Aston University unveils £3m pharmacy teaching laboratories

Aston University’s pharmacy school has opened its new £3.3m teaching laboratories.

It includes a main teaching lab that accommodates 83 students, an asepsis suite and a technician prep room.

Built with accessibility in mind, the labs include height-adjustable benches, fume hoods and sinks suitable for wheelchair users.

Noise-cancelling audiovisual systems and large visual screens, compatible with hearing aids and optical magnification, were installed to support students with hearing or visual impairments.

Real-time transcription software also provides lecture subtitles.

Postgraduate students will benefit from a fully equipped asepsis suite for preparing chemotherapy, cytotoxic drugs and experimental formulations.

Professor Liz Moores, deputy dean of the College of Health and Life Sciences, said: “We are delighted with the new labs and grateful to the Office for Students for their funding. The labs will enable staff to provide an enhanced educational experience to students in a more comfortable, modern and inclusive environment.

“We welcome everyone to study at Aston University and have tried to design the labs to be accessible to students with disabilities and neurodivergence, as well as having the highest standards of safety. Getting this right for everyone will be an ongoing process, listening to student feedback as we go, but it’s a process we are committed to.”

Dr Joe Bush, head of Aston Pharmacy School, said: “We are the only pharmacy school in the UK to hold a prestigious Regius Chair in Pharmacy, awarded by the monarch, and have strong established links with the pharmaceutical industry. The innovative and high-impact research that takes place within the school is fed into our programmes of study, ensuring our students have access to the latest trends and thinking in the field.

“The new laboratory facilities further our aim of providing the best educational experience to both undergraduate and postgraduate students, while enabling all of our students to use our cutting-edge laboratory equipment in comfortable, inclusive, sector-leading facilities.”