It is my hope that the new Chemistry of Health Building will enable breakthroughs to be made in our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases, bringing us closer to the development of new treatments.
- R. Derek Finlay
R. Derek Finlay is donating £5 million to fund the completion of the Chemistry of Health building, in the Department of Chemistry, and to support new research into neurodegenerative diseases.
The building, which is due to open in 2018, will house the Centre for Misfolding Diseases, which is driving ground-breaking research into how protein molecules ‘misfold’, leading to diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and type 2 diabetes.
Finlay has had personal experience of the impact such devastating disorders can have. He lost his wife, Una Finlay, in 2016 to Alzheimer’s disease. Today, he unveiled a plaque dedicating the laboratories that will be occupied by the Centre for Misfolding Diseases to his late wife. This plaque will be placed within the Chemistry of Health building when it opens in 2018.
He said, “It is my hope that the new Chemistry of Health Building will enable breakthroughs to be made in our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases, bringing us closer to the development of new treatments. My gift to support Cambridge’s pioneering work in this area is in memory of my dear late wife, Una, herself a sufferer of Alzheimer’s.”
The Centre’s research, which is directed by Christopher Dobson, Professor of Chemical and Structural Biology, is taking forward understanding of misfolding proteins in humans and looking at ways to accelerate the development of new diagnostics and therapeutics.
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Image: Derek Finlay and Chris Dobson
Credit: chrisloades.webs.com
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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