Plans for new “state-of-the-art” biomedical research building on Gibbet Hill campus

The University of Warwick has released plans to invest £54.3 million in a new Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building (IBRB) on the Gibbet Hill campus by 2020.

The University has said that the new building will bring together “up to 300 biomedical research from across the School of Life Sciences (SLS) and Warwick Medical School (WMS) to fight human diseases”.

The work in the IBRB will specifically focus on understanding the origins of diseases of the body and brain, as well as aim to find new ways of extending healthy life spans. The University hopes that this development will facilitate research in neuroscience, cell biology, microbiology and infection, and disease models.

In addition, the plans will provide 300 biomedical researchers from the two Schools located at Gibbet Hill with a new 400-seat lecture theatre, as well as new social and collaboration spaces that will “enrich the undergraduate and postgraduate student experience”.

Professor Lorenzo Frigerio, Head of the School of Life Sciences, has deemed the investment “a tremendous opportunity for SLS and WMS to deliver world-class biomedical research in an environment that will act as a catalyst for novel research and collaboration”.

Professor Sudhesh Kumar, Dean of the Warwick Medical School added: “We are very excited about the development of the new IBRB building on the Gibbet Hill site. It forms an integral element of the Medical School’s ambitions over the coming years.

“The inclusion of a brand new lecture theatre will enhance student experience and enable growth of new undergraduate programmes. The excellent research facilities within the building will foster interdisciplinary collaboration and enable biomedical research at the highest level.”

Coming in 2020, IBRB will be home to research groups focusing on neurophysiology, bacterial infections, embryo development, synthetic cell biology and more. These research groups will be lead by Doctors and Professors from the University of Warwick.