New Centre for Medical Mycology set up in Aberdeen

THE MEDICAL Research Council (MRC) Centre for Medical Mycology has been set up in Aberdeen due to the expertise and groundbreaking research carried out by the University’s Aberdeen Fungal Group.

The new MRC Centre for Medical Mycology represents a joint £6.5 million (R110m) investment by both the MRC and the University of Aberdeen.

Fungi infect a quarter of the world’s populations and while most are non-life threatening they contribute to about 1.3 million deaths every year. The majority of global deaths related to fungal infections happen in Africa.

In this part of the world, fungal infections contribute to between 600000 to 1million deaths – more than malaria and about the same number as tuberculosis.

The official opening comes just a month after the University announced a new £600 000 research centre at the University of Cape Town (The AFGrica Unit), for targeting the fungal infections.

The AFGrica Unit compliments an existing Wellcome Trust-funded Strategic Award, where PhD students from low and middle-income nations are trained in Aberdeen and other medical mycology centres.

Upon obtaining their degree, these students then return home to help address critical fungal research and training needs in their own countries. – Supplied