Shedding new LIGHT on disease

New drugs for the 270,000 people who suffer heart attacks every year in the UK will be among the projects in Leeds' new research institute. The Leeds Institute of Genetics Health and Therapeutics (LIGHT) was opened by head of the Medical Research Council chief executive Professor Colin Blakemore yesterday.

The £7.9m new building containing state of the art laboratories is home to 100 scientists and doctors from biological sciences, epidemiology, cardiovascular research and biostatistics. They are working on understanding how our environment makes us susceptible to heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer's to developing treatments based on understanding these conditions on a protein and genetic level.

The University of Leeds has some of the world's most 'intense' research into treating heart attack patients with drugs to break down the fibrin - which gives structure to the blockages that cause heart attacks. The project led by Institute director Professor Peter Grant is working on new treatments to reduce the build-up of fibrin and reducing the burden of heart attacks.

Professor Peter Grant said: "LIGHT provides a wonderful interdisciplinary environment for the training of tomorrow's scientists and clinician scientists. This is particularly important in relation to the development of clinician scientists at a time when recruitment to clinical academic careers is dwindling. "

LIGHT was funded by the Science Research Infrastructure Fund (SRIF). The Medical Research Council is funding a number of projects within the Institute.