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An unrivalled arsenal of imaging technologies is helping scientists and clinicians to turn discovery in the lab into new treatments for patients.  

“Our ambition is that within the next ten years, we will have translated at least one project from fundamental knowledge to a new medical treatment.”  

Co-Director Professor Francesco Del Galdo sets out the bold vision of the new Cheney Biomedical Accelerator, an unparalleled environment for addressing key research questions critical to understanding human disease. It brings together clinicians and biological researchers to develop diagnostic techniques and treatments for a range of diseases. 

The vision for the Accelerator grew from a new development in imaging methods which, for the first time, allows us to study the structure, function and interaction of molecules in their native context. We can now examine how a molecule’s structure changes in the complex environments of human cells and tissue. This is precisely where proteins have evolved to work – and where they can go wrong in disease. 

The Accelerator has been purpose-built to fuse the expertise of bioscience and clinical researchers and accelerate the discovery of new medical treatments in areas such as cancer and dementia.  

This exciting work wouldn't be possible without the exceptional generosity of Peter Cheney (Bacteriology and Biochemistry 1969) and his wife Susan who have donated £11m towards the project. They are long-time donors to Leeds, having supported a wealth of research projects, notably into scleroderma, as well as fellowships to enable researchers from overseas to collaborate with academics at Leeds.  

Peter explains his support for the Accelerator: “Through my experience here over the last ten years, when I've seen what the clinicians do on one side and what the fundamental scientists do on the other, I felt there was a bit of a void between the two that we could bridge. I think bringing people together through a common facility and shared projects is the way to turn knowledge into reality. We hope this will accelerate the development of medical treatments that can benefit people in the future.” 

The Cheneys’ gift also supports a PhD scholarship programme to develop a new generation of scientists who can tackle the most challenging problems in biology and medicine. It also funds a programme of events and workshops to enable researchers from medicine and biology to explore potential collaborations.  

“It’s a space designed to spark ideas,” says Professor Del Galdo. “By bringing people together across disciplines, we’re creating a community of researchers who can think differently, start from the right questions, and build on the latest technologies to tackle the unmet clinical needs of our society.”