Queen Mary University of London has signed an agreement with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to acquire a substantial parcel of land in Whitechapel, adjacent to its current campus.

The acquisition enables Queen Mary to expand its research and education footprint, creating a transformative, multi-disciplinary life sciences campus. The development aims to improve health outcomes locally and globally, while also boosting economic growth and attracting inward investment to the area.

The site's close proximity to the University's existing facilities and its long-standing partner, Barts Health NHS Trust, will allow Queen Mary to consolidate its operations in Whitechapel—already one of its nine London locations—into a hub of education, innovation, and healthcare. The future campus will bring together researchers, clinicians, and industry partners to address some of the most pressing health challenges of the 21st century.

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Professor Colin Bailey CBE, President and Principal of Queen Mary University of London, said: "Queen Mary is unparalleled among research-intensive universities in combining world-leading research and education, with a profound commitment to the local communities we serve, and to social mobility and justice. In a world still facing intractable inequalities in health and access to education, universities like Queen Mary are needed more than ever. The step we have taken today future-proofs the long-term future of our University and our mission.

"This major investment in Whitechapel gives us the opportunity, working with partners, to drive economic growth and healthcare benefits in an increasingly hyper-connected area of London within which we have deep historic roots, stretching back to 1785 and beyond, and long-standing and productive partnerships.

"The campus we develop here will enable us to create an environment that integrates the talents of our researchers, scientists, teachers and clinicians across all our disciplines and allows them to work directly alongside other national and international partners, businesses and entrepreneurs, generating the healthcare and wellbeing solutions, and required vital broader skillsets, of tomorrow."

This latest agreement builds on Queen Mary's initial acquisition of part of the site in November 2021, which was described by Professor Bailey at the time as "one of the largest research investments in Queen Mary’s history."