29 October 2009

Dundee enters new era of translational medical research

A major initiative at the University of Dundee to translate research findings into tools, techniques and therapies which can directly benefit patients has kicked off a new wave of research projects.

Earlier this year the University was awarded £2 million by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and chosen as one of only five centres in the UK to pilot a ‘devolved portfolio’ of research under the MRC’s 'Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme'.

This scheme is designed to translate basic biomedical research towards new therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices or medical procedures.

Since announcing the scheme, over forty research proposals have come forward from across the University and ten of these are about to begin, with more to come.

Professor Mike Ferguson, who together with a panel of colleagues oversees the University of Dundee portfolio on behalf of the MRC, said, 'This is a very exciting opportunity for The University of Dundee to show its true colours by translating some of its excellent science and technology towards real patient care. We are hoping that the pilot will be a great success and turn into a permanent feature of biomedical research activity here.'

'It makes a lot of sense to let institutions that are well placed to perform translational medical research to manage it themselves - it makes for greater speed, flexibility, and innovation - meaning patients will benefit sooner from new discoveries,' added Professor Ferguson, Dean of Research in the College of Life Sciences at Dundee.

The ten projects that are about to start include one, lead by Dr Stuart Brown of the University’s Institute for Medical Science and Technology (IMSaT), to develop a new surgical tool to improve laparoscopic or ‘keyhole’ surgery - a technique developed in Dundee by Sir Alfred Cuscheri and now in worldwide use.

'This project should realise a new system of organ retraction for all minimal access surgical approaches, including single port keyhole surgery by avoiding the need for traditional graspers,' said Sir Alfred.

Dr Brown added that IMSaT’s experience has led to the patenting of over fifty products and the development of fourteen new surgical instruments in recent years. 'Dundee has a unique ability to invent, design and deliver surgical hardware for the 21st century, combining the latest design and manufacturing technology with traditional expertise in anatomy and medicine,' said Dr Brown.

A second project, lead by Dr. John Foerster at the University’s School of Medicine, is to develop a new medicated cream for the treatment of psoriasis.

'We have most recently identified a cell signalling pathway central in the devastating skin disease psoriasis,' said Dr Foerster. 'This new funding scheme allows us to get on the fast track and take this discovery straight into the preclinical development of a new treatment. From the patients’ point of view, this is exactly the kind of momentum needed to translate taxpayers’ money into palpable improvements of therapy.'

Another eight projects have been rolled into one super-project that will be managed by Professor Julie Frearson, in the Drug Discovery Unit in the College of Life Sciences. The aim is to move eight individual molecular discoveries, made by Professors Daan van Aalten, Julian Blow, John Hayes, David Lane, Angus Lamond, Irwin Mclean, Tracy Palmer, Susann Schweiger and Roland Wolf towards new potential medicines for cancer, eczema, Huntington’s disease, bacterial infections and type-2 diabetes.

Professor Frearson commented, 'Each of these projects is backed by the top experts in their fields who work right here in Dundee. This is a unique and exciting opportunity to expose multiple novel target concepts to medicinal chemistry expertise and represents a forward step in our ability to translate Dundee’s excellent science towards therapeutic application.'

Dr Chris Watkins, the Medical Research Council’s Translation Theme Leader, said, 'The MRC’s goal is to be as agile and responsive as possible in allocating funding for translational research, and it is encouraging to see that the £2 million awarded to the University of Dundee has enabled these innovative research projects to go ahead.'

NOTES TO EDITORS

About the University of Dundee
The University of Dundee is internationally recognised for its excellence in life sciences and medical research, with particular expertise in cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and tropical diseases. The University has research expanding from "the cell to the clinic to the community", and has a larger medical research complex than the National Institute for Medical Research in London. The University has an excellent track record in attracting research income and commercialising research activity. See www.dundee.ac.uk for further details.

About the Medical Research Council
For almost 100 years the Medical Research Council has improved the health of people in the UK and around the world by supporting the highest quality science. The MRC has invested in world-class research leaders, producing 29 Nobel Prize winners and sustaining a flourishing environment for internationally recognised research. The MRC focuses on making an impact and has provided the financial muscle and scientific expertise behind medical breakthroughs including the first antibiotic penicillin, the structure of DNA and the lethal link between smoking and cancer. Today MRC funded scientists tackle research into the major health challenges of the 21st century. www.mrc.ac.uk.

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