New name for UofG’s world-changing parasitology research centre

The College of MVLS's Wellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology has had a name change to better reflect its current world-changing research expertise. The newly-named title of Wellcome Centre for Integrative Parasitology (WCIP), part of the Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, was chosen to more broadly encompass the centre's current research agenda, wide-ranging expertise and aspiring global health programmes. First established in 1987 as the Wellcome Unit of Molecular Parasitology, the unit was the first UK-based collective funded by Wellcome, building on the long history of parasitology in Glasgow, with some of the most significant discoveries made by scientists trained by, or based at, the University of Glasgow. The Unit transitioned to a Centre in 1999 and has enjoyed considerable growth and evolution of activities and goals, the success of which has been the result of excellent basic biological research on the (largely protozoan) parasites that cause diseases such as malaria and sleeping sickness in tropical regions. The Centre now plays a leadership role in driving a Scottish (and wider) agenda in Global Health Research and hopes to expand its current research portfolio alongside new global partnerships and collaborations. The number of research groups at the Centre has increased from 9 to 15 alongside the development of new programmes; the creation of a national metabolomics facility; enhancement of the Centre's imaging capabilities; and expansion in drug discovery work.