St Andrews University has offered a first look inside its new pop-up laboratory, a year after its biomedical sciences building was devastated by fire.
The temporary facility, built by Portakabin, offers state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities to allow staff and students to continue their work.
The Willie Russell Laboratories were officially opened late last year by the university principal, Professor Sally Mapstone.
They are named after molecular virologist Professor Willie Russell, who was instrumental in establishing the university’s virology unit which will continue within the new complex.
Dozens of scientists lost valuable research in the blaze at the North Haugh building on February 10, 2019, which was tackled by more than 30 firefighters.
Although no-one was injured, decades of work was destroyed and the building rendered unusable.
While the fire was restricted to just a few rooms, vast quantities of water forced through the windows to tackle the flames affected every level.
Work is continuing to restore the four-storey biomedical sciences building, which was built in the late 1990s.
It housed labs conducting medically-focused research in organic and synthetic chemistry, virologu, microbiology and biochemistry and maintains a strong reputation as a centre of scientific excellence, addressing important scientific issues including infectious disease.
