dr Cosimo De Bari and Dr Tony Dorling of Imperial College London. The translational nature of the Centre's research will further enhance the close clinical alliance with King's partner NHS Trusts – King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. These Trusts run one of the largest clinical transplant programmes in Europe and the largest living kidney and liver practice in the UK.
‘By bringing together at a single Centre a wide range of expertise in basic and clinical research, we hope to facilitate more rapid and effective solutions to some of the problems associated with transplantation'. Professor Sacks added. ‘The Centre is the first of its kind in the UK and possibly Europe, and emphasises the continued vision of the MRC for the advancement of medical science into clinical practice'.
Professor Rick Trainor, Principal of King's College London, commented, ‘Transplantation is an important area of biomedical research at King's and we have a number of world-class research programmes in this field. I would like to congratulate Steven and his colleagues on their tremendous achievement in securing a new Medical Research Council Centre. We are delighted to be collaborating with the MRC on this initiative. It enhances our ongoing partnership with them and means that King's now has five prestigious MRC Centres, more than at any other institution, all focussed on groundbreaking research aimed at improving human health.'
Professor Colin Blakemore, Chief Executive of the MRC, added, ‘With more than 6,000 patients waiting for organs in the UK and with the supply of organs dwindling, it is crucial that we strive to overcome the hurdles we face. The MRC Centre for Transplantation at King's will use a number of different interventions in both the recipient and the donated tissue to enhance the quality of transplants and make more organs suitable for donation. The MRC is keen to support research that aims to bring together experts in different disciplines and encourages scientists in hospitals and laboratories to work together to improve healthcare as quickly as possible.'
The other MRC centres at King's are the Centre for Social Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry (led by Professor Peter McGuffin), the Centre for Developmental Neurobiology (led by Professor Andrew Lumsden, FRS), the MRC-Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma (Professor Tak Lee and Professor Tim Williams of Imperial College London) and the Centre for Neurodegeneration Research (Professor Brian Anderton).
Notes to editors
Professor Terry Strom from Harvard University, USA will also collaborate in the Centre's research programme.
King's College London
King's College London is the fourth oldest university in England with more than 13,700 undergraduates and nearly 5,600 graduate students in nine schools of study based at five London campuses. It is a member of the Russell Group: a coalition of the UK's major research-based universities. The College has had 24 of its subject-areas awarded the highest rating of 5* and 5 for research quality, demonstrating excellence at an international level, and it has recently received an excellent result in its audit by the Quality Assurance Agency.
King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, international relations, medicine, nursing and the sciences, and has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe and is home to five Medical Research Council Centres – more than any other university.
King's is in the top group of UK universities for research earnings, with income from grants and contracts of more than £100 million, and has an annual turnover of more than £363 million.
Medical Research Council
The Medical Research Council is dedicated to improving human health through excellent science. It invests on behalf of the UK taxpayer. Its work ranges from molecular level science to public health research, carried out in universities, hospitals and a network of its own units and institutes. The MRC liaises with the Health Departments, the National Health Service and industry to take account of the public's needs. The results have led to some of the most significant discoveries in medical science and benefited the health and wealth of millions of people in the UK and around the world.
Further information
Public Relations Department
Email:
pr@kcl.ac.uk
Tel: 020 7848 3202