26 September 2008

Dundee researchers benefit from RSE funding

University of Dundee researchers in areas as diverse as microbiology, engineering, drug discovery, and archive and record development are among those to benefit from more than £3.8million in grants being distributed by the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Top researchers are to develop their ideas here in Scotland, thanks to grants totalling £3.87 million awarded by The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE). Innovative research is being supported through the RSE in partnership with key funders in the public and private sectors.

Over forty five new awards offering public benefits in areas such as healthcare, the ageing population, environment and communications are detailed below. The awards are to be presented on Friday 26 September by Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Fiona Hyslop MSP and the President of the RSE, Sir Michael Atiyah, OM, PPRS. The prestigious ceremony will take place in the Great Hall of Edinburgh Castle. For the first time, this year’s Awards Reception, hosted by The Scottish Government, will involve early career scientists.

Earlier this year the findings of an independent Ernst & Young Review of the Scottish Enterprise/RSE Enterprise Fellowships programme were announced. The Enterprise Fellowship programme, funded by Scottish Enterprise and delivered by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, is designed to recognise the importance of developing individuals’ business skills to become the driving force behind that business.

As a result of the positive review, Scottish Enterprise has committed to fund this programme for a further five years. Eight RSE/Scottish Enterprise Fellows will start their commercialisation projects next month in the first round of the new phase of the programme.

Of these eight Fellows, three are from Dundee - Dr Graham Berry, Dr Iva Navratilova and David Tonery.

'We are delighted to see our young academic entrepreneurs being given this kind of backing by the RSE and Scottish Enterprise,' said John Mackenzie, of the University’s Research and Innovation Services.

'Each of Graham, Iva and David has a very exciting project which they are pursuing and these Fellowships will have a positive impact on the people involved and make a real difference to the project.'

Other Dundee researchers given awards include Dr Michelle Scott, Patricia Whatley and Dr Arnaud Javelle.

RSE President, Sir Michael Atiyah, OM said, 'Our Research Awards recognise, celebrate and promote excellence. They support some of the most outstanding young scientists and innovators working in Scotland today. The benefits of their research are far-reaching. The additional funding from Scottish Enterprise and The Scottish Government is significant for research in Scotland. I thank them and all of our funding partners and wish the Awardees every success.'

Full details of the Dundee awardees:

Caledonian Research Foundation/RSE Personal Research Fellowships in the Biomedical Sciences

Dr Michelle Scott
Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, The University of Dundee
Characterisation of the nucleolar protein interaction network

The nucleus of eukaryotic cells is compartmentalised to house several different structures responsible for specific cellular activities. One such structure is the nucleolus which produces ribosomes. In recent years, various proteins involved in other processes have been found in the nucleolus, raising the intriguing question of the involvement of the nucleolus in other cellular activities. Protein-protein interactions carry out and regulate most cellular activities. The comprehensive study of such interactions leads to a better understanding of cellular processes and of the molecular mechanisms of diseases when these processes are deregulated. The goal of this project is to investigate the nucleolar protein interaction network in order to gain a better understanding of its proteins and the processes in which it is involved. This should provide insight into the role of the nucleolus in numerous diseases, including cancer and viral infections, and might eventually lead to the development of novel therapies.

Scottish Government/RSE Arts & Humanities Networks

Patricia Whatley
Centre for Archive and Information Studies, The University of Dundee
Identity and Memory: An Interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral Research Network in Scotland

The development of this network, with partners comprising the RCAHMS, the National Galleries of Scotland, Napier University and the University of Dundee will involve academics and members of the community in online and face to face discussion on the creation and preservation of memory with a view to encouraging the exchange of views and growth of research in this important area. The areas of memory and identity provide rich opportunities for interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral debate which is currently lacking in a Scottish context. The problem of recording and preserving memory and of adequately representing communities and societies is particularly relevant in the 21st century. In this area academic studies are currently dominated by North Americans, South Africans and Australasians, reflecting to an extent the memories and identities lost or destroyed during traumatic events, which provide the impetus to re-capture identity and memory. In Scotland there has been little work done in this area and this research network will be unique in Scotland, if not the UK. The project will have a number of strands: a website/blog; three workshops, a series of public lectures, a conference and a publication.

Scottish Government/RSE Personal Research Fellowships

Dr Arnaud Javelle
Department of Molecular and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, The University of Dundee
Characterization of the ubiquitous sulphate transporter from the SulP family

The first step of sulphate assimilation is its transport into cells where it can be metabolized. This initial step involves specific sulphate permeases, also called SulP proteins. These proteins are ubiquitous from bacteria to man. The philosophy of my project, in agreement with the citation of the biologist Jacques Monod “What is true for Escherichia coli is also true for the elephant” is to use simple and well studied bacterial model organisms which possess the SulP proteins. In these model organisms, powerful genetic and biochemical tools will be used to shed more light on SulP transporter properties and more generally on sulphate cycling in the cell. Although my project is purely fundamental, any advance in our understanding of the mode of action of these SulP transport systems will have a potential impact on society, given the importance of these proteins in different biological processes, including human disease.

Scottish Enterprise/RSE Enterprise Fellowships

Dr Graham Berry
Division of Electronic Engineering and Physics, The University of Dundee
Metal Nanodispersions in New Healthcare Products

Recent concerns over hospital-acquired infections have highlighted the need for minimising the possibility of contamination. Silver, long recognised for its antimicrobial activity, can be used to manufacture effective wound dressings which prevent such infection. Having devised a novel method of creating stable aqueous nanodispersions of metals, including silver and copper, I propose to combine these with innovative fabrics manufactured by local Scottish textiles companies to produce a completely new range of healthcare products, including silver-impregnated wound dressings. Activated carbon filters are used currently in ostomy pouches to absorb potentially embarrassing odours. The addition of copper to the filter makes the odour abatement more effective. Our nano-copper dispersion should enable more economical use of copper which, combined with more cost-effective processing, will result in highly effective odour filtration at a lower cost, thus benefiting manufacturer and patient alike.

Dr Iva Navratilova
College of Life Sciences, The University of Dundee
Kinetic Discovery

Compounds with ‘slow off-rate’ kinetics are correlated with improved chance of success in the clinic. Thus there is a growing demand by drug designers for complete kinetic, thermodynamic and stoichiometric characterisation for each compound. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based screening can inform compound design in a more detailed fashion than simple IC50 data from biochemical assays, as it is the only single platform to provide full kinetic, thermodynamic and stoichiometry characterization for small molecules, peptides, proteins, antibodies, nucleic acids, membranes to whole cells and viruses. Kinetic Discovery proposed to generate revenue by serving this market. Kinetic Discovery intends to build its own intellectual property in screening and lead discovery from its services revenue base.

Dr Iva Navratilova, is a recognized world expert in developing SPR screening methods, espe­cially for membrane proteins and this expertise has considerable commercial potential in its own right.

David Tonery
School of Computing, The University of Dundee
Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) Motor Engine Greenhouse Incubator

The Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) Motor Engine is the stepping stone between present conventional motor engines and the fuel cell, or hydrogen vehicles of the future. The General Motors Corporation calls HCCI 'the most awaited advanced combustion technology of the past 30 years.'

The process in which HCCI burns fuel inside an engine results in lower emissions and improved fuel consumption. An expected drop in fuel consumption of 20% and a similar reduction in CO2 emissions is a major benefit in reducing the demand for fossil fuels while reducing harmful CO2 emissions.

NOTES TO EDITORS

About the RSE
The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is an educational charity, registered in Scotland. Independent and non-party-political, our wide-ranging educational activities include:

• Organising lectures, debates and conferences
• Conducting major independent inquiries
• Providing educational activities for school students throughout Scotland
• Distributing almost £2 million per year to top researchers and entrepreneurs
• Showcasing to the World the best of our research and development
• Increasing two-way international exchanges
• Encouraging, promoting and rewarding excellence
• Offering state-of-the-art conference facilities
• Publishing internationally respected learned journals

The RSE was founded in 1783 by Royal Charter for the 'Advancement of Learning and Useful Knowledge'. It is regarded as Scotland’s National Academy of Science and Letters. Today it has around 1400 Fellows whose expertise encompasses the full spectrum of the sciences, medicine, engineering and technology, education, law, the arts, humanities, social sciences, business, industry, the professions and public service. This multi-disciplinary perspective makes the RSE unique amongst the United Kingdom’s learned societies. It is funded by a range of carefully selected charitable, public and private bodies. Its mission today is providing public benefit through the advancement of learning and useful knowledge. The Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's National Academy, is Scottish Charity No. SC000470.

About Scottish Enterprise
Scottish Enterprise is Scotland’s main enterprise, innovation and investment agency. Working in partnership with industry, academia and the public sector, SE aims to help make Scotland a place where business can thrive and key industries can be competitive. Its focus is to help businesses grow, encourage greater innovation and create the right conditions for companies to access property, markets and finance to increase productivity and increase Scotland’s ability to compete internationally.

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