7 Opening at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lancaster’s new £41m Health Innovation Campus became even more relevant in its mission as a catalyst for the region in solving major global health challenges. Although global pandemics would certainly not have been the focus when the new development at the north end of the campus was initially discussed almost a decade ago, as those first traumatic months of lockdown passed by in Spring 2020 it soon became clear the campus would have a unique role to play in the unfolding disaster. As construction work was completed in June, the new Health Innovation One building was able to open to allow medical students to continue their studies in case they were required on the frontline of the UK’s COVID-19 response. And as life-saving vaccinations became available in the UK, local NHS partners knew where to come when they required a facility from which to run a huge vaccine drive in the region. Health Innovation Campus Partnership Development Manager, Glyn Jones, said: “We already had a close working relationship with Lancaster Medical Practice, so when they needed a large space with plenty of parking to deliver a vaccination programme, we were happy to help them. Some 64,412 vaccinations were eventually administered to residents of North Lancashire from our new building.” Since then, the new campus has continued to deliver on its mission to support projects which could have a significant global impact in the fight against COVID-19, including: • D evelopment of a new needle-free intranasal Covid-19 vaccine through a collaboration between Lancaster University’s Molecular Virologist Professor Muhammad Munir, and British biomedical firm ViraCorp • W ork to create a new handheld device using nasal or saliva samples to deliver accurate COVID-19 diagnoses in seconds Away from the pandemic, the Health Innovation Campus team has also supported the establishment of a regional cancer task force of experts for a major investigation into the prevalence of cancer in the region, to help improve early detection and save lives. Keep in touch www.lancaster.ac.uk/alumni HEALTH INNOVATION CAMPUS SEES LANCASTER INVEST IN FUTURE
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