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A selection of news items about the Research Institute from 2007...
ISTM News Archive 2007
November 2007:
3ME INITIATIVE receives £270,000 to "Bridge the Gap"
A new link between two Keele Research Institutes has been awarded a £270,000 grant by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council to enable scientists to develop novel Modelling Methods for Medical Engineering.
Known as the "3ME Initiative" it draws on existing complementary strengths in the Institute for Science & Technology in Medicine (ISTM) and the Institute for the Environment, Physical Sciences and Applied Mathematics (EPSAM). The project is led by Professors Alicia El Haj, Jon Dobson, Graham Rogerson and Peter Styles, and will primarily benefit a large number of lecturers and research staff whose skills and expertise in modelling cross-over the traditional disciplines. Starting in March 2008 for three years, the EPSRC "Bridging the Gaps" grant will support a wide range of staff exchanges, seminars, visiting experts, discussion meetings and offer £50,000 to pump-prime two new projects.
October 2007:
ISTM welcomes new students
The Institute has welcomed its new cohort of research students in autumn 2007 studying for higher degrees of PhD or MPhil and taught Masters degrees. ISTM's students are based at GHRC Hartshill, Keele campus and the RJ&AH Hospital at Oswestry, and are typically registered full-time at Keele for three years. Some of the the students are seen attending the first lecture of their modularised year one training course in early November. To read more about research degrees at ISTM please go to the Prospective Students page.
October 2007 :
Potteries Shopping Centre raises money for ISTM research
Shoppers and staff at the local Potteries Shopping Centre in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, raised more than £4,000 for breast cancer research with a series of events in October 2007. Professor Gwyn Williams' laboratory in ISTM, which studies cell apoptosis, will receive £2,000.
Professor Williams' team is comparing the levels genes controlling cell death in breast cancers with those in the normal healthy tissue to see if they have changed during cancer development. So far, they have identified two genes that are important and which control death in normal cells and appear to be abnormal in breast cancer. Their experiments have achieved international recognition and will allow them to evaluate these molecules as targets for delivering new drugs to treat breast cancer. Understanding these specific molecules will also be important in diagnosis of breast cancer and ensuring rapid treatment.
Professor Williams thanked the fundraisers for their donation towards the operation of the laboratory, which last year needed over £160,000 just for research staff and consumables costs to carry on the work. He said how useful such funds are to the team in helping to strengthen their links with other labs around the world working on breast cancer.
The photograph above shows the cheque presentation ceremony outside the Huxley Building, School of Life Sciences, on Keele campus, on 31 October 2007.
Left to right:- Sandrine Eglizeaud, Potteries Shopping Centre Marketing Manager
- Sarah Akhtar, Breast Cancer UK fundraising organiser
- Mark Smith, Research Manager ISTM
- Gwyn WIlliams, Professor of Biochemistry
- Paul Lancaster, Potteries Shopping Centre General Manager
September 2007:
Bio-Surfaces Group meeting at the Guy Hilton Research Centre
Medilink West Midlands held a one-day meeting for the launch of a 'Special Interest Group on Bio-surfaces and coatings for medical uses' at the Guy Hilton Research Centre on Monday 3 September.
Attendees from bioscience departments at universities throughout the region discussed topics such as potential future surfaces for artificial joints, new stem cell treatments and the integration of newly implanted tissues in the human body. Those taking part had an opportunity to tour the new ISTM facilities at the Guy Hilton Centre, in particular the clean rooms used for tissue engineering.
This Special Interest Group has been hosted at Keele, and has evolved following the success of an earlier meeting in March on the 'Challenges for Bio-surfaces & Coatings' event with Medilink WM and Aston University, which took place at Keele Hall. Members of the Research Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine were able to showcase their current work and future plans in the field.
September 2007 :
British Society for Matrix Biology Autumn meeting at Keele
Academic staff from the Institute for Science & Technology in Medicine, Dr Nikki Kuiper and Prof Alicia El Haj, were the hosts for the Autumn meeting of the British Society for Matrix Biology at Keele on 3 and 4 September.
The subject of the conference was "Shaping and Sensing the Extracellular Matrix".
July 2007 :
ISTM Annual Research Away Day
Members of the Research Institute for Science & Technology in Medicine gathered for an Away Day on Wednesday 11 July at the Allbrighton Hall Hotel, near Shrewsbury.
The programme covered "hot topics" in which everyone shared the latest developments in their research projects. Each member gave a presentation of 5 or 10 minutes, grouped in related areas, and then took questions as a panel. This brought out some valuable links and insights on each others' work.
Several recently appointed Medical School lecturers gave presentations of their work to colleagues for the first time, and raised exciting possibilities for further collaboration across the disciplines. Members also discussed research studentship arrangements and funding strategies. The meeting concluded with a team-building activity the following day at Ultimate Paintball, Madeley...
Right: Dr Paul Horrocks outlines his latest research at the ISTM Away Day on 11 July 2007
July 2007:
School Teachers visit ISTM
A group of science teachers from schools and colleges in the West Midlands enjoyed a visit to one of the laboratories at the Guy Hilton Research Centre, organised by the Science Learning Centre West Midlands on 5 July 2007.
Professor David Smith FRS, Professor Patrik Španel and Dr Tianshu Wang (pictured right), all members of the Intitute for Science & Technology in Medicine, gave a presentation on the exciting medical applications of the Select Ion Flow Tube Mass Spectrometry technique for analysing trace gases on the breath. The visiting teachers then had an opportunity to provide a breath sample for analysis, and watch the results emerge. One said "It is so refreshing to see real science in action, especially bringing together physics, chemistry and biology ... and to have it explained so clearly". It is hoped that the visit will help school teachers to inspire their pupils to see the value of interdisciplinary science, so they will then go on to consider science as their career.
ISTM also hopes to host similar visits in the future, through the Science Learning Centre West Midlands which is based on Keele University campus.
June 2007 :
BIOREACTOR DESIGN FOR SKELETAL TISSUE ENGINEERING course at Keele
This two day interactive training course has been targeted at industry and academia at postgraduate level, with the aim to provide delegates with a comprehensive understanding of the use of bioreactors in tissue engineering.
Held at Keele Conference Centre (left) and Dorothy Hodgkin Building on 20 - 21 June, this year the course focuses on bioreactor design for skeletal tissue engineering, covering bone, cartilage and connective tissue engineering.
The course is part of a series organised in collaboration between Keele and Sheffield universities, and sponsored by the European Commission EXPERTISSUES grant, ALEA JACTA Marie Curie Training Site, and a BBSRC Masters Level Training for Industry award.
May 2007:
Wellcome Trust visit to Keele
The Institute for Science & Technology in Medicine was pleased to host a senior representative from one of its major grant funders on 4 May 2007. Dr Mark Walport, Director of the Wellcome Trust, visited the Institute's new laboratories at the Guy Hilton Research Centre and at Huxley Building as part of a wide-ranging day at Keele University.
Dr Walport's tour of the ISTM labs included using the latest SIFT-MS equipment to give his own breath sample, under the guidance of Prof David Smith FRS, Dr Patrik Spanel and Dr Tianshu Wang. Dr Walport's visit had been postponed from February due to heavy snow.
ISTM Research videos online
Video news clips from Research TV about ISTM's research:
- Malaria, Mosquitoes and Man - breaking a deadly cycle
- Breath of Life - a new diagnostic technique
Keele University Press Releases are issued by the Press Office.
Earlier news items ...
... relating to the Research Institute for Science & Technology in Medicine can be seen in the News Archive.
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