Great Ormond Street Hospital celebrates completion of The Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children

Great Ormond Street Hospital and UCL were delighted to welcome His Highness Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visiting from Abu Dhabi to celebrate the completion of the world’s first centre dedicated to discovering new ways to treat and cure children with rare diseases.

His Highness Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited the centre on behalf of his grandmother Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union (GWU), and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (FDF), and the wife of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Founder of the United Arab Emirates.

The centre was made possible thanks to a generous £60 million gift from Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak in 2014 and is a partnership between Great Ormond Street Hospital, UCL and Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity that will see hundreds of clinicians and researchers come together under one roof to advance treatments for children with rare and complex diseases.

His Highness Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was present to unveil a plaque at The Zayed Centre for Research, named in honour of his late grandfather. The unveiling marks the completion of the building ahead of patients, researchers and clinicians moving into the centre later this year.

The building includes an advanced suite of cleanrooms for the production of gene therapies, multiple tissue culture rooms for testing potential new treatments, a cardiac research suite with facilities for 3-d modelling as well as an open plan laboratory with 140 laboratory bench positions. The patients this research activity will support will be seen in a 30-room outpatient facility.

Following a tour of The Zayed Centre for Research, a celebratory moment was held with the attendance of His Excellency Mansour Abulhoul, UAE Ambassador to the UK, and patients from Great Ormond Street Hospital.

On behalf of his grandmother, His Highness Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said: “The work of The Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children will facilitate pioneering treatments and cures for children with the aim to accelerate ground-breaking outcomes to benefit more and more children. We are thankful to the Centre for its amazing efforts to protect the wellbeing of future generations.”

His Highness Sheikh Theyab continued: “The late Sheikh Zayed’s vision continues, not by ancestry, but by those who share his values. The Zayed Centre’s ambition and commitment are proof that his legacy is alive and continues to thrive.”

Matthew Shaw, Chief Executive at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust (GOSH) said: “For our patients, many of whom have rare and complex diseases, the Zayed Centre for Research is a beacon of hope for new and better treatments and ultimately cures. It is testament to the power of partnership and its creation would not have been possible without the support of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak. Today is an important milestone in the development of this phenomenal facility.”

The celebration was also attended by Research England, The Wolfson Foundation, John Connolly & Odile Griffith, whose generous support has contributed to the creation of the Zayed Centre for Research.

About the The Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children

The Zayed Centre for Research is a partnership between Great Ormond Street Hospital, University College London and Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. It will bring together pioneering research and clinical care under one roof to drive forward new treatments and cures for children with rare and complex diseases

Great Ormond Street Hospital

Great Ormond Street Hospital is one of the world’s leading children’s hospitals with the broadest range of dedicated, children’s healthcare specialists under one roof in the UK. The hospital’s pioneering research and treatment gives hope to children from across the UK with the rarest, most complex and often life-threatening conditions. Our patients and families are central to everything we do – from the moment they come through the door and for as long as they need us.

About UCL (University College London)

UCL was founded in 1826. We were the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to open up university education to those previously excluded from it, and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine.

We are among the world's top universities, as reflected by performance in a range of international rankings and tables, and are committed to changing the world for the better.

About the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (ICH)

The UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health is part of the Faculty of Population Health Sciences within the School of Life and Medical Sciences at UCL. Together with its clinical partner Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (GOSH), it forms the largest concentration of children's health research in Europe.

Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity

Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity needs to raise money to support the hospital to give children who need help the most, the best chance for life. The charity funds research into pioneering new treatments for children, provides the most up to date medical equipment, funds support services for children and their families and supports the essential rebuilding and refurbishment of the hospital. You can help us to provide world class care for our patients and families

About Research England

Research England is a public body that shapes healthy, dynamic research and knowledge exchange in universities. It distributes over £2.2bn every year to universities, primarily in England but also in the rest of the UK; it works to understand their strategies, capabilities and capacity; and it supports and challenges universities to create new knowledge, strengthen the economy, and enrich society. Research England is part of UK Research and Innovation alongside the seven Research Councils and Innovate UK. www.ukri.org/re @ResEngland

Research England administers the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund (UKRPIF), with the funding bodies from the devolved administrations. Established in 2012, UKRPIF supports investment in higher education research facilities and has allocated £680m to 43 research facilities and centres, attracting over £1.75bn of co-investment from more than businesses, charities and philanthropic donors. A further £220m of funding is due to be allocated in Round 6 of UKRPIF.

The aims of the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund are to:

1. Enhance the research facilities of HEIs undertaking world-leading research
2. Encourage strategic partnerships between HEIs and with other organisations active in research
3. Stimulate additional investment in university research
4. Strengthen the contribution of the research base to economic growth

For further information on UKRPIF visit https://re.ukri.org/research/uk-research-partnership-investment-fund/