UUJ awarded £3.4m funding for Rehabilitation Centre

The University of Ulster’s pioneering work in the field of rehabilitation science has been given a major boost with the award of £3.4 million funding to build a new state of the art centre at its Jordanstown campus.

The award for a ‘Centre for Rehabilitation Research’ was made to the University of Ulster’s Health Sciences Research Group under the joint Department of Employment and Learning/Office of Science and Technology Science Research Investment Fund (SRIF), and will provide a new building to house research projects related to the healthcare professions.

The new Centre will drive forward innovative research aimed at developing assessment tools and rehabilitation techniques to help in the management of conditions such as:

• Low back pain and rheumatic diseases
• Fibromyalgia
• Multiple sclerosis
• Cystic fibrosis and other cardiopulmonary diseases
• Stroke and cerebral palsy

Head of the research group, Professor Deirdre Walsh, said: “This is a significant development for the group, and will provide a basis for future clinical trials within the area of healthcare research, and further build upon the excellent reputation we have within this area,” she said.

“The new Centre will allow us to expand the range of clinical research projects we can undertake, and enable us to collaborate with similar research centres at an international level to ensure that that rehabilitation research undertaken in the province will be internationally competitive."

The Centre for Rehabilitation Research will be the first of its kind on the island of Ireland.

Work on the new building is due to commence in the summer of 2004 with a projected completion date of winter 2005.

The announcement comes just days after the University unveiled details of a £600,000 medical clinic development to be constructed on the Jordanstown campus.

(MB)