18/05/2016

MBI Al Jaber Foundation to support Bloomsbury Research Institute

Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber, patron and sole benefactor of the MBI Al Jaber Foundation

The MBI Al Jaber Foundation has announced a significant donation to the Bloomsbury Research Institute.

The Bloomsbury Research Institute is a partnership between UCL and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, creating a centre of excellence for research in public and global health, and bringing together a unique range and depth of expertise.

The Institute is located in the heart of London at a new state-of-the-art building with the latest laboratory technology. It will house more than 200 leading scientists from around the world whose research will help accelerate the development of new treatments, vaccines and diagnostics for major global killers - TB, HIV and Malaria, as well as tropical diseases and emerging microorganisms such as Zika, MERS and SARS. Experts will also contribute to international efforts to address antibiotic resistance and development of new antimicrobials.

Leading microbiologist Professor Sharon Peacock, the Director of the Bloomsbury Research Institute, welcomed the gift saying, "The innovative research and development at the Bloomsbury Research Institute will accelerate the understanding and treatment of infectious diseases, with the potential to save millions of lives worldwide. We are grateful for this generous gift and will be naming a teaching area of the Institute in recognition."

The generous gift to the Bloomsbury Research Institute by Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber follows earlier capital donations to SOAS, the University of Westminster and Corpus Christi College, Oxford. The MBI Al Jaber Foundation has also funded many scholarship programmes for students from the Middle East to study in the UK and Europe, and is a major contributor to the UNESCO Euro-Arab Dialogue Initiative. The latest gift to UCL and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine comes at an important moment in the lead up to UCL launching one of Europe's largest fundraising campaigns later this year.

Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber, patron and sole benefactor of the MBI Al Jaber Foundation, said: "It gives me great pleasure to support the Bloomsbury Research Institute. The cutting-edge research conducted at the Institute is essential for the improvement in prevention and control of infectious diseases, as well as training the next generation of scientists to continue this important work."

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