Aston Academy of Life Sciences

July 1 2002

Aston University will open its new £8 million Aston Academy of Life Sciences (AALS) in 2005.

It will be a unique facility for biomedical research, which will build on Aston's grade 5 rated Neurosciences Research Institute (NRI). The project is funded by HEFCE's Science Research Investment Fund (SRIF), Advantage West Midlands, The Wellcome Trust and Aston University.

Through Aston's Business Partnership Unit, the AALS will provide a platform for the development of patents, license opportunities and new spin-out companies, resulting in income generating opportunities and enhanced employment potential within the West Midlands.

Key activities within the Academy will include:

1. Cornea and Refractive Surgery
   Aston University will have the first optometry school in the UK to carry out refractive surgery onsite. With the ongoing collaboration of many of the UK's leading ophthalmologists, the Academy will be a unique centre of excellence in the UK's academic and medical communities. The theatre suites are designed such that the range of surgeries offered can be extended to any day case procedure and will broaden over time to include further procedures in ophthalmology and other specialist areas, making this research facility a European first.
2. Brain Imaging
   A recent award from the HEFCE and The Wellcome Trust enabled Aston University, through its world class team of neuroscientists, to establish itself as a unique centre for brain imaging. The NRI contains the first whole-head Magnetoencephalographic (MEG) system in the UK, and the addition of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) will maintain Aston's unique status in functional brain imaging, with direct benefits for patient care and for research. The diagnostic capability of the combined MEG and fMRI facility will increase the effectiveness and reduce the risks currently associated with brain surgery.
3. Paediatric Cochlear Implantation and Rehabilitation
   The Birmingham Paediatric Cochlear Implant Programme is recognised as one of the largest in the country. Provided by the Birmingham Children's Hospital NHS Trust, the Implant team's incorporation into the Academy will facilitate the NRI's expanding research programmes on hearing dysfunction, and speech and language disorders.
4. Dyslexia and Epilepsy
   Aston has a long and impressive track record in the provision of clinical services for epilepsy and dyslexia and these services will be greatly expanded in the new Academy. Clinical research partnerships with the Birmingham Children's Hospital NHS Trust and the paediatric cochlear implant team present new opportunities for research into hearing, speech, language, attentional and hyperactivity disorders and autism.
5. Human Myopia
   Research into human myopia (shortsight) has achieved international recognition in understanding links between myopia and near work, measurement of eye dimensions and aspects of high myopia in children. The increasing prevalence of myopia in adolescents is now recognised as a world-wide problem and the Academy will provide an important European focus for myopia research. New work will concern various treatments for myopia involving new synthetic biomaterials and pharmaceutical agents. The Academy will have a multidisciplinary team including surgeons, medical staff, optometrists, psychologists, pharmacists, physicists, engineers and nursing staff. It will be at the heart of the Midlands Medical Technologies Cluster with complementary links to other local Universities and will provide leading edge services to businesses in the region.

Pat Laughlin, Director of Advantage West Midlands, said: "The Agency is working with Aston University to promote and develop the Academy as an international centre of excellence for the region. The Academy will be an important hub for the medical technology cluster in the region. This builds upon Advantage West Midlands commitment to developing and promoting the medical cluster as part of our drive to grow knowledge-based industry with the resulting enhanced employment potential, new business opportunities and superior levels of care for regional, national and international patients."

Professor Mike Wright, Vice-Chancellor of Aston University, commented: "The new Academy represents a major step forward for research in neuroscience, vision and audiology, not only for Aston University but for the West Midlands region and the UK. In addition to being a national centre of excellence, the Academy will provide the focus for improved treatment and care for all those patients who currently suffer, or who may suffer, from life-limiting effects of neurological, visual and auditory diseases."

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