University of Ulster at Coleraine, UK

The University of Ulster recently opened a Centre for Molecular Biosciences on its Coleraine campus. This £14.5 million venture houses core research facilities for a multidisciplinary group of staff from within the school of Biomedical Sciences.

Prof. Vyvyan Howard is a medically qualified toxico-pathologist, who headed the Developmental Toxico-Pathology Research Group at the University of Liverpool until his recent appointment as Professor of Bioimaging at the University of Ulster at Coleraine. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists and he has held the Presidency of the Royal Microscopical Society from 1996-8. In 2003, he was appointed a member of the UK Government’s Advisory Committee on Pesticides. Currently he is the Editor in Chief of a new peer reviewed journal Nanotoxicology, and part of his research team is making investigations into the fate and toxicology of nanoparticles.Vyvyan Howard has sat on two EU expert groups considering the threats and benefits posed by nanotechnology.

Dr. George McKerr is director of an advanced imaging centre at UU, and has recently received £1.84 million to set it up. This is a significant collaboration with a global instrument manufacturer and carries forward a number of strong ideas which will diversify the applicability of electron optics to nanobiology. Dr. McKerr also works in the areas of advanced cellular imaging, developmental neurobiology and parasitology.