The University of Glasgow's Lighthouse Laboratory project has won the Knowledge Exchange/Transfer Initiative of the Year trophy at the 2021 THE Awards.

The Times Higher Education (THE) Awards are the biggest celebration in the higher education calendar, attracting hundreds of entries from individuals, teams, and institutions from all corners of the UK and Ireland. 

The Lighthouse Laboratory was established by the University of Glasgow and the Department of Health & Social Care, in collaboration with BioAscent, BioClavis, and the University of Dundee, as a national COVID-19 testing facility.

BioAscent played an instrumental role in developing the facility, bringing high-throughput compound screening experience which was translated to develop high-throughput clinical testing.

Based at the University's Clinical Innovation Zone, Glasgow's triple helix partnership with industry and the NHS enabled the rapid establishment of the largest academic-run diagnostic facility in the world.

The partners collaborated seamlessly with a shared vision to support the NHS during the pandemic, one of the biggest challenges ever faced. Working in partnership is at the heart of the success of the Lab, which can now process 85,000 tests a day, with turnaround times for sample analysis amongst the best in the UK. The Lab recently reached the milestone of processing over 13 million tests, a phenomenal achievement that confirms the critical role the facility has played in response to the pandemic.