The university will link up with the city's medical companies

The money, from the government's Science Research Infrastructure Fund, will go towards the creation of five major research centres.

The new facilities will host specialist teams in infection and immunity, neuro-imaging, magnetic resonance, nano-technology, and nuclear physics.

University chiefs hope the new technology available at the centres will help them develop links with local medical companies.

HIV, malaria, and cancer vaccines will be the focus of study at the new Infection and Immunity Unit, which is set to employ 40 people.

Professor Alastair Fitter, Head of Biology, said: "A functional immune system is essential to human health, and recent research has unravelled many of the intricate mechanisms that underline its protection.

"But there are still many uncertainties, especially about the way immune responses are regulated.

"Understanding how these conditions arise is the first step in developing therapies to control or prevent them."

The Neuro-imaging Centre will develop new methods of studying brain activity to help scientists understand how language, vision, memory and motor control work together.

The study of unnatural nuclei will be the focus of the nuclear research facility, while scientists plan to use the magnetic resonance centre to determine the structures of materials ranging from small molecules to large proteins.