By stewartb:
Introduction
The focus on one retired professor as a prime source of Coronavirus expertise by parts of the corporate media and amongst some in the Brit Nat/Unionist clique is unwarranted but unsurprising! However, the Talking-Up Scotland Collective would rather introduce readers to the current, internationally renowned and diverse, research capability present in Scotland and to the contributions it is making during this global public health emergency.
Medical Research Council (MRC) centres in Scotland
Within the UK scientific research ‘system’ the MRC is the prime investor of public funds in research capability, projects and programmes concerning with human health. In terms of its response to Covid-19, the MRC highlights a small group of key centres across the UK, including two in Scotland.
Source: https://mrc.ukri.org/news/browse/coronavirus-updates/
MRC Centre for Virus Research at the University of Glasgow (CVR): “… represents the UK’s largest grouping of human and veterinary virologists. The Centre has contributed expertise to recent Ebola outbreaks, and is now working on SARS-CoV2 with £0.5m of supplementary funding. Working in collaboration with the NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde West of Scotland Specialist Virology Centre, CVR researchers completed the genomic sequencing and analysis of Scotland’s first confirmed Covid-19 case within 48 hours of diagnosis.”
The Centre has c. 20 principal investigators. This is supplemented with affiliates from the Boyd Orr Centre for Population and Ecosystem Health, Health Protection Scotland and NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, to create a critical mass of researchers dedicated to the study of human and animal viral diseases. The CVR is embedded within the Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation at the University of Glasgow which investigate virus-host interactions and immune response to virus infection.
MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit at the University of Dundee: “… working in partnership with the CVR, has identified 38 separate proteins produced by SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 – that produce an immune response in the body. The Dundee team is now manufacturing these components of the virus, in order to generate antibodies against them. When available the Unit will place these on its reagent website, so that researchers worldwide can easily order these tools.”
The Unit has more than ten principal investigators. It is working in partnership with the University of Dundee’s School of Life Sciences Drug Discovery Unit (DDU) on COVID-19 research.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Dundee’s Drug Discovery Unit – in 2017
https://www.dundee.ac.uk/news/2017/dundee-named-as-world-centre-of-pharmaceutical-innovation.php
It was placed ahead of the likes of MIT
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The recent Glasgow University alumni newsletter had a feature about virological research at the university and it indicated that the number of virologists at the university was the largest group in the UK. Of course, size is not everything, but it hints at a good depth of expertise.
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Scotland is particularly well off when it comes to research into drugs and viruses which takes place in Universities and a thriving life sciences sector. Of course you rarely ever hear that mentioned by the MSM and the usual suspects..
Then there is this. Caledonians University also did well in these impact rankings
https://www.dundee.ac.uk/stories/university-dundee-ranked-global-top-50-impact
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Re Dundee University pharmaceutical research – about 7/8 years ago I attended a presentation at the Glasgow Philosophical Society by the Director of the Dundee facility and,it was clear that this was possibly the foremeost pharmaceutical research location in Eirope and ,perhaps the world. All the major pharmaceutical companies made contributions to it in both funding and materials. The director reported that the chemicals were of amazingly high purity.
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Yet BritNat Propaganda Broadcasting Corporation pushing:
University of Oxford and Imperial College London in collaboration with AstraZenica
No mention of any Scottish research at all!
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