The Vaccinology and Cell Therapy Hub (pictured) will be built as part of a £45 million redevelopment of the College's Potters Bar campus.

Centre will facilitate 'world-class' research, clinical work and training

The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has received a £2.13 million Getting Building Fund grant towards building a new Cardiovascular Imaging Centre of Excellence (C-ICE) in Hertfordshire.

The new centre – funded by the Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) – will contain modern research and development facilities to help advance treatments for both humans and animals, as well as improving training for academics, students and veterinary sector enterprises.

According to the College, C-ICE will also contain a state-of-the-art 3 Tesla MRI scanner capable of producing high-resolution images of pathological conditions for diagnostic and treatment evaluation.

The scanner will be fully integrated with the RVC’s Queen Mother Hospital for Animals and will be used initially to research novel treatments in experimental animal models of human disease and then in veterinary patients – in particular, neurological and cardiac conditions.

The RVC aims to bolster Hertfordshire's strong biopharma sector through a £45 million redevelopment of it's Potters Bar campus. This will create improved teaching facilities and a new Veterinary Vaccinology and Cell Therapy Hub.

As part of this new science hub, C-ICE will also include a cardiac catheterisation lab, which the College states will facilitate the delivery of cell and gene therapies – also known as ‘living medicines’ - into the cardiac circulation through coronary artery catheterisation.

Jonathan Elliott, vice-principal for research and innovation at the RVC, said:“I am delighted that the RVC has been awarded this grant. The establishment of this centre will not only pave the way for innovation in the field of regenerative medicine, precisely tailored to the individual patient, it will also contribute to the growth of our local economy.

“At the RVC we recognise the importance of a collaborative ‘One Health’ approach to cutting edge science which benefits both veterinary and human medicine.

“This centre will facilitate research which could transform the treatment of some of the most important debilitating chronic diseases affecting today’s ageing society.”

Image (c) Royal Veterinary College.