New Brain Tumour Research Lab Opens

A new brain tumour research centre has been opened at Portsmouth University.

The Alison Phelan Memorial Laboratory will be headed up by Professor Geoff Pilkington, one of the world's leading brain tumour research scientists.

It's been named after a seven year-old girl who died from a brain tumour.

Alison is the inspiration not only behind the charity Ali's Dream but also Brain Tumour Research, a national charity fund-raising research into the UK's biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40 in collaboration with 20 regional brain tumour charities and 17 local fund-raising groups, including Hampshire's Aladdin's Lamp and Erin's Angels.

The Alison Phelan Memorial Laboratory was declared open at 12:00 in a ribbon-cutting ceremony by Alison's mum and dad, Julie and Gary Phelan.

The charity will have raised £1m during 2012 to support the Portsmouth facility.

Portsmouth is part of the charity's £7m strategy to create seven dedicated 'Research Centres of Excellence' around the UK designed to inspire expert brain tumour scientists to unite their skills and findings to help discover new treatments and a cure for brain tumours.

Each centre of excellence will require ongoing funding of £1m per year which will be raised through local fundraising including a 'Wall of Hope', the first of which is located at the University of Portsmouth centre.