10 Sep 2018
Study links widely-used drug azathioprine to skin cancers
A drug used to treat inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis and vasculitis as well as to prevent organ rejection in transplant patients has been identified as an important contributor to skin cancer development, in a research study carried out at the University of Dundee, Queen Mary University of London and the Wellcome Sanger Institute. The research, published in Nature Communications, identified a `strong case for an association’ between the drug azathioprine and the mutational signature found in cases of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), a common form of skin cancer. It was already known ...
6 Sep 2018
Removal of GP incentives associated with decline in quality of care
The removal of financial incentives for doctors working in primary care is associated with a decline in performance on quality measures, according to new findings by researchers from the Universities of Dundee and Cambridge, and staff from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Researchers said the decline in performance measures may be partly accounted for by changes to documentation after incentives were removed. But they added that declines in measures involving laboratory testing suggested the removal of incentives had changed the actual care delivered to patients. Professor Br...
6 Sep 2018
University spin-off projects in Converge Challenge finals
The finalists have been revealed for the 2018 Converge Challenge, Scotland’s premier company creation programme. The University of Dundee has two innovative projects shortlisted in the Converge and KickStart categories. Representing the University is Professor Angus Lamond who founded a Data Management spinout company, Platinum Informatics. The company looks to maximise the efficiency and productivity of the modern workplace by enabling access to Big Data Technology. The University has also secured a place in the Kickstart category, aimed at early stage ideas,&...
4 Sep 2018
Discovery aids disease elimination efforts
Researchers at the University of Dundee have identified a new drug target in parasites that cause major neglected tropical diseases, a discovery that contributes towards a global drive to eliminate these diseases by 2030. African trypanosomes, transmitted by tsetse flies, cause lethal diseases in humans and livestock, known as sleeping sickness and nagana respectively. Around 70 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are thought to be at risk of contracting sleeping sickness, which kills thousands of people each year. Nagana causes vast economic harm to these countries and can exacerbate food shortages. Ne...
31 Aug 2018
Major European Forensic Science award for Dundee Professor
Professor Niamh Nic Daeid, of the University of Dundee, has been named the recipient of the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI) Distinguished Forensic Scientist Award. Professor NicDaeid, Director of the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science (LRCFS) at Dundee, is the first woman to be presented with the honour, and also the first person from a UK academic institution. The award is highly prestigious and is only given once every three years to ‘honour an individual who has performed outstanding scientific work in forensic science’. She was presented with the awar...
