Norwich Research Park Explained

Norwich Research Park
Established:1992
Research Field:Agricultural biotechnology
Food biotechnology
Industrial biotechnology
Medical technology
President:Roz Bird[1]
Address:NR4 7UG
City:Norwich
State:Norfolk
Country:England
Coordinates:52.6239°N 1.2239°W

Norwich Research Park (NRP) is a science research park located to the southwest of Norwich in East Anglia close to the A11 and the A47 roads. Set in a 568abbr=offNaNabbr=off area of parkland, it is one of five Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) funded research campuses and has one of Europe's largest concentrations of researchers in the fields of agriculture, genomics, health and the environment. It is the only site in the United Kingdom with three BBSRC funded research institutes and the focus of the community is on creating and supporting new companies and jobs based on bioscience.[2]

It is also a partnership between the University of East Anglia, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, and four independent world-renowned research institutes (John Innes Centre, Quadram Institute, Earlham Institute, and The Sainsbury Laboratory) that are linked to the Gatsby Charitable Foundation.[3] There are over forty businesses located on the site across 100000square feet of space with 12,000 people, including 3,000 researchers and clinicians with an annual research spend of £164 million.[4] [5]

History

The Norfolk and Norwich Hospital officially opened in July 1772;[6] [7] it was closed in 2003 after its services had been transferred to the new Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH).[8] The earliest form of the Quadram Institute was founded in 1903 – the Long Ashton Research Station (LARS) which was an agricultural and horticultural government-funded research centre used for the cider industry.[6] [9] The BBSRC announced in 1999 that Long Ashton was to be closed.[10] It was demolished in 2003.[11] In 1904, London property developer John Innes died.[12] He left his estate at Merton Park for the creation of the John Innes Horticultural Institution in 1910.[13] [14] It moved to its present site in 1967.[15] The John Innes Foundation (JIF) was also formed in 1910, which acts as a charitable foundation that sponsors graduate studentships each year and also owns a collection of archive material.[16] [17] John Innes compost was developed by the institution in the 1930s, who donated the recipe to the "Dig for Victory" war effort.[18] [19] During the 1980s, the administration of the John Innes Institute was combined with that of the Plant Breeding Institute and the Nitrogen Fixation Laboratory.[20] [21] [22] [23] In 1994, following the relocation of the operations of other two organisations to the Norwich site, the three were merged as the John Innes Centre (JIC).[6] The University of East Anglia (UEA) was set up in April 1960 for biological sciences and English studies students. Attempts to establish a university in Norwich were made in 1919 and 1947, but due to a lack of government funding on both occasions the plans had to be postponed.[24] Initially, teaching took place in the temporary "University Village", which was officially opened by the chairman of the University Grants Committee, Keith Murray, on 29 September 1963.[25] UEA was one of the "plate glass universities" that were constructed during the decade to meet the demand for the expansion of higher education.[26] UEA has a long-term partnership with the Norwich Science Festival which takes place each February at the Forum.[27]

The Climatic Research Unit (CRU) was founded in 1972 as part of the university's School of Environmental sciences.[28] In 1984, the CRU moved to a new cylindrical building designed by Rick Mather.[29] In 2006, it was named the Hubert Lamb Building in honour of the first director.[30] [31] In 1988, for UEA's 25th-anniversary celebrations, King Charles III visited the CRU building.[32] The research park was officially launched in 1992, comprising of the UEA School of Biological Sciences and Chemistry, the John Innes Centre, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) Norwich Food Science Laboratory and the British Sugar Technical Centre.[6] [33] The Laboratory moved to York in 1992 while the Technical Centre closed its laboratories in 2001.[34] In 1987, an agreement was signed to establish The Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL) as a joint venture between the Gatsby Charitable Foundation.[35] In 1989, the laboratory moved into its current building which was constructed alongside the JIC.[35] The Earlham Institute (EI) was established by the BBSRC in partnership with East of England Development Agency (EEDA), Norfolk County Council, Norwich City Council, South Norfolk Council and the Greater Norwich Development Partnership. It cost £13.5 million and was built by Morgan Sindall. It was officially opened on 3 July 2009 by John Sulston.[36] During the COVID-19 pandemic, the institute developed a new method (Microbiolink) which connects microbial proteins with host proteins and determines how these interactions influence cellular processes in the host.[37]

The Institute of Food Research (IFR) was created in 1968, spread over four sites; the Meat Research Institute at Langford near Bristol, the Food Research Institute (FRI) at Colney in Norwich, the National Institute for Research in Dairying (NIRD) in Shinfield near Reading, and the Long Ashton Research Station (LARS). The IFR became an institute sponsored by the BBSRC in 1994. In 1999, the institute's activities were consolidated in one location (Norwich).[33] On 28 April 2017, the IFR transitioned into Quadram Institute Bioscience in preparation for the full opening of the Quadram Institute (QI) in September 2018.[38] [39] [40] [41] The institute combines research teams from the partners with a regional gastrointestinal endoscopy unit and a clinical trials facility.[42]

Facilities

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Roz Bird – Chief Executive at Anglia Innovation Partnership LLP. Norwich Research Park – Governance.
  2. Web site: University of East Anglia (UEA) . Times Higher Education.
  3. Web site: Our Community - Norwich Research Park. Norwich Research Park.
  4. Web site: NORWICH RESEARCH PARK - OVERVIEW. East of England.
  5. Web site: 16 October 2024 . World's scientists attracted to Norwich Research Park. Norwich Evening News.
  6. Web site: Our History - Norwich Research Park. Norwich Research Park.
  7. Web site: Benjamin Gooch, Surgeon 1708-1776 Shottesham, Norfolk, England. Take Heart. 9 October 2018.
  8. Web site: Final phase of former Norwich and Norfolk hospital conversion given go-ahead. Norwich Evening News. 27 November 2015. 23 January 2012.
  9. Barker, B. T. P. . 1953. Long Ashton Research Station, 1903–1953. Journal of Horticultural Science. 28. 3 . 149–151. 10.1080/00221589.1953.11513779.
  10. News: Times Higher Education. Natasha. Loder. 1 October 1999. Final harvest at Long Ashton.
  11. Web site: Burden. Kevin. Long Ashton: the home of cider science. https://web.archive.org/web/20030402073934/http://www.bbc.co.uk/bristol/content/features/2003/02/28/long_ashton.shtml. 2 April 2003. BBC. 27 February 2013.
  12. Innes, John (1829–1904) . 39431. West . Jenny.
  13. The New John Innes Horticultural Institution . Nature . 165 . 4207 . 955 . 1950 . 15423565. 10.1038/165955a0. 1950Natur.165..955. . free .
  14. Web site: John Innes Centre - Corporate History. 26 July 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110716161921/http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/services-and-products/library/history-jic.pdf . 16 July 2011 . dead .
  15. http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/about/history.htm John Innes Centre, History.
  16. Web site: JIF Studentship Prize Winners . John Innes Foundation . 2017-11-14.
  17. Web site: Historical Collections . John Innes Foundation . 2017-11-14.
  18. Web site: The John Innes Centre and the compost that bears our name. John Innes Centre. 5 May 2022.
  19. Web site: Fisher . Sue . What is John Innes compost? . Gardener's World . 17 May 2023.
  20. 10.1038/161714b0. Plant Breeding Institute, Cambridge. Nature. 161. 4097. 714. 1948. 1948Natur.161R.714.. free.
  21. 10.1038/161714c0. Plant Breeding Institute, Cambridge: Dr. G. D. H. Bell. Nature. 161. 4097. 714–715. 1948. 1948Natur.161S.714.. free.
  22. 10.1038/170913f0. Plant Breeding Institute, Cambridge. Nature. 170. 4335. 913. 1952. 1952Natur.170V.913.. free.
  23. 10.1038/176487a0. The Plant Breeding Institute, Cambridge. Nature. 176. 4480. 487–488. 1955. 1955Natur.176..487.. free.
  24. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20070205234849/http://www1.uea.ac.uk/cm/home/about/History . UEA . History . 5 February 2007 . 29 September 2019 .
  25. Book: 81 . The History of the University of East Anglia, Norwich . Michael Sanderson . A&C Black . 2002. 9781852853365.
  26. Book: The Plateglass Universities . Secker & Warburg . 31 December 1968 . 30 June 2017 . 7 . 9780838675502 .
  27. Web site: Norwich Science Festival 2023. Norwich Research Park. 28 February 2023 . 2 March 2024.
  28. Book: The History of the University of East Anglia, Norwich . Michael Sanderson . 285 . 2002 . A&C Black . 978-1-85285-336-5.
  29. Book: Sanderson, Michael. The History of the University of East Anglia, Norwich. 345. 2002. A&C Black . 978-1-85285-336-5.
  30. Book: Pearce, Fred. Fred Pearce. The Climate Files: The Battle for the Truth about Global Warming. 2010. Guardian Books. 978-0-85265-229-9. 32.
  31. Book: Hulme, Michael. Barrow, Elaine. Lamb, H.H.. Clayton, K.M.. Wigley, T.M.L.. Climates of the British Isles: present, past and future. The Climatic Research Unit at Twenty-five Years. xxvii–xxix. Routledge. 1997. 978-0-415-13016-5 . https://books.google.com/books?id=FZVVkhW8wL8C&pg=PR27.
  32. Book: Muthesius, Stefan . The Postwar University: Utopianist Campus and College . 2000 . Yale University Press . New Haven and London . 0-300-08717-9 . 139–149.
  33. Web site: A Short History of Food Research. Institute of Food Research. Norwich. 21 June 2017.
  34. Book: 102 . The History of the University of East Anglia, Norwich . Michael Sanderson . A&C Black . 2002. 9781852853365.
  35. http://www.gatsby.org.uk/en/Plant-Science/Projects/The-Sainsbury-Laboratory-Norwich.aspx Gatsby – The Sainsbury Laboratory
  36. News: Support hope for new genome unit . BBC. 6 October 2008.
  37. Web site: 21 May 2020. Novel tool helps translate complex communication between microbes and the body. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200524095616/https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200521/Novel-tool-helps-translate-complex-communication-between-microbes-and-the-body.aspx . 2020-05-24 . 9 June 2020. News Medical.
  38. Web site: Institute of Food Research transitions into Quadram Institute Bioscience. Norwich Research Park. en. 2017-05-13.
  39. News: In Pictures: First look at how Norwich's £81m research centre will look. Shields. Mark. Eastern Daily Press. 2017-05-13. en.
  40. Web site: The Quadram Institute, a new £75M food and health research centre. BBSRC. en. 2017-05-13.
  41. Web site: Scott. Geraldine. Countdown is on to opening of £81m research and health hub. 2020-07-01. Eastern Daily Press. 5 February 2018. en.
  42. News: First patients to be treated at new endoscopy centre for Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. Eastern Daily Press. Grimmer. Dan.
  43. 10.1038/202337e0 . The John Innes Institute . Nature . 202 . 4930 . 337–338. 1964 . 1964Natur.202U.337. . free .
  44. Humphries . E. C. . The John Innes Institute . 10.1038/204232a0 . Nature . 204 . 4955 . 232 . 1964 . 1964Natur.204..232H . free .
  45. Web site: The Gold Standard: John Innes Centre receives Athena SWAN Gold award . John Innes Centre . 2017-11-14.
  46. Web site: Succcess in Times Higher Education rankings sees UEA rise to five-year high. Norwich Research Park.
  47. Web site: New rankings place UEA in world top 150. UEA. 19 August 2016.
  48. Web site: League Table & Uni Guide. UEA. 19 August 2016. 21 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170921183354/https://portal.uea.ac.uk/arm/publications/endorsements-and-key-messages/league-tables-uni-guide/current. dead.
  49. Web site: About TSL . 2023-03-08 . The Sainsbury Laboratory . en.
  50. Web site: A New Era in Medicine. wwwcomm@uea.ac.uk.
  51. Web site: Earlham Institute – Decoding living systems for a better world. BBSRC. 30 June 2016.
  52. Web site: Research Areas Archive - Quadram Institute Bioscience. Quadram Institute Bioscience. en-GB. 2017-05-13.
  53. Web site: Faulkner. Doug. Go with your gut – how biology is big business. 2020-07-01. Eastern Daily Press. 3 March 2017. en.

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