The £26 million state-of-the-art Tom Reilly Building is the hub of the School and is named after Professor Tom Reilly. Tom completed the first ever PhD in sport science in 1975. Tom has subsequently been credited as the person responsible for forging the rich heritage of sport and exercise scientific study at Liverpool Polytechnic, LJMU and beyond.
The Tom Reilly Building contains world-class laboratories that facilitate the delivery of a research-informed curriculum alongside the development of high-quality applied and theory enhancing research.
At any given time in our facilities you’ll find an array of elite athletes, students, sports scholars, the public, LJMU sports teams, recreational athletes and others involved in performance, exercise testing or as participants in research projects.
This building was first established in 2005 following the award of £4.5 million from HEFCE in recognition of LJMU’s excellence in sport and physical activity. The foyer area houses a contemporary social space for students with PCs. The LJMU ‘High Performance Gym’ is a state of the art facility, within the heart of the city centre, that hosts the delivery of strength and conditioning (S&C) based work to LJMU Sport Scholars, LJMU sports teams and is also an official TASS (Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme) site. The gym offers the use of the latest S&C technology and Perform Better equipment alongside the weightlifting platforms, free weights and a variety of equipment. Further to this, there is a mezzanine floor equipped with Watt Bikes, treadmills, rowing machines, cross-trainers and hand-based elliptical machines. The facility is also used for teaching across many programmes such as; MSc Strength and Conditioning, BSc Sport and Exercise Science and BSc Science and Football.
The Performance Analysis suite contains 20 Apple iMac computers with industry standard match analysis software, Hudl Sportscode. This suite is used to prepare students for performance analysis projects and an optional year long sandwich year on the BSc Science and Football programme with club and organisation partners. Our performance analysis staff also work with key organisations and industry partners to exchange knowledge and expertise. As a result our award-winning performance curriculum (Educate the North – Commercial Engagement Award 2016), bespoke learning resources for domestic and international football clubs and specific consultancy agreements for football associations worldwide.
Mechanistic, cellular and molecular physiology research is supported in the adjacent £8.5m refurbished Life Sciences Building (LSB), which houses exceptional laboratories for biomolecular and stem cell biology.
Facilities:
- an imaging suite (confocal and wide-field fluorescence microscopy with tile scanning and automated image analysis; inverted light microscopy; transmission and scanning electron microscopy) for visualisation of cells and sections of muscle (heart and skeletal), tendon, bone, adipose tissue, vascular endothelium and smooth muscle cell layers;
- a cell culture suite including live cell imaging, laser microdissection and 3-D culture of muscle cells and organoculture of commercial and primary human cells (muscle, adipose, endothelial) with age, injury and exercise models of mechanical stretch, load and electrical stimulation and an Alligator Luminescence System that enables circadian rhythm assessment, calcium recordings (Aequorin) and determination of cell metabolism via fluorescent and luminescent markers in multi-well plates.;
- molecular biology and biochemistry laboratories for mRNA, DNA and protein analyses (RT-PCR, DNA methylation and polymorphism analyses, Western blotting, ELISA and FLOW cytometric analyses);
- an HTA-approved LJMU human tissue bank,
- an HPLC suite, and
- a DNA/RNA suite with extensive PCR and sequencing facilities.
Successful joint projects make use of the facilities overseen by the technology Directorate at the University of Liverpool and allow access to microCT and bioluminescence imaging, small animal MRI, metabolomics and next gen sequencing.
Copperas Hill features state-of-the-art sports facilities and teaching spaces in the heart of Liverpool city centre. Facilities include an eight court sports hall to Sport England specifications, featuring basketball, badminton, five-a-side, volleyball, netball, futsal, handball and two multi-purpose sports halls. There is also a gym over two floors which includes 120 workstations.
