University opens lab to train future scientists

The University of Essex has opened a new laboratory with a dedicated cancer diagnostics unit to train future healthcare workers and scientists.

The Bioscience Skills Training and Research Laboratory, based in the university's School of Life Sciences at its Colchester campus, was funded by the Office for Students.

Students will get hands-on experience with industry equipment at the £2.5m facility.

Prof Terry McGenity, head of the School of Life Sciences, said: "This new facility will place us at the forefront of training students to be skilled and versatile critical thinkers, who will be ready to work in the NHS and life-sciences sectors."

The facility also houses specialist microbiology and molecular biology laboratories for the study of infectious diseases, tissue analysis and molecular testing.

McGenity added: "Hands-on, lab-based research projects provide a transformative experience for our final-year undergraduates and masters students."

The university said the laboratory would support a growing demand for skilled life scientists, a sector that already employs more than 300,000 people in the UK.

Prof Silke Paulmann, executive dean of the Faculty of Science and Health, said the lab "will help strengthen the talent pipeline that underpins innovation, economic growth and better health outcomes for communities across the UK."

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