UCL Wolfson Institute
Encyclopedia
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
located in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The Institute is situated in the Cruciform Building, formerly the main building of University College Hospital
University College Hospital
University College Hospital is a teaching hospital located in London, United Kingdom. It is part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is closely associated with University College London ....
, in the Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury
-Places:* Bloomsbury is an area in central London.* Bloomsbury , related local government unit* Bloomsbury, New Jersey, New Jersey, USA* Bloomsbury , listed on the NRHP in Maryland...
district of Central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
.
Originally named the Cruciform Project, its aim is to facilitate the interface between fundamental biological research and its application both to the discovery of new medicines and to clinical practice. The Institute now comprises more than 200 scientists, many of whom are of international standing.
History
WIBR was established in 1995 as an Institute within UCL based in the Cruciform building, which underwent a £50 million renovation in order to create a modern infrastructure. Substantial grants to carry out the work were obtained from a number of funding bodies, notably The Wellcome Trust, the Higher Education Funding Council for England and The Wolfson Foundation and Charitable Family Trust.The Institute director has been Prof. Salvador Moncada
Salvador Moncada
Sir Salvador Enrique Moncada, FRS, FRCP, FRCS is a Honduran-British physician and pharmacologist. He is the husband of Princess Marie-Esméralda of Belgium, who is a member of the Belgian Royal Family.-Background:...
since 1995.
Research
Research areas of the Institute include:- Biological and medicinal chemistry
- Cardiovascular research
- Developmental neuroscience
- DNA replication and human disease
- Intensive care medicine
- Molecular mechanisms of cancer
- Nitric oxide: physiology and pathophysiology
- Neuroscience: neural computation, neural signalling, neural plasticity, neurodegeneration and neurochemistry
- Oncogenic receptor signalling
- Stem cell biology
In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise
Research Assessment Exercise
The Research Assessment Exercise is an exercise undertaken approximately every 5 years on behalf of the four UK higher education funding councils to evaluate the quality of research undertaken by British higher education institutions...
the 75% of the Institute's research was rated 4* (world leading) or 3* (internationally excellent).