New high tech laboratories using artificial intelligence and robotics being built in Liverpool will help to combat future pandemics by accelerating research and new treatments. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool is to be the location of a new laboratories that will utilise artificial intelligence and robotics to research viruses such as COVID-19 and accelerate new treatments.
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and the Infection Innovation Consortium (iiCON) have secured a £500,000 grant that will support the development of the new Containment Level 3 laboratories at LSTM.
The grant from the independent charitable organisation, The Wolfson Foundation, will support the expansion of high-specification robotic laboratories at LSTM capable of securely handling high-risk and deadly infectious diseases, including COVID-19.
iiCON, which is led by LSTM, brings together industry, academia, and the NHS in a £174m collaborative infectious disease R&D programme to accelerate the discovery, development and deployment of new antimicrobial treatments and products.
Its partners are Unilever, Evotec, Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust, The University of Liverpool, and Infex Therapeutics.
The new facilities will be Robotic Category 3 Chemistry Laboratories, utilising next generation AI technology and robotics. These will securely progress the research and development of new products, treatments, and diagnostics for infectious diseases that pose a global threat to human health.
READ MORE: Liverpool to be home to global infection innovation hub
Through iiCON, industry will be able to work alongside LSTM’s world-leading academic researchers on new treatments and products using the new laboratories, which are expected to be operational by early 2023.
Professor David Lalloo, Director of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine: “The Wolfson Foundation have been long term supporters of the work of LSTM and we are delighted to have this link continue in a format that will benefit multiple areas of our activity.
“As we move towards LSTM’s 125th anniversary in 2023, we plan to expand our activities and facilities to enable us to continue creating opportunities and generating knowledge that will bridge the gap in health and scientific capacity around the world.”
Professor Janet Hemingway, founding director of iiCON, added: “We’re delighted to have secured this key funding, which will support the development of vital facilities utilising next-generation technology to safely and securely process dangerous pathogens, including COVID-19.
“Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine has the highest concentration of Containment Level 3 laboratories in the North West of England. These facilities have played a critical role in the battle against COVID and other pathogens – enabling industry and researchers to work safely and securely with dangerous pathogens.”