29 November 2000

Tayside Innovators Win National Award

(Photographs of the Schors are available by contacting Mike Woodcock at Scottish Enterprise Tayside on 01382 305547).

A husband and wife team of scientists in Dundee who developed a molecular regulatory system concerned with the control of cell movement have won the academic and medical category in this year's Unisys John Logie Baird Awards.

Professor Seth L Schor and Dr Ana M Schor, based at the Dental School at Dundee University, received the award and a cheque for £1500 at an awards ceremony at the Barony Hall in Glasgow last night (TUE).

The Schors developed three new compounds known as MSF, IGD and MSFI which have complementary clinical potential in the treatment of patients with impaired wound healing.

MSF, or Migration Stimulating Factor, and IGD a small fragment of MSF, have the capacity to "kick-start" the wound healing response, while MSFI, the cell-produced inhibitor of MSF, has the potential to prevent excessive scar formation and angiogenesis (establishing a new blood supply to the wound site).

The project is aimed at the multi-million pound wound care industry and, with the support of Dundee University Research and Innovation Service, the Schors hope to capitalise on the keen competition between companies across Europe to develop the next generation of "smart" wound grafts which can be tailor made for specific clinical applications.

The Unisys John Logie Baird Awards encourage and reward Scottish individuals and companies with the best new ideas for commercial exploitation, thereby helping to create jobs and wealth for Scotland. The competition, now in its thirteenth year has attracted 2,000 entries since it was established in 1987.

The Schors have continued a run of success of organisations from Tayside. Alchemy Laboratories Ltd in Dundee, Fair City Manufacturing in Perth and Shield Diagnostics, now Axis-Shield, in Dundee have all been recognised in the national awards in recent years.

Graham McKee, chief executive of Scottish Enterprise Tayside who support the awards in this area, said, "We would like to congratulate the Schors on a wonderful

achievement. The breadth and quality of the research being conducted in Dundee is remarkable and it is very pleasing to see this receiving national recognition.

"Awards like this can only enhance Dundee and Tayside's reputation for innovation and help carve out a firm niche in the emerging global knowledge economy."

Principal of the University of Dundee Sir Alan Langlands congratulated the Schors: "To be able to apply research directly to the relief of human suffering in this way is a tremendous contribution. The Schors' pioneering work on this project brilliantly encapsulates the University of Dundee's reputation for biomedical excellence combined with its reputation for enterprise."

Notes to Editors:
Formed in 1991, Scottish Enterprise Tayside (SET) is one of 13 local enterprise companies (LEC's) covering the area from Grampian to Galloway and including 93% of Scotland's population.

SET covers the largest geographical area of any LEC - almost 3,000 square miles encompassing Angus, Dundee and Perth and Kinross. Its' annual budget of around £25 million is carefully invested in a wide range of projects designed to develop the local economy.

SET strives to help businesses and companies in Tayside to be outward looking, continually thinking ahead and ready to bring in new ideas in order to be successful in a fast-changing, knowledge-driven global economy.

Through collaboration with Tayside's academic sector in the last year, SET helped establish a number of successful spin-out companies notably in the fields of biotechnology and health care. A creative industries cluster is rapidly developing around Dundee's academic sector with leading edge work being carried out in software development and computer games design.

SET worked with the University of Dundee in developing a new company called AMCET based on local research expertise and assisted NCR in expanding its research and development activities with work starting on a new £20 million facility.

During 2000/2001, SET aims to achieve 13 initiatives designed to commercialise research, 13 high growth business start-ups, 185 businesses assisted with exports and 75 businesses/organisations assisted with research and development.

Media Enquiries: Mike Woodcock
Public Relations Executive
01382 305547
E-mail: mike.woodcock@scotent.co.uk