25 Sep 2018
Student to shave off 33 inches of her hair for cancer support
A University of Dundee student will swap her studies for scissors next month as she cuts off 33 inches of her hair to fundraise for MacMillan Cancer Support. Danielle Naylor, a third-year Art and Philosophy student at the University’s Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, has decided to honour family members and loved ones who have passed away or are currently battling cancer by cutting off all her hair. Inspired by her nine-year-old niece, Mirryn, who shaved her own hair earlier this month, Danielle hopes to raise more than £700 for MacMillan Cancer Support. The 20-year-old, or...
24 Sep 2018
Seven-figure boost for Dundee research
University of Dundee scientists have been awarded Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) grants totalling more than £1 million to fund their research into cancer and diabetes. Professor Anton Gartner has received £750,000 of funding while Professor Hari Hundal was also awarded more than £630,000 for a joint project with Robert Gordon University. Of this, £411,233 will be used to fund the Dundee component of the research. Three Postdoctoral positions will be created at Dundee’s School of Life Sciences as a result of both awards. Professor Gartner&rsquo...
24 Sep 2018
Weapons footage arms police with new knowledge
University of Dundee footage showing the devastating effects of firearms is being used as a new means of training to aid the investigation of gun crime. The University’s Dr Michael Brown has been working with the Forensic Services Firearms Section of the Scottish Police Authority as part of a collaboration on improving ways that firearms offences are investigated. Utilising high-speed, ultra-sensitive cameras from the University’s School of Science and Engineering, Dr Brown has been working with scientists to examine the characteristics of different types of weapons and ammunition. Dr Br...
21 Sep 2018
Teaching, student experience and graduate prospect strengths highlighted in rankings
The University of Dundee has been ranked 27th in the UK in this year’s Times / The Sunday Times Good University Guide. Dundee also ranked 4th among Scottish universities in the league table, which highlighted the institution’s strengths in teaching excellence, student experience and graduate prospects. The University was 2nd in Scotland for each of these categories. Professor Sir Pete Downes, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dundee, said, “Our strengths in teaching, already reflected in our Gold award in the inaugural Teaching Excellence Framework, and our excellent st...
20 Sep 2018
Diabetes drug could delay symptoms of Huntington’s disease
A drug used to treat Type 2 diabetes may have therapeutic benefits for people experiencing the very earliest symptoms of Huntington’s disease, researchers at the University of Dundee have discovered. Scientists based at the University’s School of Medicine, working with colleagues in Germany, found that the drug Metformin can help to restore brain activity before symptoms of the terminal illness become established. In research published in the journal eLife, the Dundee team found that the drug can help to regulate the Huntingtin protein, which in a mutated form can accumulate in the brain...
