Work starts on new St Andrews Medical School
Friday 30 May 2008
Work has begun on a new £45m School of Medicine and the Sciences at the University of St Andrews which will lead collaborative research in areas such as cancer, health psychology and infectious disease.
The St Andrews development will be one of the first UK Medical Schools whose research facilities are fully integrated with the other sciences and key university disciplines including physics, chemistry, biology and psychology, offering an important new dimension to medical research and the training of new doctors.
The new School at the heart of the University's science campus on the North Haugh is being made possible in part by a donation of £8 million from The Sekhar Foundation, the charitable arm of the Malaysian based Petra Group.
The School will be named after the late Dr B.C. Sekhar, an iconic figure in Malaysia's history and the father of the country's rubber and palm oil industries.
Dr Sekhar's son Datuk Vinod Sekhar, the chief executive of the Petra Group, joined St Andrews Principal Dr Brian Lang to cut the first sod on the site of the new development. It is hoped the building will be complete by January 2010 and will admit its first students in September of that year.
The £8 million from the Sekhar Group is one of the largest single donations ever given to a Scottish university.
Medical students studying at the new St Andrews complex will graduate with a BSc Honours in Medicine before going on to complete their clinical training in Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Manchester.
The University also expects to expand its leading edge medical research capacity fourfold over five years, focusing on key areas of collaboration which capitalise on the internationally recognised research excellence of its Science faculty.
These include:
Physicists and doctors working together using laser technology to develop new ways of identifying and attacking cancer cells through non-invasive techniques.
Doctors collaborating with biologists to develop viral remedies to cancers and potential population pandemics such as avian flu.
Psychologists and doctors researching the psycho-social aspects of illness and medical consultation.
Dr Brian Lang, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of St Andrews said, "This is a very significant development for St Andrews and for life sciences research in Scotland.
"We are determined that this should be a fully integrated centre for medicine and the sciences which fosters true interdisciplinary collaboration.
"It is now clear that the most significant future advances in medical research will come in areas where there is the opportunity for unfettered collaboration between medicine and the sciences.
"The St Andrews project offers Scotland a unique opportunity to develop a new collaborative model for medical research and education and to set an international benchmark.
"We are very grateful to the Sekhar Foundation for its investment in this vision and proud that the new home for our medical and science facility will bear the name of B.C. Sekhar."
Datuk Vinod Sekhar said, "I am thrilled that this spectacular building will bear my fathers name. I am proud that I can play a part in this project and be associated with the most forward thinking and innovative university in Scotland. I am sure it will be the starting point for a long term friendship between St Andrews, the Sekhar Foundation and Malaysia."
ENDS
Issued by the Press Office, University of St Andrews
Contact Niall Scott on 01334 462244 / 462529, mobile 07711 223 062, or email ns30@st-andrews.ac.uk
Ref: New Medical School 300508
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