Sheffield Hallam University is part of a consortium of institutions to receive almost £50 million government funding to advance the UK’s capability in mass spectrometry.

The funding, announced by Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Michelle Donelan, is part of a wider £388 million that will support five new infrastructure projects.

The multimillion pound investment from UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Infrastructure Fund will cover a wide range of needs including digitising the UK’s natural science collections, the world’s most powerful high energy electron microscope, supporting international collaborations and advancing capability in mass spectrometry.

Sheffield Hallam University is part of the Critical Mass UK (C-MASS) project which will receive £49.35 million from the UKRI Infrastructure Fund.

C-MASS will be a national hub-and-spoke infrastructure that will integrate and advance the UK’s capability in mass spectrometry, a technique that detects and visualises molecules.

Mass spectrometry is used across a wide range of scientific research and C-MASS will enable large-scale screening, as well as accelerated data access and sharing.

It will bring together cutting-edge instrumentation at a range of laboratories connected by a coordinating central hub that will manage a central metadata catalogue. Together this will provide unparalleled access to data and will be a critical health resource for the UK.

Professor Simona Francese, Head of Centre for Mass Spectrometry Imaging at Sheffield Hallam University, said:

"This is a significant and unprecedented step to join forces across the UK and harmonise endeavours to support life and game-changing innovation, moving from the lab to the real world. We look forward to working with other universities and stakeholders to improved diagnostic and prognostic tools, to advance personalised medicine as well as solving critical gaps in forensic science."

In the last two years, Sheffield Hallam University with additional European funding, has invested in refurbishing its now state-of-art Centre for Mass Spectrometry Imaging (CMSI) laboratory, part of the Sheffield Multimodal Imaging Centre (SMIC).

The Centre for Mass Spectrometry Imaging will utilise their internationally recognised expertise to accelerate progress in the health sector, environmental science as well as in security and policing.

Professor Rory Duncan, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at Sheffield Hallam University, said:

“We recognise the importance of mass spectrometry to the physical, biological, clinical, pharmaceutical, forensic and environmental sciences and have invested heavily in our world-class facilities."

“We are pleased to be part the Critical MASS project to consolidate and advance the UK’s capability to deliver and maximise the use of mass spectrometry and provide solutions to global research challenges.”