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A selection of news items about the Research Institute from 2009...
"From Fish to Chips" Prof Dave Hoole's Inaugural Lecture
On 8 December Professor David Hoole, gave the latest lecture in the University's programme of Inaugural Lectures for 2009/2010. The title of the lecture was "From fish to chips: understanding fish diseases".
Every year there are numerous warnings from leading authorities on the current situation of global seawater and freshwater fish stocks, and whilst governments debate and try to implement solutions to the declines recorded, one success story over the past three decades has been the rearing of fish in captivity. Professor Hoole's lecture reviewed how knowledge of the fish-pathogen interaction can assist in producing healthier fish and in the development of new pathogen control strategies, such as vaccination and increased resistance.
The other lectures in the series are:
Tuesday, 16 February 2010, Professor David Maxwell, History, "Researching the Luba Soul: The Production of Colonial Knowledge in Belgian Congo";
Tuesday, 30 March 2010, Professor Coel Hellier, Astrophysics, "Discovering new planets";
Wednesday, 12 May 2010 Professor David Shepherd, Cultural Theory, "The Theory of Culture and the Culture of Theory".
Reasons to Remember Guy
The Guy Hilton Research Centre received a £160,000 boost from the parents of Guy Hilton, John and Ro Hilton.
The building was named after 12-year-old Guy, who died from asthma in 2002, when it opened in 2006.
This donation was John and Ro's second major gift to support clinical research and takes their total fund raising on behalf of the Guy Hilton Trust to £270,000.
Professor Warren Lenney, Professor of Paediatric Respiratory Medicine and former NHS R&D Director at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, said: "The research centre which houses basic scientists alongside clinical academics provides a focus for clinical translational research and is a fitting tribute to Guy. I firmly believe this staggering donation will help to save lives in the future. This is by far the largest donation we have received from private individuals and our warmest thanks go the John and Ro for their fund raising. It is very important that as a university hospital we are at the forefront of research in the region and this donation will certainly help."
New ISTM Director Professor Gordon Ferns
Professor Gordon Ferns was welcomed into his new post as Professor of Metabolic Medicine and Director of the Research Institute for Science & Technology in Medicine on 2 November. This is a joint appointment with the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, in which Prof Ferns becomes Director of Research & Development and Consultant in Clinical Biochemistry. He was previously Dean of Medicine at the University of Surrey and Clinical Director of the NIHR Surrey and Sussex Comprehensive Local Research Network.
Prof Ferns' contact details are:
Phone: +44 (0)1782 554718
email: g.a.a.ferns@istm.keele.ac.uk
His secretary is Miss Paula Marsh:
Phone: +44 (0)1782 554253
email: p.marsh@bemp.keele.ac.uk
ISTM welcomes new research students for 2009/10
Posted on 01 November 2009
The Research Institute has welcomed its new cohort of research students in autumn 2009, studying for higher degrees of PhD or MPhil.
£400,000 Bayer Schering funding confirmed
Professor Shaughn O'Brien, one of ISTM's clinical members in the UHNS department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, and his team have been given £400,000 from Bayer Schering Pharma to carry out a study to validate a new version of the Menstrual Pictogram. The Menstrual Pictogram was originally invented in the 1990s by Professor O'Brien and has seen several versions to keep up to date with changes in menstrual hygiene product technology. The Menstrual Pictogram SAP-c version has been designed for the ultra-thin generation of menstrual hygiene products that contain super absorbent polymers (SAP). The validation study, over the next 18 months, will compare the results of the Menstrual Pictogram SAP-c version, sample weight and the current 'gold' standard of the alkaline haematin method.
Professor O'Brien and Dr Tracy Nevatte have combined forces with Capital Consultation to create Symptometrics, a company that has produced the Menstrual Symptometrics System. This internet-based system will allow women to record their menstrual symptoms daily, which is then collated and presented in an easy to understand format for the clinician or researcher. The system is powered by Microsoft Dynamics and will ultimately replace the limited paper-based questionnaire techniques currently available. Patients, clinicians and researchers will benefit from the using Menstrual Symptometrics System which will measure symptoms related to all disorders of the menstrual cycle. During the past year collaborations between Dr Nevatte, Capital Consultation and Microsoft have facilitated the creation of Symptometrics and the Menstrual Symptometrics System.
Symptometrics has recently been awarded a £30,000 Proof of Concept Grant from Advantage West Midlands to carry out prototype testing of the Menstrual Symptometrics System over the next six months.
3ME Initiative back-to-Back Seminar focusses on methane gas
The latest in the novel series of 3ME Initiative "Back-to-Back Seminars" took place at the Keele Medical School on Wednesday 15 October. Two speakers gave different approaches to the subject of methane gas on vastly different scales, in the global atmosphere, and in the human body. Prof Euan Nisbet, visiting from Royal Holloway, University of London, spoke first on "Atmospheric methane - the quiet giant", a fully illustrated talk on methane and its potential role in climate change, drawing on results from monitoring stations thoughout the world.
Prof Patrik Spanel, who holds a dual appointment with Keele's Research Institute for Science & Technology in Medicine (ISTM) and the J. Heyrovský Instituteof Physical Chemistry in Prague then spoke on "Methane and other trace gases in exhaled breath; their role in medical diagnostics". One of several trace gases under investigation with world-leading specialist equipment at Keele, Prof Spanel included research results achieved only a few days prior to giving the talk.
A large audience representing many discipline backgrounds in the ISTM and EPSAM Research Institutes raised many questions for the speakers, and highlighted at least four areas of potential new research collaboration. The 3ME Initiative (Modelling Methods for Medical Engineering) exists to create and nurture these opportunities between ISTM and EPSAM, supported by a three year £270,000 grant from the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council. For details see the 3ME website at: www.keele.ac.uk/research/3me where abstracts of the Seminar are available.
Professor Noel Morgan returns to present latest diabetes research
ISTM welcomed back Professor Noel Morgan to Keele to give a seminar on his latest research on diabetes at the end of October. Professor Morgan was formerly Head of Keele's School of Biological Sciences and is now Professor of Endocrine Pharmacology and Director of the Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences at the Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth.
Type 1 diabetes is the predominant form of childhood diabetes, its incidence in the United Kingdom is increasing, but the reasons for this are unclear. Professor Morgan's research, begun at Keele in the 1990s, uses a large collection of pancreas samples recovered from patients who died within a year of diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. The latest findings of his research attracted world-wide media coverage and suggest that vaccination in childhood to prevent enteroviral infections of beta cells might be an attractive means to reduce the incidence of both common forms of diabetes. However, there are up to 100 different strains of enterovirus and more research will be needed to identify which particular enteroviruses are associated with the development of diabetes, and whether vaccines could be developed to prevent their spread.
The seminar was one of ISTM's regular series featuring visiting speakers from key national and international collaborators.
Prof Morgan is pictured on the right, with Prof Bill Farrell who hosted and chaired the seminar.Genes identified may help breast cancer diagnosis
Keele researchers in ISTM have identified two genes which may help improve the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer patients.
The research team, which also included colleagues from Nottingham and Cambridge universities and King's College London, is identifying and studying genes which control whether a cell lives or dies.
They found that the survival rate for patients with a low expression of a gene known as Fau, a tumour suppressor, is twice as bad as for people with normal levels, while a high expression of cancer-causing gene MELK has a similar effect.
Professor Gwyn Williams (pictured right), who has been working on the study for 20 years, said he was excited by the discovery, published in the journal Breast Cancer Research, as it had clear real world relevance.
New Director appointed for ISTM
Keele's Faculty of Health has announced the key appointment of Professor Gordon Ferns to the combined post of Director of the Research Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine in the Faculty and Director of R&D at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire.
Professor Ferns is currently Dean of Medicine at the University of Surrey and Clinical Director of the NIHR Surrey and Sussex Comprehensive Local Research Network. He has published over 300 articles, has received grant support from the MRC, BHF, BBSRC and MAFF, and was awarded a DSc from London University in 2003.
Professor Ferns qualified in Medicine from St Barts, University of London, then undertook specialty training in Chemical Pathology at the hospital, where he worked on the molecular genetics of diabetes and atherosclerosis, supported by a Wellcome Clinical Fellowship. Following his MD, Professor Ferns spent three years in Seattle, Washington as American Heart Association-British Heart Foundation Fellow developing models of accelerated atherosclerosis.
He returned to the UK in 1991 to the post of Senior Scientist in the William Harvey Research Institute. He was appointed to a Senior Lectureship in Chemical Pathology at the University of Leicester (1993-1995), before his appointment to the Chair of Metabolic and Molecular Medicine at the University of Surrey, where he has been for the past 14 years. In 2007 he was appointed Dean of Medicine at the University and Clinical Director of the NIHR Surrey and Sussex Comprehensive Local Research Network.
Prof Ferns will take up his joint post on 2 November, at which time the following will step down from their current roles:
- Prof Alicia El Haj as Co-Director of ISTM, Keele
- Prof Clive Hawkins as Clinical Co-Director of ISTM, Keele
- Prof Warren Lenney as Director of R&D, UHNS
Record research grant income at Keele
The Research Institute for Science & Technology in Medicine is delighted to report its highest ever research grant and contract income, in the financial year ending 31 July 2009. Income from all sources grew to almost £3.9million, from 3.1million in 2007-08. The graph below shows the trends in ISTM's expansion since 2003/04 and in particular the increase of Research Council grants to 42% of its portfolio.
Furthermore Keele's overall research grant income hit a record £11million in the last financial year – up by a massive 24 per cent on the previous 12 months. It is the first time that the University's grant income has reached double figures in millions and compares with £8.9million in 2007-08. Significantly, income from the Research Councils showed an increase of 21% and now represents 33% of total grant income for the University as a whole. Contracts and collaborations with industry and commerce increased by 29% and funding from the European Union was up by 27%.
Professor Peter Jones, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise and also an active member of ISTM, said: "This is an exceptional success story for Keele and I want to congratulate everyone involved in achieving this record of £11million in grant income - it is the result of a real team effort.
"We are now beginning to reap the benefits of the setting up of the Research Institutes. All the RI members have put in a terrific amount of hard work, coming up with excellent ideas and being successful in their applications for the grants. They have been backed up by the RI Directors and Managers, as well as by Research and Enterprise Services and Research Finance.
"We will now be looking to build on this success and things are already looking bright for next year."
Two new awards for deafness research
Dr David Furness, part of the neuroscience research team in ISTM, has been awarded £42,488 by Deafness Research UK as an extension of a previous grant for a project titled "Role of fibrocyte degeneration in age-related hearing loss and exploration of a replacement stem cell strategy for its prevention".
Dr Nigel Cooper has been awarded £2,880 by Deafness Research UK for a twelve month project titled "Mechanical studies of inner ear function".
Orthopaedics research boosted by charity grants
Dr Nicholas Forsyth has been awarded £4,950 by the British Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society in London for a project titled "Can bone marrow derived stem cells differentiate into tendon forming cells?" This supports collaborative work with London orthopaedic surgeon Prof Nicola Maffulli, formerly at Keele and the University Hospital of North Staffordshire.
Dr Forsyth has also been awarded £4,915 by the local North Staffordshire Medical Institute in Stoke-on-Trent for a twelve month project titled "Turning stem cells into tendon".
New Investigator Award for Dr Paul Horrocks
Dr Paul Horrocks has been awarded £428,000 by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) for a New Investigator Award entitled "Identification, validation and therapeutic potential of cis-trans interactions that direct coordinated gene expression in Plasmodium falciparum".
The highly competitive New Investigator Awards are intended to support new University lecturers with a focus on supporting research potential in new principal investigators. Recent appointees to Keele's Schools of Medicine and Life Sciences have been successful in winning these awads to set up their own laboratories.
Plasmodium falciparum is the causative agent of the most severe form of human malaria, a disease with a devastating global impact. Dr Horrocks' research asks "how does the parasite control the molecular processes that turns its genes on and off during its life cycle?" The answer to this question has wide ranging implications not only for our understanding of this parasite's pathology but also may offer insights into how these processes differ between the parasite and its human host – differences that may be exploited in much needed new antimalarial drugs.
This three year study integrates both bioinformatics and laboratory based in vitro studies to develop and test hypotheses regarding the regulation of flow of genetic information, particularly the role of novel proteins, and their DNA targets, that initiate this process. This work will be carried out in collaboration with Dr. Manuel Llinás of Princeton University.
MRC Open LINK grant for Keele and Cardiff teams
Professors Sally Roberts and James Richardson, both members ISTM based at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, with Professor Peter Jones, medical statistician at Keele, have been awarded an equal share of a £400,000 Link Grant from the Medical Research Council with Professor Bruce Caterson and colleagues in Cardiff University School of Biosciences. The funding is for a project titled "Biomarkers of Musculoskeletal Diseases: diagnosis and treatment of arthritis".
Musculoskeletal diseases, including the degenerative joint diseases such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, are major financial and social burdens on all Western societies. At present there are no specific molecular biomarkers of matrix or cellular changes that occur with the onset, or predict the risk, of degenerative joint diseases.
The overall objective of this proposal is to develop a series of biomarker assays that can be commercialisd by an industrial partner, MD Biosciences, and used by academic and industrial researchers and clinicians for numerous applications relevant to drug discovery, monitoring outcomes in clinical trials, measuring the efficacy of treatments and the diagnosis of degenerative joint and musculoskeletal tissue diseases in human patients.
European funding for backpain research
The European Commission has announced funding of €2.9 million for a five year research project called GENODISC, for which the Centre for Spinal Studies is a key research partner. As part of this, ISTM's spinal research team at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry have been awarded more than €200,000 for a five year period.
The genetic research project aims to develop better diagnostic techniques and improve both the type and speed of treatment, in order to prevent acute back pain becoming a chronic disability. Back pain is a major European problem, often due to poor diagnosis and treatment. In 85% of spinal problems, there is no clear diagnosis and no clinical consensus currently exists between different countries or doctors about treatment.
The GENODISC research will be led by a group from Oxford University and is being carried out in nine different countries: the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Greece, Israel and Slovenia. It aims to recruit thousands of patients into the study, as large numbers will be required to determine any genetic link to complex disorders like back pain. The research team at Keele is looking at how intervertebral disc cells age, the processes involved and how they behave differently as they grow older.
Project leader for Keele's role in GENODISC, Professor Sally Roberts, ISTM, said: "This is good news for furthering our understanding of the strong genetic links with the degeneration of intervertebral discs of the back. The surgeons at the hospital are all very supportive of this work and we are very grateful also to their patients who have agreed to be part of this important medical research.
"It is through the help and support of our study volunteers that we will be able to learn and help more patients with back pain in the future."
"Sandpit" in Wales for 3ME Initiative
Anglesey was the venue for the second "Sandpit" meeting of Keele's 3ME (Modelling Methods for Medical Engineering) Initiative - a key event in Keele's "Bridging the Gap" project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
While "Sandpit" in North Wales sounds like a beach holiday, it was in fact an intensive two day scientific meeting for the 24 participants to generate new collaborative ideas that were then judged and supported to explore them further.
Left to right: Frank Rutten, Jon Dobson, Mark Davidson, David Smith, Monica Spiteri, Graham Rogerson, Josep Sule-Suso, Alastair Channon, Dave Collins, Paula Marsh, Michael Lutiyanov, Nick Forsyth, Simon Pearce, Jan-Herman Kuiper, Joanna Collingwood, Michael Evans, Chris Brazel, Eustace Johnson, Shailesh Naire, Sally Roberts. Also taking part but not on the photograph: Marius Cronje, Alicia El Haj, Mark Smith.
Members of the Research Institutes for Engineering, Physical Sciences and Applied Mathematics (EPSAM) and Science and Technology in Medicine (ISTM) were joined by key speaker Dr Mark Davidson from Microfabritech at the University of Florida, USA. He opened the meeting with a presentation on studies of iron biominerals associated with neurodegenerative diseases and the application of recent laboratory research to the clinic. There were several short talks by members of the 3ME Initiative on their areas of expertise and Marius Kronje, from CERAM Research in Stoke-on-Trent, closed the meeting with a summary of computer modelling capability.
Overall focus of the Sandpit was to allocate EPSRC funding to new project ideas through a version of the BBC2 television programme "Dragons Den". Three teams of ISTM and EPSAM members convinced the "Dragons", and received a total of £20,000 to develop their collaborations up to the stage of initial joint publications and major grant applications.
International Scholars Advisor visits from Germany
Xenia Mercier, Advisor for International Scholars in the Freidrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany, spent 22 to 26 June in Keele as a guest of the seven Research Institutes. Her visit was part of the European ERASMUS staff exchange programme and she gave a presentation on Erlangen University’s role in supporting international scholars on Wednesday morning.
The main purpose of Xenia’s visit was to explore how Keele attracts and hosts international visitors, particularly visiting academic staff. She spent time with the management teams in RIs in each faculty, with Keele Finance, Human Resources, Research Services, and the Centre for International Exchange & Development.
Mark Smith, ISTM Research Manager, organised the programme for the week and said “It has been very useful to meet Xenia and share best practice with Erlangen University on how to organise international collaborations, which are so crucial to most cutting-edge research today. Having her come to listen to colleagues here at Keele, to understand how we work with many overseas partners, really makes us all think through the best way of attracting future visitors, and making sure their time here is the most productive and enjoyable.”
Xenier Mercier, standing left of centre, with Mark Smith, far left and members of the Keele research management teams.
Distinguished IEEE Lecturer addresses 3ME Initiative members
On 19 June ISTM was pleased to welcome Professor Kannan Krishnan, from the University of Washington, USA. Professor Krishnan came to Keele as part of his Distinguished Lecturer Series supported by the IEEE, the world leading technology advancement association, and was hosted by the Keele biomagnetics group led by Professor Jon Dobson. His seminar, held in the Medical School, was entitled "Biomedical nanomagnetics: A spin through new possiblities".
Professor Krishnan has been Campbell Chair Professor of Materials Science and Adjunct Professor of Physics at Washington since 2001 and has a range of international awards for his cross-disciplinary research and work in the public understanding of science. He first gave an overview of state-of-the-art nanotechnology, size-dependent magnetic behavior and the emerging field of biomedical nanomagnetics. He then explored his group's current work in these areas highlighting the fundamental principles behind research in the context of several emerging technological and clinical opportunities.
The seminar was part of Keele's 3ME Initiative to develop Modelling Methods for Medical Engineering, bringing together members of the Research Institutes of Science & Technology in Medicine and Environment, Physical Sciences and Mathematics. Now in its second year, the 3ME Initiative has a second "Sandpit", pilot project fund and research retreat organised, with a range of further seminars, fellowships and international visitors planned. For details see the 3ME Initiative website.
Prof Kannan Krishnan is pictured, right, with Prof Jon Dobson, host at Keele and chair of the seminar.
NIHR Healthcare Scientist Fellowship for Owen Driskell
Healthcare scientist Owen Driskell, from the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, supported by a team from Keele and UHNS, has been awarded a four-year research fellowship worth almost £90,000.
The award was the result of the first round of the new Chief Scientific Officer Research Fellowship competition launched in September 2008 to support the development of research capacity in healthcare science in the NHS. The scheme is funded by the Department of Health and managed by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR).
Owen Driskell is a pre-registration clinical biochemist based at the Department of Clinical Biochemistry at UHNS. Professor Tony Fryer, of Keele's Research Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, is the supervisor and principal investigator on the project, aimed at investigating the causes and effects of inappropriate requesting for pathology tests on patients with diabetes in primary care.
The research team also comprises Dr Fahmy Hanna (consultant diabetologist, UHNS), Dr Norma Carlin (GP and diabetes champion), a local patient representative from Diabetes UK and Dave Holland from the National Pathology Benchmarking Scheme (based at Keele in Medicines Management), with support from Professor Peter Jones (Pro Vice Chancellor and Professor of Medical Statistics) and Richard Little (Research Institute for Public Policy and Management).
Professor Tony Fryer, professor of clinical biochemistry, said: "These are very prestigious awards – we were one of only 10 awarded nationally from around 50 applications.
"Through my links as Chairman of the West Midlands Association of Clinical Biochemistry & Clinical Biochemistry representative on the National Pathology Benchmarking Scheme, we are aiming to role out the study across the west Midlands with the target of reducing unnecessary blood tests for these patients by 10 per cent. This will not only save money for the NHS, but importantly, prevent needless venepuncture episodes, which few patients like."
£4million "LOLA" for stem cell research with Imperial, Nottingham & Southampton
Nearly £4million has been awarded to scientists from the universities of Keele, Imperial College London, Nottingham and Southampton who will work together combining stem cell science and tissue engineering to look at the development and repair of human skeletal tissue.
Funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council could lead to the development of new and better treatments for broken bones and other orthopaedic problems associated with ageing.
Over the next five years, the four teams of scientists will combine their expertise in skeletal stem cells, scaffolds and materials chemistry to identify the key growth factors, matrix proteins and physical conditions that will enhance tissue regeneration and ultimately lead to more effective skeletal repair strategies.
The research consortium comprises Professor Alicia El Haj, Keele, Professor Molly Stevens, Imperial College London, Professor Kevin Shakesheff, University of Nottingham, and Professor Richard Oreffo, University of Southampton.
Professor El Haj said: "The move within research councils towards these 'larger, longer' (LOLA) programmes has allowed the group at Keele to lead with other major centres in the UK a major programme into designing new therapies for the future in orthopaedic regenerative medicine. The research area lies well within our 'Active Ageing' initiative at Keele and complements a number of other ARC and MRC programmes from our Regenerative Medicine group at ISTM in translational stem cell therapies which are currently under consideration."
Keele's stem cell work makes world headlines
Ground-breaking work on stem cells by ISTM's Professor Alicia El Haj and Professor Jon Dobson, hit the national and international headlines in early April 2009.
Professor El Haj was speaking on "Stem cells in their dynamic environment – implications for therapy" at the Second Annual UK National Stem Cell Network Conference at Oxford University.
The Keele scientists are testing injectable stem cells that they can control with a magnet, which would mean that doctors may soon be able to repair damaged bones and joints anywhere in the body with a simple injection.
The injection will use the patient's own stem cells, harvested from their bone marrow. Once injected, these immature cells could be held precisely at the site of repair where the growth of new cartilage and bone can be triggered by external magnetic fields.
The technology, patented by Keele and currently seeking investment for exploitation, would provide a way to treat disease without invasive surgery or powerful drugs. In a few years the method should be ready for clinical trials and ultimately be used routinely to treat some of the 60,000 people who fracture a hip in the UK each year.
Malian scientists visit Keele for malaria research training
Following a major award of £803,794 from The Wellcome Trust to Professor Paul Eggleston, Professor Hilary Hurd and Dr Frederic Tripet, in the Centre for Applied Entomology and Parasitology, ISTM, for a three year programme entitled "Genetic engineering of refractory mosquito vectors for the control of malaria transmission", three Malian scientists are visiting Keele for four months of training.
The award supports a capacity building and technology transfer collaboration with the Malaria Research and Training Centre at the University of Bamako, in Mali, West Africa and will seek to develop novel approaches to malaria control.
In June, both the visitors and the UK staff will travel to Mali to establish state-of-the-art research facilities within the University of Bamako and undertake the first phase of research in Mali. This challenging programme represents the first use of genetically modified mosquitoes in Africa and will be the first to involve scientists from a malaria endemic nation.
Congratuations to ISTM members on their promotions
Promotion to Professor:
Prof David Hoole
David Hoole joined Keele as a Lecturer in 1985, having trained as an Agricultural Zoologist at Leeds for his BSc, and then at Sunderland for his PhD in Parasitology and Immunology. This area has been the focus for his research ever since, with Professor Hoole building up a strong national and international reputation in the study of fish parasites. However, it is the interface between Parasitology, Immunology and Molecular Biology that has led to his most important research breakthroughs in the past five years, providing key insights into the effects of chemicals on stimulating or reducing the immunological response to parasitic attacks. This area of research has substantial 'enterprise' opportunities because of the worldwide rise in fish farming for food production, and so includes commercial collaborations to address genuine problems in the industry; his expertise in the area has been recognised by his involvement in a number of government reports and approved diagnostic techniques.
Alongside his research and enterprise, he has been highly involved in teaching innovations, especially at postgraduate level. Most recently, the teaching/research interface has been developed through a Marie-Curie contract of €3m led by Professor Hoole, which involves partners in nine European countries, including three industries, and the research training of 16 graduate students and post-doctoral workers who will be studying the mechanisms by which immuno-stimulants increase resistance of fish to a range of economically important pathogens.
Promotion to Reader:
Dr Ying Yang
Ying Yang gained her BSc and MSc degrees in Chemical Engineering from Hunan University and her PhD in Polymer Science from the University of Manchester in 1994. She subsequently undertook postdoctoral fellowships in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Keele where she joined ISTM in 1997. Ying was appointed to a Lectureship in 2001 and has since built an extremely successful research group working in the field of biomaterials and tissue engineering. She has gained wide acclaim for her work on nano fibre-based scaffolds and in the use of optical coherence tomography. During this time she has published over 100 articles including 70 peer reviewed papers in international journals. Her work at Keele has been supported by grants from the EU and various research councils, including two current awards from BBSRC valued at £940k. She currently supervises 5 PhD students as well as co-ordinating the MSc in Tissue Engineering.
Promotion to Senior Lecturer:
Dr Monte Gates
Monte Gates is a Problem Based Learning Tutor in the Medical School and leads the student selected component of the new Keele curriculum across all five years of the course. He serves on the School Learning & Teaching and Central Facility Committees. Monte's research interest is in neural stem cell transplantation as a member of the Research Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine. He has obtained grants from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Parkinson's Disease Society amounting to £700K, employing two post-doctoral researchers and a PhD student. Since moving to Keele from the USA, he has published 12 papers as principal author and serves as section editor for the journal Cell Transplantation.
Latest 3ME Initiative "Back-to-Back" Seminar
The latest in the novel series of 3ME Initiative "Back-to-Back Seminars" took place at the Guy Hilton Research Centre on Monday 2 February. Two speakers gave different approaches to related topics:
Dr Federico Sabina, visiting from the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City, spoke first on "Modelling microstructures through the homogenisation method"
Dr Ying Yang, a member of ISTM at Keele, then spoke on "The implication of scaffold architecture in the growth of engineered tissues".
Dr Yang and Dr Sabina are pictured, above, after the seminars.Earlier news items ...
... relating to the Research Institute for Science & Technology in Medicine can be seen in the News Archive.
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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.
