Medical School Centenary
However, these pages are essentially a celebration of the achievements of the present-day Medical School and the other constituent parts of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing and of closely-associated Departments in the Life Sciences and Engineering.
Predicting Heart Disease
The findings of a ten-year study of 12,000 middle-aged men and women throughout Scotland, conducted by the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit headed by Professor Hugh Tunstall-Pedoe, produced some surprising results of which factors were the best and worst predictors of heart disease. The study put a number of competing factors into perspective and will help determine targets for health promotion.
Treating Coronary Heart Disease
Coronary heart disease is the major cause of death in the developed world with the UK having a particularly poor record; coming 'worst in the world' for women and second worst for men. The same risk factors also contribute to strokes. Professor Jill Belch and her colleagues are examining the role of the blood vessel in these diseases, with particular reference to diet, smoking and exercise. Healthy blood vessels prevent coronary disease and strokes. The blood vessel organ is affected by what we eat and our lifestyle. A three-year study will examine why certain fats in the diet are better for us than others. In a related study Professor Belch will examine the effects of aspirin and vitamins on preventing vascular and heart conditions to which diabetic patients are particularly susceptible.
Exposure to Radiation
Research by Sue Roff of the Centre for Medical Education points to a strong link between the long-term effects of exposure to radiation and an accelerated mortality rate among the 12,000 servicemen who witnessed the series of H-bomb tests carried out 40 years ago in the Pacific. The research formed the basis of an investigative documentary shown on BBC1 claiming that many British servicemen died prematurely from radiation illnesses after their deliberate exposure to the bomb tests. The researchers are seeking funding for a follow-up study to determine whether any health risks have been passed on to the veterans' children and grandchildren.
Search for Cancer Vaccine
Preventing cancer rather than searching for a cure once the disease has struck is a long-term goal of the University's cancer scientists.
Professor Watts, Biochemistry, and colleagues are examining a protein which has the potential to protect against cancer by triggering anti-tumour immune responses.
A research team led by Professor David Lane, Biochemistry, is using Ecoli bacteria to activate one of the body's anti-cancer mechanisms p53 (discovered by Professor Lane). The tumour suppressor gene p53 is controlled by a molecule (Mdm2) which prevents it from working in 40% of cancers. In lab tests a molecular protein in Ecoli bacteria stops Mdm2 from interfering with p53. If this new protein can work in cancer patients - as it has in lab tests - it could have tremendous potential by allowing the body's own natural defence system to fight tumours such as breast, bowel and bladder.
Alzheimer's Disease
The University has been selected to be part of an interdisciplinary network of nine centres of excellence in Alzheimer's disease. The Dundee contribution under the direction of Dr Kieran Breen, Neurosciences Institute, will consist of a multi-disciplinary team spanning neurochemistry, pharmacology, psychiatry, psychology, neurology and social work.
Cystic Fibrosis
Cystic Fibrosis is the most common fatal inherited disease in Western Europe. Dr Stuart Wilson of the Department of Child Health which has an international reputation for lung-related research, is collaborating with colleagues in Hong Kong to explore new methods of treatment via an aerosol spray. Chronic lung infection is the main cause of death in cystic fibrosis sufferers. Life expectancy has been improved by the use of antibiotics. This new research will look at alternative ways of inducing the cells lining the air passages to secrete the necessary salt and water to keep the mucus normally found in the chest functioning normally.
Skin Disease
Dundee's fast growing reputation as an international centre for research on skin disease received a further impetus with the arrival of the latest research group to be wooed from the USA. Team leader Dr Irwin McLean was attracted back to Dundee by the University's impressive concentration of top names in skin disease research. Financed and equipped to the tune of £2 million the team of six will be based in the Human Genetics section of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Pathology and will work closely with the Department of Dermatology and research teams led by Birgitte Lane, Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology, and Seth Schor, Professor of Oral Cell Biology - making Dundee one of the biggest world centres in skin biology research.
Dr McLean's expertise in the genes responsible for different skin diseases adds a significant new dimension to Dundee's work in this field. In addition to skin diseases, other conditions involving epithelial cells, for example, the cornea of the eye, hair, nails, and the lining of the mouth, will also be investigated.
In a separate study the Photobiology Unit will be analysing the ultra-violet spectrum by beaming a solar collector on the roof of the Medical School via fibre optics to a laboratory below. Once the team, which includes Professor Ferguson, Dermatology, and Professor Arthur Cracknell, Applied Physics and Electronic and Mechanical Engineering, have analysed the data they will be in a position to advise the public on how to reduce the risks of skin cancer, the most rapidly increasing form of cancer.
GP Access to Hospital Records
Dr Wynne Carter, Head of the Medical Computing Unit, has created the UK's first network linking GPs with hospitals throughout Tayside giving immediate access to patients' hospital records and tests from personal computers in doctors' surgeries.
Artificial Liver
An interdisciplinary research team led by Professor Brain Burchell, Molecular and Cellular Pathology, and Professor Roland Wolf and Dr Thomas Friedberg of the Biomedical Research Centre, are embarking on a five-year project to produce genetically-engineered liver cells outside the human body. Testing new medicines on an artificial liver would speed up the development of new drugs and avoid the need to conduct experiments on animals. As the liver is such a complex organ it is not anticipated that an artificial liver could be used directly in transplants although it could help take over from a damaged liver while it is recovering.
Asthma Care
The treatment offered to the 6% of the Scottish population suffering from asthma has advanced significantly. The Asthma Research Unit at the Tayside Centre for General Practice will be providing all general practices throughout Scotland with a distance learning package designed as a benchmark of clinical care for each asthma sufferer.
Parkinson's Disease
Mr Sam Eljamel, Head of the Department of Surgical Neurology, is conducting a pilot study which offers hope of a better life for sufferers of Parkinson's Disease. A battery-operated simulator implanted at the collar-bone sends impulses to the appropriate part of the brain to control the violent body tremors that characterise this disease. All the patients treated have been very enthusiastic about the improvement in their symptoms.
Knee Replacement
Professor David Rowley of the Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery has received £1.4 million from the NHS Health Technology Agency to investigate the ideal design for total knee replacements. Research is needed to determine which of the designs currently in use is most appropriate in particular circumstances.
Early Detection Cancer Technique
Professor Sir Alfred Cuschieri has developed an optical technique for identifying cancerous tissue in colon, stomach and lung cancers. At present the testing of the gastrointestinal tract for signs of cancerous growth is conducted by taking up to twenty biopsies simultaneously which then have to be analysed. The new technique uses a photosensitive liquid which turns fluorescent when it reaches cancerous cells. An endoscope carrying a miniature camera checks for signs of fluorescence and has proved very accurate in identifying the boundaries of the cancerous tissue.
Minimal Access Surgery
The Surgical Skills Unit within the Department of Surgery, the first in Europe, aims to ensure that surgeons are thoroughly trained in the use of the specialist equipment and procedures involved in minimal access surgery. The Unit is equipped with working models, designed by Associate Director, Peta Dunkley, simulating a human body - including skin, internal organs and blood vessels.
'Technology Meets Medicine and Surgery'
While collaboration between the Life Sciences and Medicine is an easily understood concept the links between Engineering and Medicine may not be so apparent.
A few years ago a series of brainstorming sessions, 'Technology Meets Medicine and Surgery' took place between doctors and surgeons from the Medical School and engineers from the Department of Applied Physics and Electronic and Mechanical Engineering. Problems encountered in daily practice which could be overcome by technology were examined.
Research groups are working on projects such as Robotics in Minimal Access Surgery, The Surgical Theatre of the Future, Tactile Sensing (for Medical Applications), Robotic Assistance in Physiotherapy, Ultrasonics and Cryogenics in Tissue Ablation, and Robotics in Orthopaedics.
In recognition of this multi-faceted collaboration the Royal Academy of Engineering is supporting three Visiting Professors working jointly between the Departments of Applied Physics and Electronic and Mechanical Engineering and Surgery.
Plans are being developed to establish a Medical Engineering Research Centre which would confirm Dundee's pre-eminence in applying modern technology to serve doctors and their patients.
Ageing and Health
Marion McMurdo, Professor of Ageing and health, has been awarded grants totalling £0.25 million for studies on the effects on the elderly of exercise on depression and of ACE-inhibitors on chronic heart failure. Professor McMurdo is well-known for her work on the health benefits of exercise in old age.
Cot Death Alarm
Research initiated by Dundee graduate, Dr David Harrison, at Ninewells in 1996 should lead to the marketing within two years of a monitor to detect cot death syndrome. The monitor works by measuring the oxygen content of blood in the skin. If the skin colour turns slightly blue, the alarm will be triggered.
Oral Cancer
Oral cancer, mainly caused by smoking, is the sixth most common cancer and one of the most intractable with more than half the patients dying within five years of diagnosis. Professor Seth Schor of the Dental School will chair a European Science Foundation network to examine factors other than changes in the epithelial cells lining the mouth that cause this particular form of cancer.
Nursing and Midwifery
It seems no time at all since the merger with Tayside College of Nursing and Fife College of Health Studies was reported in an earlier Annual Report but already two autumn graduation ceremonies have been held for nurses and midwives.
The delivery of health care has undergone significant changes in the past decade. Perhaps the most obvious illustration of this for nurse training is the development of multi-professional education - the concept of educating doctors, nurses midwives and social workers together. Many pay lip service to this concept - at Dundee we pride ourselves on making it a reality.
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