Rosalind Franklin Institute opens building at Harwell campus

The Rosalind Franklin Institute’s new base at the Harwell campus comes after founding three years with £103 million funding from the Government.

The building was opened by Dame Lynn Gladden, executive chair of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), which funds the Franklin, and other industry experts including Nobel Prize winner Richard Henderson.

The Franklin was in the news recently when it was part of a research team which found llamas could hold the key to curing Covid-19 due to their effective immune systems.

The surprising discovery opens the door to treating coronavirus with a cheap and effective inhaler or nasal spray.

The Rosalind Franklin Institute has opened at the Harwell campus. Picture: Sean Dillow

Now, the Franklin has a £43 million home within the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory at the Harwell campus.

James Naismith, director of the institute, said: “This is a proud day for the Franklin.

“The work we do here will provide major factor of 10 leaps in our ability to see and understand life.

“These technologies will be a huge asset for the UK, and this building is the perfect home for them.”

The Franklin was founded by ten UK universities in 2018, with £103 million funding from the UK Government.

The new building will see research on Covid therapeutics and diagnostics, and also work in readiness against future pandemics.

The Rosalind Franklin Institute has opened at the Harwell campus. Picture: Sean Dillow

Dame Lynn said: “By connecting physical sciences and engineering to the life sciences, we have the ability to develop new innovations to enhance our understanding of life.

“The opening of the Rosalind Franklin Institute will help us to tackle health research challenges and enable the UK to make leaps in life sciences innovation which would otherwise be inaccessible.”

The opening of the building also marks the start of the Franklin’s new PhD training centre.

Students will spend four years developing skills across biological imaging, working with universities and industry across the UK.

Training partner, the University of Edinburgh, will host the students in their first year, before moving on to 12-week pilot research projects either with Edinburgh or other partners.

The pilot projects will lead to fully developed three-year PhD projects.

Andy Mount, dean of research at the College of Science and Engineering at Edinburgh, said: “We at Edinburgh are delighted to be chosen as the partner for the Franklin training centre and look forward to contributing our expertise in the training of the next generation of research leaders required to develop the healthcare innovations of the future.”