Welcome to the Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine

The Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine (ISTM) was established in 2004 and expanded in 2005 to take a more collaborative approach to bio-medical research, though its origins lie in postgraduate medical training that started at Keele over 30 years ago. The Institute bridges the interface between new advances in basic science and technology with medicine and clinical practice.  It successfully integrates Keele University's biomedical research strengths across the Faculties of Health and Natural Sciences.

 
In the UK Research Assessment Exercise 2008, 90% of the Institute's submitted staff were rated as international quality researchers, with 10% ranked as world-leading. The research facilities were commended as "internationally recognised, excellent standard", specifically noting the University's support for development of the Institute since 2001.

Over a decade of the highest ratings, 5 and 5*, in previous Research Assessment Exercises has enabled basic, strategic and applied research to take place in a consistently top quality environment, with clear focus and routes into exploitation in bioscience industries and healthcare.

ISTM brings together biological scientists, physicists, chemists, engineers, mathematicians and clinicians in a single unit, under four major research groupings:

Cellular & Neural Engineering
Imaging and Diagnostics
Human Disease and Genomics
Centre for Applied Entomology & Parasitology    (groups under review in early 2010)

ISTM members are  based at Keele University campus and two hospitals in North Staffordshire and Shropshire: the University Hospital of North Staffordshire and the Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, Oswestry. It has active collaborations with universities throughout the UK, and over 35 countries in Europe, USA and the developing world.

The Institute has laboratories at Keele's Hartshill campus where Keele and the NHS raised £3 million towards a new facility: The Guy Hilton Research Centre, which opened in spring 2006. This centre provides a patient treatment facility alongside state of the art equipment for our translational research, which includes cell therapy suites, genomic facilities and advanced laser and diagnostic laboratories. The Institute has newly refurbished bioscience facilities at Huxley Building on Keele campus and at RJ&AH Hospital Oswestry.

ISTM members participate in national and international forums for decision making in the clinical and scientific arena; examples include presidency of key societies and membership of evaluation panels, review bodies and Royal Colleges. Members of the Institute lead both national and international networks in the European community. In EC Framework 6 ISTM has become part of a Network of Excellence in Tissue Engineering and Stem Cell therapies. The Institute also runs expanding MSc programmes offering degrees in Molecular Parasitology, Biomedical Engineering and Cell & Tissue Engineering.

The Institute attracts major research funding from the EPSRC, BBSRC, MRC, NIH and European Union alongside major funding charities such as Wellcome Trust and Action Research.


All of this provides for an exceptionally dynamic and stimulating environment for biomedical research.

Please click here for a PowerPoint presentation about the Institute.

To read more about the new Facilities used by ISTM please click here.

For an overview of the research funding that supports work at ISTM please click here.

To view video news clips from Research TV about ISTM's research (please follow "See the film"):
Malaria, Mosquitoes and Man - Breaking a Deadly Cycle
Breath Of Life - A New Diagnostic Technique

Follow the links on the left to discover more about the work of the Institute.

For the Institute's collaboration with applied mathematics and geology see the 3ME Initiative website.

See the new website for the HYANJI SCAFFOLD exchange programme with China, co-ordinated by ISTM.