IT WILL put Southampton at the forefront of the world's battle to cure cancer.

The smartest minds and the most modern techniques to cure the disease will now all be under one roof in the city.

The University of Southampton has announced that the £25 million funding target has been met for the centre of cancer immunology.

It means that 150 staff and medical experts will begin work over the coming weeks in the state-of-the-art building that is the first centre of its kind in the UK.

Creating 30 new jobs in the process, the brand new building will house clinical trial units and laboratories that medical experts will use to harness the body's own immune system to fight cancer.

It has been heralded as one of the leading lights in curing different cancers.

Immunology uses a type of the body's cells to recognise and destroy cancer infected cells, meaning that the body would be able to fight off cancer like it would a regular infection, and be able to reach cells that traditional therapy would not.

Centre director, Tim Elliott, had been a professor of experimental oncology at the University of Southampton for 18 years, and said that he is 'immensely proud'.

Professor Elliott said: "This has been more than four years in the making, and it's fantastic to be able to stand here in what was a dream to begin with.

"It all started after a hugely generous donation that meant we considered what we could really do with it.

"After discussing the possibility of a purpose-built immunology centre, the university very kindly put together a fundraising team, and two years later here we stand.

"Thinking back, the seed money was £10 million and the university backed us to raise £15 million, and said 'go on'. It was a hugely bold decision to make at the time.

"What it means is that the immunology work already going on will move here, and over the next five years, we want to double the amount of clinical trials that we undertake."

The centre will be home to research facilities, the clinical trials units, a suite of molecular biology laboratories and a pre-clinical immunology laboratory, which will investigate the relationship between cancer and the immune system.

With four six-figure donations coming in over the festive period, fundraising surpassed the timeline expected to raise the total by six months.

Associate director of development, Katherine De Retuerto, has led the campaign from the beginning.

She said: "I absolutely cannot wait for it all to get started.

"We have been so overwhelmed by all of the money that has come in and what it means to the area.

"It has left us stunned at the generosity, and we are slightly playing catch up!

The centre is hoping for a Royal official opening between spring and summer.