A major milestone has been met in the construction of a new multi-million-pound health centre in Liverpool.
The new Pembroke House centre will be operated jointly by Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and iiCON: Infection Innovation Consortium. It aims to expand Liverpool’s leading capabilities in infectious disease research and innovation through partnerships between industry, research, and the NHS.
The centre will offer learning platforms and cutting-edge facilities, including immersive reality technology and will be used to train future health leaders, both globally and across the Liverpool City Region and wider North West.
The building in which the centre will be located sits in Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter. It is currently undergoing an extensive refurbishment. A key phase of the refurbishment has now been completed and a ceremony was held in July to mark the completion during which iiCON’s founding Director Janet Hemingway, and LSTM’s Director, David Lalloo conducted a ceremonial laying of the building’s final brick.
Once complete, the centre will provide collaborative and interactive online learning, industry collaboration, and community engagement and training. The centre aims to accelerate the development of transformative technologies, and future-proof the region as a world-leading centre for infection innovation, research, and learning.
Official comments
Professor David Lalloo said: “Pembroke House responds to a growing need for a step-change in training to equip health professionals to deal with the global health challenges of the future.
“The new centre will support impactful global partnerships with multiple stakeholders in teaching and research and enhance LSTM’s educational collaboration with overseas partners and students by linking learning on-campus in Liverpool into a world-class, globally connected digital learning environment.
“It’s exciting to be ‘topping out’ the building and laying the final brick and we look forward to officially launching the building as we celebrate LSTM’s 125th anniversary next year.”
Professor Janet Hemingway added: “It’s great to see such good progress being made on the refurbishment of Pembroke House and we’re delighted to be marking this key development milestone.
“Once open, the centre will support and super-charge infection innovation by bringing together industry, academia, and our regional community in world-class facilities and providing industry partners with a dedicated space to enable high-quality training, networking, and partnering – supporting pioneering collaborative innovation.”
Sean Fenner, regional director for Kier Construction North & Scotland, said: “We’re pleased and proud to be marking this milestone in the refurbishment of Pembroke House. This development will breathe new life into this beautiful historic building in Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter, carefully retaining the external façade while creating a state-of-the-art centre where innovation and learning thrives. We’re delighted to be working closely with the team at LSTM and iiCON on this important project for the Liverpool City Region.”
