£2.5 MILLION WELLCOME AWARD FOR KEELE RESEARCHER

The Wellcome Trust has awarded Dr Gordon Hamilton, Centre for Applied Entomology and Parasitology/ Research Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, and co-applicant Dr Orin Courtenay, Warwick University, £2,562,995 for a Strategic Translation Award, "Field trials of synthetic sex pheromone to reduce visceral leishmaniasis (VL) transmission by Lutzomyia longipalpis in Brazil".

The 40 month project follows a successful University Translation Award awarded to Dr Hamilton in 2007, which demonstrated the feasibility of using sex pheromone as part of a "lure-and-kill" approach for controlling the sand fly L. longipalpis in the field.

Among parasites transmitted by insects, single-celled parasites of the genus Leishmania are second only to malaria parasites (transmitted by mosquitoes) in terms of their impact on health. Leishmania parasites cause the potentially fatal disease, visceral leishmaniasis, which affects half a million people worldwide each year.

Currently the disease is controlled by the use of therapeutic drugs. These can have unpleasant side effects for the patient because they are toxic, they are expensive, which limits availability, and may be difficult to administer because of poor health care infrastructure. There is also evidence of the parasite becoming resistant to drug treatments.

The strategy adopted by Dr Hamilton and his team has been to achieve vector control through an innovative 'lure-and-kill' approach, which targets the female sand flies. The Strategic Translation Award will allow Dr Hamilton and his colleagues, in collaboration with colleagues and agencies in Brazil, to determine if wide scale deployment of synthetic sex pheromone, with an appropriate insecticide treatment, will reduce the population of L. longipalpis and therefore VL incidence and infectiousness. The project will devise new ways to synthesise, formulate and present the sex pheromone and then measure the effects of a wide-scale intervention on sand fly abundance and disease incidence in a 3-arm cluster randomised trial. A significant additional commercial objective of the award is to develop the innovation to the point where it can be commercially exploited as a healthcare product.

KEELE AUTHORS PUBLISH UNIQUE JOURNAL VOLUME ON STUDENT-BASED RESEARCH

Dr Nigel Cassidy and Dr Jamie Pringle, School of Physical and Geographical Sciences, have published a unique special issue volume of the Near Surface Geophysics Journal celebrating the pivotal role that undergraduate and postgraduates students have played in developing cutting-edge, geophysical research internationally. The special issue is the first volume of Near Surface Geophysics wholly dedicated to student-based research and is one of its most comprehensive editions. 

Dr Cassidy, pictured, said: "As invited guest editors, it was a pleasure for us to lead the publication and we were able to draw from some of the best in undergraduate and postgraduate research in our field – including our own Keele-based students.   Not only does it showcase the excellence of student-based research overall, but also highlights Keele's international standing in the geophysical discipline."

THE COSTS OF IMPRISONMENT

Professor Barry Godfrey, Dr David Cox and Dr Steve Farrall have published their second book in the prestigious Clarendon Series of Criminology, Oxford University Press. "Serious Offenders" arose from their ESRC-funded research on serious offenders and the impact of habitual offender legislation on their criminal activities and everyday lives. Aspects of this research will now be taken forward in a new large project on the human and financial costs of imprisonment (again funded by ESRC). This new research is to be undertaken by Professor Godfrey, pictured, and Dr Cox (both of the Centre for Social Policy) with Dr Helen Johnston, of Hull University.

The research will explore how imprisonment imposed a large financial burden on 19th and 20th century governments, and also imposed a significant long-term personal cost on the prisoners themselves. The researchers will explore whether early release schemes, properly supported, produced a better outcome for ex-prisoners, and ultimately reduced recidivism; because of the policy implications of their research, the findings will be debated in a large conference by members of the judiciary, government ministers, and academics at the conclusion of the project in 2012.

CHALLENGES AND CHOICES

Professor Nadine Foster, Primary Health Care Sciences, this week gave the fifth lecture in the University's programme of Inaugural Lectures for 2010/11. The title of the lecture was "Challenges and Choices: Musculoskeletal Health in Primary Care".

Musculoskeletal pain such as back pain and knee pain is common and costly in our society. Most patients are managed in primary care by general practitioners and other health care professionals including physiotherapists. The gap between the health care that we now have and the health care that we could have might be described as a chasm. Research data and patients' accounts highlight how current primary care can appear uncoordinated, varying illogically from clinician to clinician, and relying on patient persistence rather than the application of evidence-based practice. The presentation explored the key challenges in current primary care for musculoskeletal health and the evidence about the choices and potential solutions available to address them.

The other lectures in the series are: Tuesday, 22 February 2011, Professor Gordon Ferns, Medicine, "A fire that burns within: the impact of free radicals in health and disease"; Tuesday, 15 March 2011, Professor Clare Holdsworth, Social Geography, "'A degree isn't enough anymore': Student experiences and orientation to HE"; Tuesday, 10 May 2011 Professor Krysia Dziedzic, Primary Care Health Sciences, "Best evidence for best therapies in osteoarthritis".

COLLOQUIUM FOR MALCOLM CROOK

Malcolm Crook, Professor of French History in the School of Humanities, is to be honoured with a colloquium at the Maison Française in Oxford, entitled Political Legacies in Post-Revolutionary France, to be held on Monday. Fellow historians, from France as well as Britain, will be acknowledging his ten years service as editor of the journal French History, which is published by Oxford University Press.

LAW GROUP PUBLICITY CHAIR

Dr Richard Toon, Research Enterprise Services, has been appointed as the publicity chair for the Royal Society of Chemistry's interest group in Law.

He recently represented the group at the RSC's General Assembly, which sets the society's policies and strategies each year. He attended debates on the revalidation of chartered chemists and the future of CPD in the validation process. He also attended a debate on how the RSC can influence politicians, in order to boost the standing of chemistry within the UK.

Dr Toon said: "The debate on the revalidation of chartered chemists was particularly interesting, with professional organisations starting to look towards non-CPD means to validate their professional members." He will represent the law group at the Midlands Regional Meeting in February, to debate RSC initiatives.

NOMINATED FOR TOP HONOURS

Keele has, for the 22nd year running, been nominated as a finalist for three top honours at a prestigious national awards ceremony.

Keele Conferences is in the running in the Best Academic Venue, Best Value for Money Conference Venue and Best Conference and Banqueting Staff categories at the annual Meetings and Incentive Travel Awards.

The results will be announced at a presentation dinner at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge on 28 February.

WINTER WEDDING FAYRE

Keele's Winter Wedding Fayre proved popular last weekend with specialist exhibitors offering ideas and inspiration on floral displays, wedding cakes, wedding cars, men's formal wear and bridal gowns.

Lois Henney, Wedding Fayre Organiser, said: "We were delighted to host the annual Wedding Fayre once again. It is very popular and many attended to see the fantastic exhibitions and speak to the experienced wedding planners."

FROM THE ARCHIVES

This week 44 years ago -

Keele students have started a full-scale 'Meals on Wheels' service for Stoke-on-Trent's Hem Heath district. They plan to deliver 120 meals a week, using a rota of 60 students, plus members of University staff. 20 January 1967.