THREE medical research centres run by Oxford University will get a share of £118m of newly-granted funding over the next five years.

International charity the Wellcome Trust this week announced the 14 institutions across the UK and South Africa to receive a share of the pot.

Among them are the university's Wellcome Centres for Human Genetics, for Integrative Neuroimaging and for Ethics, Innovation, Globalisation and Medicine.

The Centre for Human Genetics has been based in the university's Old Road campus for 22 years while the other two are newly-established in the city.

New funding for the former will allow scientists to uncover disease biology and improve healthcare by creating better diagnostic tests and interventions.

Professor Matthew Wood, the university's associate head of research at the medical sciences division, said: "One of the great strengths of research at Oxford is the number of world-class researchers working in close proximity, creating unrivalled opportunities for collaboration and knowledge-sharing.

"This investment demonstrates the importance of the research being carried out here, which is constantly expanding our knowledge of science and health."

Wellcome’s Director Dr Jeremy Farrar said: "At Wellcome we believe in long term support for discovery-driven science, and Wellcome Centres are an outstanding environment for researchers to further our understanding of biology, accelerate translation to clinical practice, and explore the social and cultural context of medicine."