This is Plymouth --
RESEARCH at a world-famous city laboratory has been boosted by a multi-million-pound legacy from a leading scientist.
The donation of just over £2million was left to the Marine Biological Association (MBA) by Professor Anne Warner who died last year.
The legacy will be used to establish a research post and help maintain the Citadel Hill laboratory's reputation as one of the foremost marine science centres in Europe.
"It is fantastic," said Dr Matt Frost, deputy-director of the MBA.
The legacy announcement comes as the institution celebrates the award of a prestigious Royal Charter.
Professor Warner was head of anatomy and embryology at University College London and a former Foulerton Professor of the Royal Society.
She was also a fellow of the Royal Society, one of the world's leading science bodies.
Professor Warner had a long and close association with the MBA, where she carried out research and established a series of internationally-renowned workshops in cell biology. She was a vice-president of the association.
A spokesman said the Warner legacy would be highly beneficial to the South West in providing the "seed corn" to attract further funding to establish a research team of promising young scientists.
It would ensure that the MBA continued as one of Europe's leading marine research organisations. The legacy would further strengthen the research capacity of the cluster of marine organisations in Plymouth, the spokesman added.
The Warner Fellowship research will be into the cell and molecular biology of marine organisms, close to the late professor's own interests.
MBA director Professor Colin Brownlee said: "Anne Warner showed great foresight and imagination to support this vital area of fundamental science.
"Marine biology holds a key to understanding human impact on the climate.
"Legacy endowments represent a route for funding long-term research in the UK; they stimulate new areas of research leading to new discoveries; they foster the careers of excellent researchers and they allow research institutions to remain independent and impartial."
Dr Frost added: "The legacy is a welcome contribution at a time when funding for marine institutes continues to be severely restricted due to the present economic climate. It is exciting news."
The £2-million-plus legacy is a huge sum for the prestigious but modestly-sized laboratory – the annual turnover is between £4 and £5 million.
The Royal Charter, which the MBA unveiled last week, is the official state seal of approval, recognising the association as the leading body in Britain on the science of marine life.
The MBA is a learned body with 1,200 members worldwide.
The association also does pioneering research and has made contributions to the work of several Nobel Prize-winners.
The Warner legacy coincides with the 50th anniversary of the award of the Physiology or Medicine Prize to Alan Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley for their work, carried out at the MBA, on the biology of the nerve impulse. Reported by This is 11 hours ago.
RESEARCH at a world-famous city laboratory has been boosted by a multi-million-pound legacy from a leading scientist.
The donation of just over £2million was left to the Marine Biological Association (MBA) by Professor Anne Warner who died last year.
The legacy will be used to establish a research post and help maintain the Citadel Hill laboratory's reputation as one of the foremost marine science centres in Europe.
"It is fantastic," said Dr Matt Frost, deputy-director of the MBA.
The legacy announcement comes as the institution celebrates the award of a prestigious Royal Charter.
Professor Warner was head of anatomy and embryology at University College London and a former Foulerton Professor of the Royal Society.
She was also a fellow of the Royal Society, one of the world's leading science bodies.
Professor Warner had a long and close association with the MBA, where she carried out research and established a series of internationally-renowned workshops in cell biology. She was a vice-president of the association.
A spokesman said the Warner legacy would be highly beneficial to the South West in providing the "seed corn" to attract further funding to establish a research team of promising young scientists.
It would ensure that the MBA continued as one of Europe's leading marine research organisations. The legacy would further strengthen the research capacity of the cluster of marine organisations in Plymouth, the spokesman added.
The Warner Fellowship research will be into the cell and molecular biology of marine organisms, close to the late professor's own interests.
MBA director Professor Colin Brownlee said: "Anne Warner showed great foresight and imagination to support this vital area of fundamental science.
"Marine biology holds a key to understanding human impact on the climate.
"Legacy endowments represent a route for funding long-term research in the UK; they stimulate new areas of research leading to new discoveries; they foster the careers of excellent researchers and they allow research institutions to remain independent and impartial."
Dr Frost added: "The legacy is a welcome contribution at a time when funding for marine institutes continues to be severely restricted due to the present economic climate. It is exciting news."
The £2-million-plus legacy is a huge sum for the prestigious but modestly-sized laboratory – the annual turnover is between £4 and £5 million.
The Royal Charter, which the MBA unveiled last week, is the official state seal of approval, recognising the association as the leading body in Britain on the science of marine life.
The MBA is a learned body with 1,200 members worldwide.
The association also does pioneering research and has made contributions to the work of several Nobel Prize-winners.
The Warner legacy coincides with the 50th anniversary of the award of the Physiology or Medicine Prize to Alan Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley for their work, carried out at the MBA, on the biology of the nerve impulse. Reported by This is 11 hours ago.