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New films highlight pioneering immunity research at the Pears Building

4 October 2024

Two new films celebrating some of the world-leading scientists at the UCL Institute of Immunity and Transplantation (IIT) have been released to mark the third anniversary of the opening of the Pears Building.

UCL Institute of Immunity and Transplantation team

The Pears Building is home to the IIT, and is a unique collaboration between the Royal Free Charity, UCL, and the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, serving as a hub for frontier immunity research.

Researchers at the Institute are exploring innovative treatments for cancer and autoimmune conditions like multiple sclerosis, arthritis, and type 1 diabetes, as well as developing therapies to prevent transplant rejection.

One of the new films highlights scientists and clinicians from the Stauss Lab located within the Institute. It breaks down some of the processes used during immunotherapy research and offers insight into the ground-breaking work behind the scenes.

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Director of the IIT, Professor Hans Stauss, appears in the film and says he hopes it will engage the public with the researchers and the work happening inside the Pears Building. “It focuses on the scientists as people, who they are, what drives them and why they are excited about working with patients to find new cures,” he said.
 

Other UCL researchers to feature include Professor Maxine Tran, Dr Sharyn Thomas, Dr Samuel Burgess, Research Associate Angelika Holler, and a group of PhD students.

First opened in September 2021, the £62 million building took four years to construct and not only brings the theory and implementation of research much closer together, but also allows the public easy access to the latest discoveries in immunology research. The building has capacity for 200 scientists and the number of IIT research group leaders has grown from 13 to 27 since it opened.

Another film released by the IIT features Angelika Holler, who goes into more detail about her scientific work on the immune system and her life outside of the laboratory. 

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