The fellowship is the College’s highest award for non-GPs and previous fellows include Sir Chris Whitty, Sir Michael Marmot, three former presidents of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the TV chef Jamie Oliver. 

 Nav who is also Director of the UK’s National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust said: 

“I’m delighted to be awarded the Fellowship.  At medical school I only really considered two career paths – psychiatry and general practice – and it could have gone either way!  So to be recognised by the Royal College of General Practitioners feels really special.  I’m very grateful to them and the people who nominated me.  

“I would like to thank all my colleagues, patients, carers and others who have helped with our research.  I also want to thank my family, especially my big brother Sanj, a fantastic GP who retired recently and without whom I would never have become a doctor.” 

The fellowship means that Nav now has the letters FRCGP (Hon)’ after his name. 

The citation for the Fellowship from the Royal College of General Practitioners highlighted Nav’s world leading suicide prevention research as well as his work for NICE, the UK Department of Health, and health services.  

The citation went on to say: “All of his research has had a clinical real-world focus and much of it is relevant to primary care. His work has identified suicide prevention as a core safety responsibility of health and social care services.  He has been a long-standing friend of general practice and his work has most certainly led to enhanced GP care for people presenting with mental health concerns”

The University tops both the global league table of publications and citations at 177 and 12,313 respectively. 

The output was predominantly driven by Professor David Denning from The �������Ƶ Fungal Infection Group (MFIG) at the The University of �������Ƶ, the most published and most cited author at 89 papers and 9850 citations.

 He was followed by Thomas J. Walsh from the United States at 72 papers and 6,036 citations, and Dimitrios P. Kontoyiannis also from the United States ranking third at 66 papers, 6404 citations. 

Invasive aspergillosis a potentially lethal infection, usually of the lungs, is thought to affect over 2 million people each year. 

According Professor David Denning, one of the world’s leading experts on fungal disease, global outcomes for patients with invasive aspergillosis have improved markedly in recent years.

The success, he argues, is partly down to the huge amount of research activity devoted to the topic in �������Ƶ and at centres across the globe. Professor Mike Bromley, Head of MFIG said: “We have made significant inroads to improving outcomes for patients suffering from the devastating diseases caused by Aspergillus, but much more needs to be done.”

MFIG have recently worked with the WHO to highlight the need for additional efforts in antifungal drug and

However the disease still has a high mortality rate, particularly in immunocompromised people and those in intensive care, who can experience severe complications including bleeding and spread from the lungs to the brain.

Professor Denning said: ‘Since I first encountered invasive aspergillosis as a trainee doctor in the mid 1980’s when it was poorly understood, my clinical and research focus has been focussed on improving what was then a dismal outcome for these patients.

“Great strides in both diagnosis and treatment have been made since 2002, with what was almost a universally fatal disease before the millennium to around 30% in the best performing hospitals.

“The improvement is down to major studies, agreed diagnostic criteria and application of accepted guidelines for caring for patients.

“However there continues to be a desperate need to build on these gains in every hospital globally so we can continue to improve the outlook for these often complex and vulnerable patients.

“Working with major pharmaceutical companies on the clinical development of key antifungal drugs voriconazole, caspofungin, and micafungin and the preclinical development of anidulafungin, posaconazole and isavuconazole has been an extraordinary journey.”

The figure of 177 papers dwarfs the others in the top 4:  Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands published 92 papers, MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston 90 papers, and the University of Texas 81 papers.

This research is supported by three major units at The University of �������Ƶ:  the �������Ƶ Fungal Infection Group (MFIG), the National Aspergillosis Centre and the �������Ƶ Mycology Reference Centre.

MFIG has recently been awarded some significant research grants: Prof Bromley, Dr Bertuzzi and Dr Bottery of MFIG have recently received 3 awards, totalling over £2 million from the Wellcome Trust to explore new ways of combatting fungal infection.

Professor Turajlic has been an independent research group leader at the Francis Crick Institute since 2019 and is a consultant medical oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. She is expected to take up her new position in September 2025.

Welcoming the appointment, Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: “Professor Turajlic is an outstanding clinician scientist with a remarkable track record in cancer research.

“Her leadership will enable the �������Ƶ Institute to continue to grow as a place where world-class clinicians and scientists work alongside one another to better understand the fundamentals of cancer and apply that knowledge to transform cancer treatment in the future.” 

Professor Turajlic’s work spans basic, translational and cancer research, and she has led numerous pioneering studies that have significantly advanced our understanding of cancer biology and treatment.

Her work on the TRACERx Melanoma and TRACERx Renal projects has provided groundbreaking insights into the genomic signatures of cancer progression and the response and resistance to targeted therapies. Such studies are pivotal in understanding how we bring new therapies from the lab to the clinic and how we tailor personalised treatment plans for cancer patients, improving outcomes and quality of life.

Since 2024, Professor Turajlic has led the UK consortium MANIFEST, which aims to understand how patients respond to immunotherapy, making treatments both safer and more effective – a major unmet scientific and clinical need.

Research at the Cancer Research UK �������Ƶ Institute spans the spectrum of cancer research, including tumour-host interactions, microenvironment, biophysical regulation of tumour function, genetic and non-genetic drivers of tumour evolution, and response to therapy. 

Professor Turajlic said: “I’m honoured to be taking on the role of Director of the Cancer Research UK �������Ƶ Institute and look forward to working alongside such a talented community of scientists and clinicians.

“Together with its partners, the institute is poised to deliver transformational cancer research in the coming years. I am excited to lead the institute in its mission to deliver for people with cancer.”

Professor Turajlic’s contributions to the field have been recognised with numerous awards, including the ESMO Society Award for Translational Research for her work in cancer science and translational medicine. She received the UK COVID Cancer Pandemic Prize for her work on cancer and COVID-19, which informed health policy for patients. In 2018, Professor Turajlic was named as one of the “50 Movers and Shakers in BioBusiness” by life sciences network BioBeat. [HP4] 

It's an exciting moment to join the institute less than 12 months on from the official opening of the state-of-the-art new Paterson Building.  Located in Withington, South �������Ƶ, the site hosts 700 researchers, clinicians, and operations staff, and directly connects a research facility with The Christie, one of Europe’s largest cancer hospitals. It houses the facilities and expertise to be one of the world’s leading comprehensive cancer centres, helping scientists get new treatments from bench to bedside.

Professor Turajlic will take over from Professor Caroline Dive, who has been interim director for four years, providing exceptional scientific leadership during the pandemic and the move to the Paterson Building. Professor Dive continues as director of the Cancer Research UK National Biomarker Centre and co-lead of the Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, supported by ScottishPower. 

President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of �������Ƶ, Duncan Ivison, said: “It is fitting that the Cancer Research UK �������Ƶ Institute, a world-leading cancer research centre focusing on a wide range of research areas from basic science to clinical trials, is to be led by a world-leading clinician scientist , Professor Samra Turajlic.

“Professor Turajlic’s contributions to the study of cancer have been recognised around the world and I am delighted to welcome her to the �������Ƶ family.”

Chief Executive of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Roger Spencer, said: “We are very excited to welcome Samra Turajlic at this significant moment in our history as we embark on a new era of cancer research in the Paterson Building.

“I know Samra’s outstanding leadership and expertise will benefit the unique collaboration of �������Ƶ’s ‘Team Science’ and keep our city at the forefront of new innovations in cancer treatment, bringing therapies from the bench to the bedside to benefit our patients now and in the future.”

The research, which included more than 270,000 people, found no such link between asthma and working nightshifts in men.

The study was by Dr Robert Maidstone from the University of �������Ƶ, UK, and colleagues. He said: “Asthma disproportionately affects women. Women generally have more severe asthma, and higher rate of hospitalisation and death from asthma compared to men.

“In our previous research we found a higher risk of moderate or severe asthma in nightshift workers, so we wanted to see whether there were further differences between the sexes.”

The researchers used data from the UK Biobank. They included a total of 274,541 working people and found that 5.3% of these had asthma, with 1.9% suffering with moderate or severe asthma (meaning they were taking an asthma preventer inhaler and at least one other asthma treatment, such as an oral steroid). They categorised these people according to whether they worked only during the day, only nightshifts, or a combination of the two.

Their analysis revealed that, overall, women who work shifts are more likely to have asthma. Women who only work nightshifts are around 50% more likely to suffer with moderate or severe asthma compared to women who only work in the daytime.

The risk of asthma in men did not alter according to whether they worked days or nights.

Dr Maidstone said: “This is the first study to evaluate sex differences in the relationship between shift work and asthma. We found that permanent night shift-workers had higher odds of moderate-severe asthma when compared to corresponding day workers.

“This type of research cannot explain why shift work and asthma are linked; however, it could be because shift work disrupts the body clock, including the levels of male and female sex hormones. High testosterone has previously been shown to be protective against asthma, and so lower testosterone in women could play a role. Alternatively, men and women work different types of shift jobs, and this could be a factor.”

In postmenopausal women, the risk of moderate or severe asthma was almost doubled in night workers, compared to day workers, in those not taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

Dr Maidstone added: “Our results suggest that HRT might be protective against asthma for nightshift workers, however further research is needed to test this hypothesis in prospective studies and randomised controlled trials.”

The researchers plan to study whether sex hormones play a role in the relationship between shift work and asthma by using data from the UK Biobank and from Our Future Health, a new health research programme in the UK population. 

Professor Florence Schleich from the European Respiratory Society’s expert group on airway diseases, asthma, COPD and chronic cough, based at the University of Liège, Belgium, and was not involved in the research. She said: “Asthma is a common, long- term condition that affects millions of people worldwide. We know that women are more likely to have asthma, to have worse asthma and more likely to die from asthma, but we do not fully understand why.

“This research suggests that working nightshifts could be a risk factor for asthma in women, but not in men. The majority of workers will not have an easy option of switching their shift pattern, so we need further research to verify and understand this link and find out what could be done to reduce the risk for women who work shifts.”

Maidstone RJ, Ray DW, Liu J, et al. Increased risk of asthma in female night shift workers. ERJ Open Res 2025; in press .

On Wednesday 11 June, the at The University of �������Ƶ celebrated a landmark year with the Venture Further Awards 2025 — the UK’s leading university-led start-up competition.

Marking the Centre’s 25th anniversary, this year’s awards attracted a record-breaking 175 applications — a 22% rise on 2024 — reflecting �������Ƶ’s growing reputation as a powerhouse for student innovation.

Twenty finalists pitched their ventures across five key categories — Environment, Healthcare, Services, Social, and Technology — with the winners of each category receiving £15,000 in equity-free funding from a total prize pot of £100,000. The awards ceremony took place at , the University’s new home for innovation and collaboration, where several recent MEC startup alums are based.

This year’s finalists delivered bold, solutions-driven ideas tackling global challenges — from UrbanWatt’s wireless charging for electric vehicles to FlashAid AI’s rapid-response medical emergency help platform, which has already been seen on outlets such as Daily Mail and HealthInvestor UK.  The event showcased the depth of entrepreneurial talent emerging from The University of �������Ƶ and underlined MEC’s vital role in helping students launch impactful ventures.

Venture Further 2025 Winners

Environment Category

• 1st Prize: Josiah Edebiri, UrbanWatt (School of Engineering, PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering)
• 2nd Prize: Farah Frikha, Vesta Capsules (Alum of School of Engineering, Mechatronic Engineering)

(Winners pictured with Giulia Sirigu, Scaleup Director at Innovate UK)

Healthcare Category

• 1st Prize: Grigorii Rodionov, FlashAid (Alum of School of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering BEng)
• 2nd Prize: Adrian Perez Barreto, Revine (CDT-Advanced Biomedical Materials)

(Winners pictured with Lee Pugalis, Deputy Director of the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre)

Services Category

• 1st Prize: Raymond Zheng, PurFetch (Alliance �������Ƶ Business School, MBA)
• 2nd Prize: Sebastian Contreras, UniSights (Alliance �������Ƶ Business School, BSc Management with Placement - Innovation, Strategy & Entrepreneurship)

(Winners pictured with Janine Smith, Director of GM Business Growth Hub)

Social Category

• 1st Prize: Bohyuck Han, The Senior Vision Project (Alliance �������Ƶ Business School, MSc Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship)
• 2nd Prize: Derry Duffy, Cause (School of Social Sciences, BSocSc Politics and International Relations)

(Winners pictured with Carla Zuill, Founder of SheHUB.TV & Women's Empowerment Summit)

Technology Category

• 1st Prize: Patrick Sarsfield, Graphene Thermal (School of Natural Sciences (SNS), Researcher in Graphene NOWNANO CDT)
• 2nd Prize: Leo Feasby, PulsR (School of Natural Sciences (SNS), MPhys Physics with Astrophysics)

(Winners pictured with Andrew Dennison, Innovation Discovery Manager of Innovation Factory)

More information about winners

This year’s finalists presented powerful, purpose-led ventures addressing some of today’s most pressing challenges.

Environment Category Winners

UrbanWatt is making city transport greener and easier by helping businesses switch to electric vehicles. Their clever hands-free charging system means electric fleets can stay powered up without the hassle, making sustainable deliveries simpler than ever.

• Josiah Edebiri, UrbanWatt (School of Engineering, PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering)

Vesta Capsules is reimagining short stays with cosy, eco-friendly sleeping pods inspired by Japan’s capsule hotels. Designed for comfort, privacy, and sustainability, they offer a smart, modern alternative to traditional accommodation – all at an affordable price.

• Farah Frikha, Vesta Capsules (Alum of School of Engineering, Mechatronic Engineering)

Healthcare Category Winners

FlashAid AI is taking on one of healthcare’s biggest challenges – ambulance delays. Their smart platform helps get emergency help to people faster by improving how calls are handled, vehicles are dispatched, and routes are planned, all in real time.

• Grigorii Rodionov, FlashAid (Alum of School of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering BEng)

Revine is tackling the serious problem of diabetic limb ulcers with an easy-to-use patch that helps wounds heal faster and stay free from infection. Designed to boost recovery and monitor progress in real time, it offers a new, more effective way to care for long-term wounds.

• Adrian Perez Barreto, Revine (CDT-Advanced Biomedical Materials)

Services Category Winners

PurFetch is creating an app and smart pet companion to help owners understand how their pets are feeling. By spotting changes in behaviour or signs of health problems, it offers simple, personalised advice—plus a friendly robot to keep pets entertained and cared for.

• Raymond Zheng, PurFetch (Alliance �������Ƶ Business School, MBA)

UniSights helps Latin American high school students explore study opportunities in the UK. It offers advice from current students, direct contact with universities, and smart tools to match them with the right courses—making the journey to study abroad simpler and more confident.

• Sebastian Contreras, UniSights (Alliance �������Ƶ Business School, BSc Management with Placement - Innovation, Strategy & Entrepreneurship)

Social Category Winners

The Senior Vision Project tackles elderly poverty by creating part-time jobs that fit local needs. Their free AI-based dementia prevention programme offers cognitive training for seniors, while the data collected helps fund these community employment initiatives.

• Bohyuck Han, The Senior Vision Project (Alliance �������Ƶ Business School, MSc Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship)

Cause is the first online giving platform designed specifically for small charities. It helps them connect with donors, raise funds, and grow by removing obstacles like high advertising costs and limited digital skills. With no platform or donation fees, Cause makes it easier for small charities to maximise their impact.

• Derry Duffy, Cause (School of Social Sciences, BSocSc Politics and International Relations)

Technology Category Winners

Graphene Thermal offers innovative heating with self-contained graphene floor panels. These panels heat up in seconds and use over 50% less energy than traditional underfloor systems, providing an efficient, low-maintenance solution for homes and businesses.

• Patrick Sarsfield, Graphene Thermal (School of Natural Sciences (SNS), Researcher in Graphene NOWNANO CDT)

PulsR is an innovative AI company offering a range of smart tools that help with tasks like creating images, writing, working with spreadsheets, coding, and solving maths problems. With over 10 million conversations and top ratings on ChatGPT’s app store, PulsR supports students, professionals, and businesses to work smarter and more creatively.

• Leo Feasby, PulsR(School of Natural Sciences (SNS), MPhys Physics with Astrophysics)

The evening celebrated not only the immediate winners but also the broader impact of entrepreneurship at the university. 

Professor Duncan Ivison, President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of �������Ƶ

The evening celebrated not only the immediate winners but also the broader impact of entrepreneurship at the university. Speaking at the Award ceremony, Professor Duncan Ivison, President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of �������Ƶ, said:

The transformational impact of the awards was further emphasised by Mehdi Boudjadja, VFA23 winner and founder Metofico, who reflected: "Winning the Venture Further Awards was transformational, beyond the crucial funding, MEC gave us the confidence, resources, and belief to turn our start-up into a global business. Without their support, we wouldn't be where we are today."

Faculty Representation

This year’s Venture Further Awards spotlighted the impressive entrepreneurial breadth across The University of �������Ƶ, with a particularly strong showing from the Faculty of Science and Engineering, which led the way with ten finalists. Close behind, the Faculty of Humanities demonstrated remarkable enterprise flair, fielding eight finalists—six of whom hailed from the Alliance �������Ƶ Business School alone. Completing the diverse line-up were two healthcare-focused ventures from the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, reflecting the growing innovation emerging from the university’s life sciences community.

About the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre

For 25 years, the Centre has empowered the next generation of business leaders through dedicated programmes, co-curricular activities, personalised advice, and competitions like Venture Further, creating pathways for entrepreneurial talent to flourish beyond university walls.

More Information

• See the

The report is the first to analyse the impact of the Government’s 2019 drive to increase the numbers of these workers, who connect patients to activities and support in their communities which boost health and well-being.

The 2019 NHS Long-term Plan pledged NHS England funding to provide 1,000 trained social prescribing link workers in place by the end of 2021 - and to ensure that every patient in England could access the service by 2022.

This National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded study - led by researchers from The University of �������Ƶ and co-authored with the University of Edinburgh, Newcastle University and University of Bristol- indicates that the scheme has led to improved outcomes and experience of and or both patients with long-term conditions and mental health needs. However, researchers were unable to pinpoint any noteworthy impact on loneliness and isolation.

The study combined administrative workforce data and information from the General Practice Patient Survey between 2018 and 2023, which includes more than 4.1million responses in total. It calculated the impact of adding one full-time equivalent (FTE) link worker per 50,000 patients to assess whether the NHS’ aims for the rollout were fulfilled. The outcomes from the survey assessed for this study were:

o   Increasing the patient’s confidence in managing their long-term condition

o   Making them feel more supported by local services and organisations

o   Making them feel less isolated from others

o   Improving their experience with their GP

o   An increased feeling that their mental health needs were understood

The study found that for those with one or more long term conditions, patient confidence in managing their long-term condition increased, as well as feeling more supported by local services and in their overall experience with general practice.

Similar improvements were seen for those with mental health needs and in feeling that their needs were understood. However, no evidence of benefit was found for those experiencing loneliness and social isolation.

The results indicate that an increase in social prescribing provision has had a positive effect on the population level. While the figures appear low, only 3.2% of the registered GP population had actually been referred to a social prescribing service by March 2023, so being able to detect an impact of this size at the population level is “clinically significant”.

The researchers estimated the population effects, and the findings suggest that an additional FTE social prescribing link worker per 50,000 population in all Primary Care Networks (PCNs)  - which equates to approximately one extra link worker per average PCN - was associated with an increase nationally in approximately 47,000 people reporting confidence in managing their long-term conditions and 132,000 people reporting having had a good GP experience.

However, the authors suggest that more work needs to be done to establish whether the rollout has any impact on use of hospital services, and whether there has been an impact on known health inequalities.

They also note that the initiative cost the NHS an estimated £130million in 2022/23, without taking onward referral costs into account. They conclude that further research is required to determine “whether the scheme is financially sustainable as a whole”.

, Professor of Implementation Science at The University of �������Ƶ, said: “The Government’s plan to increase the provision of social prescribing was an attempt to tackle crucial challenges, including helping patients feel more supported, empowered, and positive about the health services available to them.

“As such, it is important that studies such as this exist, to assess whether initiatives have the desired effect, and that they provide the right assistance to people who are most in need of care and connection.

“Our results indicate that the Government’s focus on link worker provision has had a positive effect, and that social prescribing can help patients feel more supported by healthcare services and professionals.

“However, we would welcome future research into the sustainability and cost-efficiency of the scheme, particularly when more is known about its full cost including referrals.”

, Research Fellow in Health Economics at The University of �������Ƶ, said: “This report provides useful food for thought for policymakers assessing this scheme, and other similar initiatives designed to improve the health of the country.

“Considering the service has been used by a relatively small percentage of the population, the results seem to indicate that social prescribing has a notable effect on a patient’s GP experience and their sense that their needs are understood.

“However, there is still much work to do before we can determine the impact and sustainability of schemes such as this one. There is definite scope for future studies which determine whether such referrals have an effect on unplanned hospital admissions, and whether the current approach offers the best possible care for the country at an optimal cost.”

Charlotte Osborn-Forde, Chief Executive of the National Academy for Social Prescribing, said: “This is an important and groundbreaking piece of research. There is already a wide range of evidence demonstrating that social prescribing is highly impactful and can save the NHS money, but this is the first time research has been published showing statistically significant improvements for the whole population. It’s simple: the more Link Workers that are employed, the more likely it is that patients are able to manage their own health, and have a good experience of their GP. 

“This is because Link Workers get to know patients, supporting them step by step to access local services, tackling issues like housing, debt, food or fuel poverty, loneliness and unemployment - the issues that matter to people and can have a big impact on our health. This vital research further supports the case for the expansion of social prescribing in the NHS so that is available to more patients who could benefit.”

The full study - entitled ‘Impact of the rollout of the national social prescribing link worker programme on population outcomes: evidence from a repeated cross-sectional survey’ has been published in The British Journal of General Practice. You can read the report and its results here:

Apini is a spinout from The University of �������Ƶ developing a new treatment for chronic inflammatory diseases using a small molecule approach. The company was formed with help from the University’s Innovation Factory, its technology transfer office. According to the Spotlight on Spinouts 2025 report by the Royal Academy of Engineering and Beauhurst, the Innovation Factory supported the launch of 114 spinout companies between 2011 and January 2025, placing the University among the UK’s top institutions for spinout creation.

Spun out of the University of �������Ƶ, Apini is developing a novel small molecule for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases. Potential indications include Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis, the two most common forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which affects as many as 10 million people worldwide. Apini is looking to address the significant unmet need in this area of medicine through targeted modulation of eNAMPT, an enzyme implicated in multiple inflammatory conditions.

Preclinical studies demonstrate the potential for selective eNAMPT modulators to treat various inflammatory diseases without inducting immune suppression.

Apini was discovered by founding scientist Professor Sam Butterworth, who is world-renowned for his work in the invention of Tagrisso, a life-saving anti-cancer drug for EGFR mutant lung cancer that is used globally.

Slingshot was built by Syncona with an initial commitment of £12.5 million to identify and advance de-risked therapeutic programmes from the work of leading academic researchers. Apini is the first company to work with Slingshot, following its launch in November 2024, with Northern Gritstone becoming the first co-investor.

Apini’s funding from Northern Gritstone and Syncona will be delivered over three tranches tied to company milestones, with the original commitment unchanged in value.

Northern Gritstone Chief Executive, Duncan Johnson, said: “Apini is based on the groundbreaking drug development work of Professor Sam Butterworth from The University of �������Ƶ, and is a fantastic example of life sciences company creation based on world-class research. We’re delighted to invest in Apini, alongside Syncona, and with the support of the Slingshot accelerator”

Founder of Apini, Professor Sam Butterworth said “This investment from Northern Gritstone supports Apini’s mission to treat inflammatory diseases without the induction of immune suppression. We look forward to advancing and accelerating the Apini programme which we believe can bring meaningful improvements to patients across a broad range of chronic inflammatory diseases.”

Executive Chair of Slingshot, Edward Hodgkin added: “We are delighted to welcome Northern Gritstone as an investment partner for Apini, with the investment providing further validation of this novel programme. We believe that Slingshot’s expertise and operational support has the ability to accelerate exceptional academic science, like Apini, into attractive biotech assets that can quickly and effectively transform into groundbreaking treatments for patients.”

The study is published today (Wednesday) in ERJ Open Research [1]. Carbon can enter the lungs via cigarette smoke, diesel exhaust and polluted air.

The cells, called alveolar macrophages, normally protect the body by engulfing any particles or bacteria that reach the lungs. But, in their new study, researchers found that when these cells are exposed to carbon they grow larger and encourage inflammation.

The research was led by and from The University of �������Ƶ, UK, and funded by the North West Lung Centre Charity and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) �������Ƶ Biomedical Research Centre (BRC).

Dr Baker, Research Associate within the NIHR �������Ƶ BRC’s Respiratory Theme said: “COPD is a complex disease that has a number of environmental and genetic risk factors. One factor is exposure to carbon from smoking or breathing polluted air.

“We wanted to study what happens in the lungs of COPD patients when this carbon builds up in alveolar macrophage cells, as this may influence the cells’ ability to protect the lungs.”

The researchers used samples of lung tissue from surgery for suspected lung cancer. They studied samples (that did not contain any cancer cells) from 28 people who had COPD and 15 people who were smokers but did not have COPD.

Looking specifically at alveolar macrophage cells under a microscope, the researchers measured the sizes of the cells and the amount of carbon accumulated in the cells.

They found that the average amount of carbon was more than three times greater in alveolar macrophage cells from COPD patients compared to smokers. Cells containing carbon were consistently larger than cells with no visible carbon.

Patients with larger deposits of carbon in their alveolar macrophages had worse lung function, according to a measure called FEV1%, which quantifies how much and how forcefully patients can breathe out.

When the researchers exposed macrophages to carbon particles in the lab, they saw the cells become much larger and found that they were producing higher levels of proteins that lead to inflammation.

Dr Lea, Investigator within the NIHR �������Ƶ BRC’s Respiratory Theme said: “As we compared cells from COPD patients with cells from smokers, we can see that this build-up of carbon is not a direct result of cigarette smoking. Instead, we show alveolar macrophages in COPD patients contain more carbon and are inherently different in terms of their form and function compared to those in smokers.

“Our research raises an interesting question as to the cause of the increased levels of carbon in COPD patients’ macrophages. It could be that people with COPD are less able to clear the carbon they breathe in. It could also be that people exposed to more particulate matter are accumulating this carbon and developing COPD as a result.

“In future, it would be interesting to study how this carbon builds up and how lung cells respond over a longer period of time.” 

Professor Fabio Ricciardolo is Chair of the European Respiratory Society’s group on monitoring airway disease, based at the University of Torino, Italy, and was not involved in the research. He said: “This set of experiments suggest that people with COPD accumulate unusually large amounts of carbon in the cells of their lungs. This build-up seems to be altering those cells, potentially causing inflammation in the lungs and leading to worse lung function.

“In addition, this research offers some clues about why polluted air might cause or worsen COPD. However, we know that smoking and air pollution are risk factors for COPD and other lung conditions, so we need to reduce levels of pollution in the air we breathe and we need to help people to quit smoking.”

[1] Baker J, Booth S, Dungwa J, et al. Alveolar macrophage carbon is associated with COPD severity. ERJ Open Res 2025; in press (https://doi.org/10.1183/23120541.00933-2024).

The paper is available here: 

Funding: the North West Lung Centre Charity and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) �������Ƶ Biomedical Research Centre (BRC).

Since the breakthrough, 18-year-old Rose Anderson from Stretford in �������Ƶ has received a diagnosis of one of the newly discovered conditions.

Rose has been known to the team at the �������Ƶ Centre for Genomic Medicine at �������Ƶ University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) for nearly her whole life, although a precise diagnosis for her seizures and developmental delay has proved difficult to find.

On receiving the news from the �������Ƶ research team last year, Rose’s mum Lyn said: “We felt excited and relieved to finally receive Rose’s diagnosis. Rose is a very happy person, and with any diagnosis, she will always be Rose to us. This has helped us pinpoint what has caused her to be the way she is.”

The study was supported by the MFT-hosted NIHR �������Ƶ BRC, as part of its which aims to improve diagnosis of rare conditions.

Researchers from the NIHR �������Ƶ BRC, MFT, and The University of �������Ƶ (UoM) collaborated with scientists globally to analyse the genetic data of thousands of individuals including those who took part in the a Genomics England initiative to sequence and study the role genes play in health and disease.

Genes are sections of our DNA and contain the instructions for building proteins, which are needed by the body for cell growth and repair.

Parts of our genes that do not make proteins have previously been dismissed as ‘dark matter’ because they were not understood, or ‘junk DNA’ because it was thought they were not essential.

Published in Nature Genetics today (date), �������Ƶ researchers have challenged these assumptions, showing that changes in these regions play a crucial role in brain development.

The team found that mutations in regions of the genome that form R-loops (special DNA-RNA structures that can influence genetic activity) are more common than previously thought.

This insight led them to uncover two new neurodevelopmental conditions:

• RNU2-2-related disorder, which is linked to developmental delays, intellectual disability, small head size (microcephaly), autistic traits and seizures.
• RNU5B-1-related disorder, associated with developmental delays, weak muscle tone (hypotonia), larger-than-average head size (macrocephaly), and poor growth.

Neurodevelopmental conditions – disorders that affect brain development – impact 2-5% of people worldwide.

For many families, these conditions remain a mystery, as current genetic tests often fail to find a cause.

The two new conditions, along with ReNU syndrome (a condition identified in 2024 which has an impact on learning, behaviour, speech and movement) account for more than 1% of all unsolved developmental cases.

This means the breakthrough could provide a genetic explanation for several thousands of people globally with these conditions.

Rose, who was diagnosed with RNU2-2-related disorder in October 2024, loves music, walking, swimming, visiting cafes and riding a tandem bike. She lives with her mum Lyn, dad Joe and younger sister, Lily.

At Lyn’s 20-week pregnancy scan, it was first suspected that Rose may have a rare genetic condition. Despite undergoing extensive genetic testing at MFT and taking part in research, the team had been previously unable to find a specific cause for Rose’s symptoms.

Lyn said: “You wonder if it’s just a random thing that has happened or parents sometimes look to themselves for the cause. Rose first started experiencing seizures when she was a baby – she would become flushed, very vacant and would loll her head to one side. After a bad seizure when she was 2 and a half years old, Rose was diagnosed with epilepsy. She occasionally has seizures now, but these are better managed with medication.

“When Rose went to nursery, younger children began overtaking her with early developmental milestones. Rose is non-verbal and is great at communicating using objects and symbols. She experiences hyperventilation (rapid breathing), can struggle with spatial awareness and needs support with eating and personal care.

“This breakthrough is fantastic, and we hope it will lead to more families receiving a diagnosis now and when early symptoms first appear. This could help improve quality of life for other children and young people and find out what it is that makes them unique.”

Rose and her family are working with the �������Ƶ team to help them better understand RNU2-2 related disorder. Rose has also taken part in more research at MFT since receiving her diagnosis, including donating skin cells to help the team produce brain stem cells for epilepsy research.

Study lead and first author of the paper Dr Adam Jackson, Academic Clinical Fellow at the �������Ƶ Centre for Genomic Medicine at MFT and The University of �������Ƶ and early career researcher in the NIHR �������Ƶ BRC’s Rare Conditions Theme, said: “By proving that non-protein coding genes play a key role in human health, this study challenges long-held assumptions about ‘junk DNA’ and brings hope to many families searching for answers.”

Dr Jackson, who is also part of the (MRCC), a virtual centre based at MFT which aims to improve the lives of people with rare conditions, explained: “Identifying these genetic mutations was a one-year process. They are difficult to understand because they are in the ‘dark matter’, so we didn’t know what their effect would be when they don’t produce a protein. It was thought that one of the genes didn’t do anything at all, but our method of looking at R-loop forming regions has highlighted this region to be active.”

15-year-old Noah from the Isle of Wight was diagnosed with RNU5B-1-related disorder by the team at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust this year, more than seven years after donating his DNA for the 100,000 Genomes Project.

His mum, Maria Villa Vine, said: “We were blown away when we received the diagnosis and to find out it was rare. I always knew my boy was special, but this confirmed it! Having a diagnosis can help you understand yourself, so this will support Noah being able to do that.”

Noah’s diagnostic journey began at around 15 months old when his family noticed he wasn’t reaching some milestones that are typically displayed at that age. At four years old, Noah was diagnosed with autistic traits and following a reassessment when he was 12, Noah was diagnosed as autistic.

Following extensive initial genetic investigations by clinicians in Southampton, Noah took part in the 100,000 Genomes Project. This did not find a diagnosis, but his data was entered into the research environment which resulted in the �������Ƶ team’s discovery.

Maria said: “We took part in the 100,000 Genomes Project because as a family we thought, what’s there to lose? If it can help your child or other children with disabilities in the community, why wouldn’t you? We didn’t expect to hear anything from it until we got the phone call.

“Navigating early years as a parent can be difficult, it’s full of emotion and your brain blocks things out. You can feel self-blame and guilt, wondering if it’s something you did. It can also be a hard time for siblings – Noah’s sister was seven at the time of his autism diagnosis. It’s important to have a network of professionals around families to support them and put the children at the centre of conversations.”

This study was supported by the , which facilitates research into the epigenomics of rare diseases and is part of the Medical Research Council and NIHR-funded Rare Diseases UK Platform.

Professor Siddharth Banka, senior author of the study who oversaw the research, is a Professor of Genomic Medicine and Rare Diseases at UoM, Consultant Clinical Geneticist at the �������Ƶ Centre for Genomic Medicine at MFT, and Clinical Director of the MRCC.

Discussing the next steps for the research, Professor Banka, who is also the Rare Conditions Co-Theme Lead at the NIHR �������Ƶ BRC and Co-Lead for the EpiGenRare Node, said: “We now want to understand these conditions better, such as how do their symptoms evolve over time, are there any associated complications and discover potential treatment options. We also need to understand the mechanism of the disease better – how exactly are these genetic mutations causing neurodevelopmental conditions? With this information, we hope to identify treatments and therapies, and make these available for patients.”

The �������Ƶ-based team’s findings have also had a positive impact on patients and families worldwide.

In Australia, the breakthrough has meant that clinicians there were able to diagnose with RNU2-2-related disorder after a decade-long diagnostic journey.

Gitty’s mum, Miriam, said: “We felt very relieved when we found out. The diagnosis didn’t change anything because Gitty was 10 years old at this stage and we’ve lived through all these symptoms. But knowing that it won’t affect our other children and can’t be passed down by them was a big relief. Uncertainty can be very unnerving, so having a diagnosis gives us peace of mind.”

Professor Marian Knight, Scientific Director for NIHR Infrastructure, said: “For parents of children with neurodevelopmental conditions, understanding the cause of symptoms is an essential first step to getting the best help for their child. The experimental medicine championed by our NIHR Biomedical Research Centres which leads to important discoveries like this provides real benefits for real people like Rose. This exciting work has the potential to change the care of patients not only in the UK but around the world."

Dr Sarah Wynn, CEO of Unique, a charity which supports families affected by rare genetic disorders, said: “This research study which has discovered two new frequent causes of neurodevelopmental conditions is incredibly important and valuable to patients and families, who have often been searching for a long time for the answer to their child’s developmental delays. Receiving a diagnosis like this can be life-changing for families, not only by providing the explanation they have been looking for but enabling them to connect to others and learn more about the condition resulting in improved care and support for their child. We are enormously grateful to research teams such as this, who work tirelessly to discover new gene associations and understand more about rare genetic conditions bringing benefit to people and families all over the world.”

The charity Versus Arthritis has awarded £3m to bring world-leading experts from five UK universities together to accelerate clinical epidemiology research, which will help answer pressing questions from those living with arthritis. 

Professor Kimme Hyrich, Director of The University of �������Ƶ Centre for Musculoskeletal Research will co-lead the consortium with Professor Christian Mallen, Executive Dean and Professor of General Practice and Public Health at Keele University. 

Professor Hyrich, a leading clinical epidemiologist and consultant rheumatologist, highlights the advantages of team science in epidemiological research: “This award represents an exciting step-change in the way musculoskeletal epidemiology research is conducted in the UK, breaking down traditional research siloes and uniting minds, data and expertise to generate the evidence needed to support people living with arthritis and other painful musculoskeletal conditions."  

The new research consortium is part of the charity’s drive to harness ‘team science’ to better understand the causes and risk factors for arthritis and improve treatment options. Epidemiology – the study of how diseases occur in different people and why - is critical to designing better and targeted interventions using data.   

The consortium, made up of experts from the Universities of �������Ƶ, Keele, Oxford, Nottingham and Aberdeen, aims to close five gaps in our understanding of the debilitating disease and related conditions. They will consider menopause in relation to musculoskeletal health, inequalities in access to care, risks of long-term pain medications and determine the optimum levels of monitoring for those receiving immune drugs.  The researchers will also aim to identify those at higher risk of chronic pain sooner, given painful musculoskeletal conditions often begin in childhood. This holds the potential to explore ways to prevent or reduce persistent pain.  

Lucy Donaldson, Director of Research at Versus Arthritis, said: “The Versus Arthritis Research Consortium: Musculoskeletal Epidemiology - Better lives, Safer journey is a major step forward in tackling the everyday realities faced by people living with arthritis and other painful musculoskeletal conditions.  

“This consortium will bring together leading researchers, clinicians, and people with lived experience from across the UK in a team science approach. Their aim - to find real, practical solutions to the problems faced by people with arthritis.”  

The consortium will employ cutting edge analysis techniques on existing datasets to fill the identified gaps in our knowledge of arthritis and MSK conditions. Its findings will help to arm those living with arthritis to have informed conversations with clinicians about their care. It will also seek to improve clinical practice and policy around diagnosis, prevention and treatment.  

Professor Mallen, Keele University, said: "The new Versus Arthritis Research Consortium is an exciting new programme that will have a major impact on the lives of people living with painful conditions by uniting world-leading clinicians, academics, patients and policy makers.  

“It is a privilege to co-lead the consortium with Professor Hyrich and having strong representation from Keele University highlights the importance of primary care in improving outcomes for people living with arthritis and chronic musculoskeletal pain." 

The results will be shared through a broad range of partners including government, the NHS, clinicians and patient networks.  

More than 20 million people, of all ages, in the UK have problems with their joints, bones and muscles, which cause pain and impact all aspects of life including work and school.  

The Versus Arthritis Research Consortium: Musculoskeletal Epidemiology - Better lives, Safer journey is the first of six consortia to be announced by Versus Arthritis which is awarding £18 million of funding to this initiative over the next three years. 

Senior author Dr Ben Brown is a practicing GP and co-founder of Patchs, as well as a researcher at The University of �������Ƶ. He said: “AI has the potential to reduce the heavier workload which is sometimes associated with eVisits in general practice.

“Despite the potential, AI tools are not yet routinely used in primary care. This study is the first to ask if this use of AI would be acceptable to staff and patients.”

Co-author Professor Niels Peek from The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute, University of Cambridge said: “This work aligns with the government’s strategy to address the high workload that the NHS is facing with technology.

“The study demonstrates that there exist opportunities to streamline NHS services with AI in a way that is meaningful for, and would be welcomed by, patients and staff.”

Inclusion of families is a key part of guidance to universities on conducting such reviews but the study found that in most cases it did not happen. Some families described feeling the university was defensive and reluctant to answer important and painful questions. 

The study found the commitment to suicide prevention in universities is strong. However, it recommends reviews are more responsive to families and proposes a “duty of candour” should be developed and adopted by the higher education sector. 

Most of the serious incident reviews identified potential stressors and experiences that could have contributed to suicide risk. Mental ill-health and academic problems including exam stresses were the most common factors. Around three-quarters of students had been in contact with university support services. Many had experienced adverse life events, including relationship problems, problems with housing, family relationships, their peers, or finance. 

The serious incident reports showed that 13% of the students, five female and five male, were reported to have been victims of violence, including sexual or physical assault, harassment or threats of violence. In three, the gender of the student was not reported. 

Over two-thirds (53, 67%) of the 79 reports of suspected suicide detailed how the university responded to the death, known as postvention.

Postvention to fellow students was documented in 32 (41%) of the 79 serious incident reports but just 7 (9%) said the student’s family received support. The figure was 14 (18%) for staff impacted by the death.

A total of 107 students at 73 English universities were suspected to have lost their lives to suicide in the 2023/2024 academic year. 62 incidents of non-fatal self-harm were also reported in the same period. Of the 169 cases, serious incident reports were submitted for 104 (62%) of them. And of the 104 reports, 79 (74%) were for suspected suicide and 25 (40%) for incidents of non-fatal self-harm.

, Director of the into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health at The University of �������Ƶ, said: “A single life lost to suicide is an immeasurable tragedy. The main aim of this national review is to improve learning from these tragic incidents to help prevent future deaths. We found an excellent response from universities to this national review and, on such a sensitive issue, this is a welcome sign for prevention.

“However, the families we spoke to provided moving accounts of feeling excluded from the process of finding out what happened to their loved ones, and some had a perception the university was evasive and reluctant to answer important and painful questions.

“That is why input from bereaved families should be a key part of the serious incident investigation process, and their questions should be answered as far as possible.

“We suggest a version of the duty of candour should be introduced to the HE sector. This would have the aim of, ensuring openness and transparency with families after a suspected suicide. This should be developed and shaped by the sector itself to ensure it is appropriate to the HE setting.”

from The University of �������Ƶ said: “Mental-ill health was frequently identified in the serious incident reports we examined, sometimes there were clear indications of risk through mental illness or self-harm, but other reports identified students who were experiencing less severe problems with mental well-being. We suggest mental health awareness and suicide prevention training should be available for all staff in student-facing roles, and include recognising and responding to risk and neurodiversity.

“And students who are struggling academically should be recognised as potentially at risk, with enhanced support being offered at key points in the academic calendar. Access to mental health and other support should also be reviewed, particularly for those at additional risk, such as those who have experienced violence or other adverse life events.”

• The study is published on the  DfE

Officially known as Leader in Openness, the award, which needs to be renewed every three years, is given by Understanding Animal Research, a key body which promotes understanding of the humane use of animals in medical, veterinary, scientific and environmental research in the UK.

'Leaders in Openness' status - first awarded to �������Ƶ six years ago - recognises organisations who dedicate significant resources to embedding best practice throughout their organisation, ensuring that transparency is not just an aspiration but a reality at every level.

The University's Biological Services Facility has long been a leading university for openness about the work it carries out with animals - which includes mice, rats, frogs, fish and sheep.

�������Ƶ was one of the original signatures of the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research, a set of four commitments to help organisations which carry out animal research to communicate openly about their work and the reasons why they do it.

 Dr Maria Kamper Biological Services Facility Director at The University of �������Ƶ said: "The University's commitment to the Concordat on Openness in Animal Research drives our transparency in animal studies. 

"With just a few clicks, the public can access details about our research methods, animal species, numbers, and ethical frameworks. We offer virtual tours, participate in science fairs, and host various public events. School groups, journalists, and community members also regularly visit our facilities. 

"This recognition of the efforts of the BSF staff is gratifying, and we enthusiastically pledge to continue advancing this important transparency agenda."

It has been shown that greater openness on how and why animals are used enables the public to consider both the potential benefits and the ethical considerations, fostering informed discussion and trust.

Hannah Hobson, Head of Communications and Engagement at Understanding Animal Research said: "Each year, the Concordat recognises institutions that consistently meet the highest standards for openness and transparency in their animal research communications. These organisations excel in internal communications, public-facing websites, social media, media engagement, and public outreach, setting a benchmark for the sector and leading by example.

"For 2025–2028, a select group of research organisations has once again demonstrated outstanding commitment in all these areas, earning the 'Leaders in Openness' title for three years. This recognition reflects the energy, thoughtfulness, and courage they show in making information about animal research accessible and understandable to the public on a subject that is often complex and misunderstood."

• For more details about leader in openness, visit the website
• If you have any questions about animal research at �������Ƶ, email animal research communications lead Mike Addelman and Communications and 3Rs manager at the BSF Dr Jo Stanley  at animal.research@manchester.ac.uk

New analysis from Health Equity North, Newcastle University, and the University of �������Ƶ has shown that availability of community pharmacy services in England has reduced, particularly in deprived areas.

Researchers investigated how access to community pharmacies changed from 2014 to 2023, examining relationships between pharmacy availability and factors such as how urban the area is, and socioeconomic deprivation.

In England, more than 90% of people live within a 20-minute walk of a community pharmacy. However, overall availability of pharmacies has decreased with the number dropping from 1.6 pharmacies per 10,000 people to 1.5. The most deprived areas were 65% more likely to lose a pharmacy compared to the least deprived areas.

Pharmacies are an important part of the healthcare system and are well placed to reach those most in need. They deliver a range of public health and clinical services, such as smoking cessation advice and support, emergency hormonal contraception, hypertension screening and ‘flu’ vaccination programmes.

Recent funding cuts and closures of community pharmacies prompted health inequalities researchers to explore whether the ‘positive pharmacy care law’ – which means people in more deprived areas have better access to pharmacies - is still in operation, and the implications of this on commissioning of future services.

It found that the positive pharmacy care law remains in place but has eroded over time. Pharmacy availability is decreasing, especially in poorer areas, meaning more people must rely on each remaining pharmacy.

The research team says that due to the nature to the NHS Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework in England and the tiered levels of services, “there is potential that there will be less capacity to provide the additional enhanced clinical services for community pharmacies located in the most deprived areas”.

The study showed:

• In 2014, the most deprived areas had 2.28 pharmacies per 10,000 people compared to 1.37 per 10,000 people in the least deprived areas; by 2023, this dropped to 2.01 and 1.33 per 10,000 people, respectively.
• The decline in pharmacy availability per 10,000 people was most severe in the most deprived areas (-0.27 per 10,000 people or an 11.8% reduction between 2014 and 2023)
• Urban areas experienced a significant decline in pharmacy availability - an 8.2% reduction (from 1.81 to 1.66 pharmacies per 10,000 people) between 2014 and 2023.

The academics behind the analysis say reinvestment in the community pharmacy network will help address challenges within the sector and reduce inequalities in access to health care.

Lead author Eman Zied Abozied, Research Associate at Newcastle University, said: “Pharmacies are one of the only healthcare options available on the high street where people can be seen without an appointment. They play an important role in helping people access the care they need, especially in the most disadvantaged areas where there might be fewer GPs. Funding cuts across the sector have seen many community pharmacies close, which could fuel inequalities in healthcare access.

“While it is encouraging that our analysis shows that most people still live close to a pharmacy, the reduction in the number of community pharmacies is a cause for concern. Pharmacies are serving a higher number of people, with the biggest decline in availability in communities that have the greatest health needs, leading to immense pressure on services and staff. Pharmacies in the most disadvantaged areas may not be able to offer the full range of clinical services due to funding cuts and staffing pressures.

“If community pharmacies are required to deliver more clinical services to support other primary care organisations, it is important that they have the appropriate funding to be able to achieve this.”

Dr Luke Munford, Health Equity North Academic Co-Director and Senior Lecturer in Health Economics at The University of �������Ƶ, said: “There needs to be more investment in community pharmacies if they are to effectively deliver the vital public health services they provide to people across England. Our study shows that more pressure is being placed on pharmacies with this being felt more keenly in deprived communities where health outcomes tend to be worse. 

“The implications of inaction could see less capacity to provide much need services to those most in need and further widening of existing health inequalities.” 

The study has been published in BMJ Open. Read the full paper - "The Positive Pharmacy Care Law Revisited: an area-level analysis of the relationship between community pharmacy distribution, urbanity and deprivation in England"

The  groundbreaking research, led by Dr Matthew J. Kibble, used a state-of-the-art 3D printing technique called bioprinting to replicate the complex structure and environment of human spinal discs. 

In a study published in the journal today, they reveal tissue stiffness and oxygen levels significantly impact the production of vital biological materials, including collagen and hyaluronic acid, by human disc cells. 

The insights could ultimately lead to new treatments for back pain, a condition affecting hundreds of millions of people across the world. 

Bioprinting is a cutting-edge technique that uses living cells and biological materials to create complex 3D structures that accurately mimic the structure of human organs. 

The new bioprinted discs will allow scientists to study how different conditions affect disc cell behaviour and contribute to tissue degeneration and back pain.

Most bioprinters work in a similar way to plastic 3D printers, extruding material through a nozzle under pressure to build structures.

However, rather than printing plastic, bioprinters use cells and gel-like inks made from cell-friendly materials such as collagen, cellulose or gelatin.

The scientists prepared the cells and materials needed for bioprinting and designed a digital model of a human spinal disc. For this study, the bioprinted discs were made from gels containing collagen combined with alginate, a protein derived from seaweed.

They used state-of-the-art 3D bioprinters capable of depositing multiple types of cells and materials, layer-by-layer, to create sophisticated models where the different biological, chemical, and mechanical characteristics of the human disc could be modelled.

The bioprinted tissues were then stored in controlled conditions so they could grow, mature, and develop their biological functions.

Dr Stephen M. Richardson, from The University of �������Ƶ, corresponding author of the study said: “This work represents a step towards the automated creation of realistic whole organ models and brings us closer to understanding the root causes of disc degeneration.”

“Our findings provide important insights into the factors driving disc degeneration and pave the way for the development of more effective regenerative therapies, for example through incorporation of stem cells.”

Bioprinting has been used to fabricate models of different tissues including skin, brain, nerve and heart, kidney and tumour.

However, fully functional tissue engineered organs are still  decades away; current models are mostly used for investigating biological processes in the lab but may act as replacements for lab animals.

As part of his PhD research at The University of �������Ƶ, Dr Kibble developed the bioprinted discs to explore the impact of tissue stiffness on the two cell types that inhabit different parts of the adult spinal discs:  nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus cells.

In future disc models the scientists plan to incorporate cells found in healthy, young developing discs, alongside stem cells or gene-edited cells to create even more advanced models of health and disease. This will enable them to understand how healthy tissue is formed and whether stem cells can be used to produce healthy tissue and treat back pain.

Dr Kibble said: “Over 600 million people worldwide suffer from lower back pain. Our bioprinted intervertebral disc models are an exciting opportunity to inform better regenerative therapies.

Our research has shown that tissue stiffness and oxygen levels have a significant impact the production of vital biological materials.

There have been many attempts to engineer discs so that we can understand their biology and develop models for testing different therapies or transplanting them into animals. But as well as being very difficult to do, this is also extremely time consuming.

Our work allows us to produce biologically functional disc models at scale and will allow us to make desperately needed advances in our understanding  of disc disease.”

The study was funded by the UKRI EPSRC/MRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Regenerative Medicine, the Wellcome Institutional Strategic Support Fund, and the Medical Research Council.

The authors also acknowledge the support of the national Henry Royce Institute EPSRC grants and the Bioprinting Technology Platform.

A video of the bioprinted in action is available, as are images of the bioprinted discs, and graphics.

The paper,  Suspension bioprinted whole intervertebral disc analogues enable regional stiffness- and hypoxia-regulated matrix secretion by primary human nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus cells is published in Acta Biomaterialia and is available.

The University of �������Ƶ is globally renowned for its pioneering research, outstanding teaching and learning, and commitment to social responsibility. We are a truly international university – ranking in the top 50 in a range of global rankings – with a diverse community of more than 44,000 students, 12,000 staff and 550,000 alumni from 190 countries.  Sign up for our e-news to hear first-hand about our international partnerships and activities across the globe. 

Less climate mitigation will increase the spread of fungal pathogens in certain areas, putting more people at risk.

• Novel projections show that in 15 years, if we rely on fossil fuels instead of clean power (scenario of *), we are likely to see the significant spread of certain fungal pathogens in Europe
• Under this scenario, the spread of Aspergillus flavus, for example, could increase by about 16%, putting 1 million more people at risk of infection in Europe. Infections affect the respiratory system, and this fungus infects a broad range of agricultural crops
• The predictions also show that the spread of another fungus, Aspergillus fumigatus, could increase by 77.5% and potentially expose 9 million people in Europe
• This is a concerning trend due to a rise in antifungal resistance and a severe lack of diagnostics and treatment options for fungal infections

In a new study, published on  and funded by , the effects of rising temperatures on infection-causing fungi have been mapped under different climate change mitigation scenarios until the year 2100. Using climate modelling and forecasts, at the University of �������Ƶ and colleagues have mapped how the global distributions of three fungal pathogens (Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus niger) could be expected to change as a result.

The rise of pathogenic fungi is a real concern and is being driven by climate change. Fungi are incredibly adaptable organisms, with large, malleable genomes that allow them to colonize new geographies and survive as their environment changes.

Dr. Norman van Rhijn said: “Changes in environmental factors, such as humidity and extreme weather events, will change habitats and drive fungal adaptation and spread.

“We’ve already seen the emergence of the fungus Candida auris due to rising temperatures, but, until now, we had little information of how other fungi might respond to this change in the environment.  Fungi are relatively under researched compared to viruses and parasites, but these maps show that fungal pathogens will likely impact most areas of the world in the future. Raising awareness and developing effective interventions for fungal pathogens will be essential to mitigate the consequences of this.”

The maps show that in a fossil fuel dependent economy, as outlined in the IPCC scenario of , the climate will change to become suitable for fungal pathogens to spread to new geographies, with a marked increase in Europe.

The spread of Aspergillus flavus could increase by about 16%, putting 1 million more people at risk of infection from this deadly fungal pathogen in Europe. This fungus is known to cause severe infections and is resistant to many antifungals available.

This is an especially concerning trend as many fungal infections have high mortality rates, partly because of the lack of diagnostics, vaccines and treatment options as well as a lack of awareness of fungal infections. Additionally, as fungi are more similar to humans than other pathogens, developing anti-fungal treatments without toxic side effects is challenging.

The predictions also show that the spread of Aspergillus fumigatus could increase by 77.5% and potentially expose 9 million people in Europe. This is one of the most common fungal pathogens responsible for life-threatening infections in humans and affects the lungs.

Whilst the rise in global temperatures will increase the spread of fungi in Europe, temperatures in Africa could become so high that some fungi will not be able to survive on the continent. Fungi are an essential component to a functioning ecosystem, decomposing plant and animal matter to reintroduce nutrients into the soil. They also contribute to the carbon cycle which regulates the global climate and temperatures.  

Antifungal resistance is also being driven by the use of fungicides in agriculture, which are used to protect crops and support food production. The researchers also looked at the how the changing environment impacts our use of fungicides.

Viv Goosens, Research Manager at Wellcome said: “Fungal pathogens pose a serious threat to human health by causing infections and disrupting food systems. Climate change will make these risks worse. To address these challenges, we must fill important research gaps. By using models and maps to track the spread of fungi, we can better direct resources and prepare for the future." 

Fungal infections are transmitted through fungal spores in the air we breathe. People with weakened immune systems, co-morbidities and other risk factors are most vulnerable to infections, although fungi could adapt to become more pathogenic due to rising temperatures and could result in more infections in healthy people.

Despite this mounting threat, fungal infections receive little attention or resources. Less than 10% of an estimated 1.5 to 3.8 million species have been described, and a tiny fraction has had their genome sequenced. Wellcome is awarding over £50mn in funding towards fungal research over the next year. 

The study has been published on preprint platform Research Square, available here

The compound, developed by the scientists and known as caADAMTS13, could be a breakthrough for patients who have brain blood clots with an overabundance of platelets-  the tiny cell fragments that help form clots and are often not treatable by existing therapies. 

The study, funded by a British Heart Foundation 4-Year PhD Studentship Program and The University of �������Ƶ Innovation Factory is published in the leading journal in the field, Stroke. 

It is the first potential new treatment for stroke in the UK since the clotbusting drug recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) was licensed in September 2002. 

According to existing research, rtPA is only effective in as few as 10% to 35% of patients and is associated with a significant risk of bleeding. 

Another clotbuster called Tenecteplase (TNK), a variant of rtPA, was recently approved for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke in the United States but has similar limitations to rtPA. 

Both rtPA and TNK have similar efficacy and risk of haemorrhage. 

Von Willebrand Factor (VWF), a protein involved in blood clotting, helps platelets stick to damaged blood vessels and form the structure of blood clots. 

The greater the proportion of platelet and VWF components in a clot, the less effective rtPA is in dissolving it. 

The scientists investigated an alternative strategy which utilises caADAMTS13, an enzyme that reduces the size of VWF and helps break down blood clots. 

In previous mouse studies they have already shown that caADAMTS13 improves cerebral blood flow, reduces damage in the brain, reduces the depositing of both platelets and a clot promoting protein called fibrin, as well displaying anti-inflammatory properties. 

However, until now, a head to head comparison with the existing therapies of rtPA and  TNK had not been carried out. 

The scientists directly compared caADAMTS13 with rtPA and TNK in mice with a cerebral artery blockage from platelet and VWF rich clots, to mimick rtPA-resistance. 

They found that the restoration of cerebral blood flow 1 hour after treatment was the greatest in the mice treated by caADAMTS13 and that at 24 hours the caADAMTS13 mice had reduced brain damage.

Lead author Lucy Roberts, from The University of �������Ƶ, said: “When someone has an acute ischemic stroke, doctors need to quickly remove the clot blocking cerebral arteries in the brain.

“To avoid  severe and potentially life-threatening complications, the need to act fast is acute. Unfortunately, current treatments are only sometimes effective.

“However, our findings show that the compound we developed, called caADAMTS13, is more effective than current stroke treatments

“That is why it is tremendously exciting that this compound could one day meet an unmet clinical need for stroke patients.”

Co-author and principle investigator Professor Stuart Allan from The University of �������Ƶ said: “We know that removing blood clots can improve outcomes in stroke and that current treatments don’t always work.

“Therefore, the approach is proven to work and we just need better drugs that can break down all types of blood clots. We think caADAMTS13 may allow this to happen.”

Professor Bryan Williams, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at the British Heart Foundation, said: "A stroke is a medical emergency. For every minute blood flow to the brain is disrupted during a stroke, millions of nerve cells can become damaged and die. Stroke remains the single biggest cause of severe disability in the UK and we urgently need new treatments.

“More research will be needed to understand how these early results in mice can be translated to humans, but this study gives us a promising glimpse into a future where the compound caADAMTS13 could potentially be developed as a new therapy to safely and effectively dissolve blood clots in the brain.”

The paper Comparison of the Novel Thrombolytic Constitutively Active ADAMTS13 With Clinical Thrombolytics in a Murine Stroke Model , DOI: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.125.050848, is available

• The  video animation  illustrates the formation of a clot. Please credit the .
• For the image of the brain, please credit the .

For over 30 years Professor Itzhaki, professorial fellow emerita, University of �������Ƶ and visiting professorial fellow, University of Oxford, has pursued the idea that HSV1, the herpes virus that causes cold sores, is a precursor to the development of AD. 

The 2025 STATUS List features 50 influential people shaping the future of health and life sciences across biotech, medicine, health care, policy, and health tech. 

The list is wide-ranging: from the biotech and health system executives who lead the market, to scientists developing AI technologies and breakthrough therapies, to patient advocates and activists.  

At  the University of �������Ƶ, Professor Itzhaki’s team discovered that HSV-1 DNA is present in the human brain in a high proportion of older people - the first microbe to be detected definitively in normal human brains.

The researchers later indicated that the virus when in the brain, in combination with a specific genetic factor, confers a high risk of developing AD.

She recently co-authored a that suggested that repeated head injuries could reawaken dormant HSV1 virus in the brain, triggering the onset of the disease.

The research team found that even mild brain trauma can trigger this chain reaction, leading to harmful changes associated with memory loss and cognitive decline.

The idea is winning purchase as the “amyloid hypothesis” — which proposes that Alzheimer’s is caused by a protein buildup in the brain — loosens its grip on the scientific community.

The researchers hope their work will pave the way for new treatments to protect against neurodegeneration, particularly for those at high risk due to repeated concussions.

Professor Itzhaki said: “I am delighted to be included in this year’s STATUS list. It is a great honour and a recognition that my work is finally being accepted by the scientific community.

“Most people now accept that dormant Herpes Simplex Virus in the brain  can become reactivated and in so doing can trigger the symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease.”

What distinguishes these University entrepreneurs? Each finalist has identified real-world challenges and developed innovative approaches that show great potential. From sustainable environmental solutions to ground-breaking healthcare technologies, these ideas showcase the incredible talent nurturing within our university walls.

In this milestone 25th Anniversary year of the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre, the competition holds special significance as we reflect on a quarter-century of fostering innovation and entrepreneurial excellence at The University of �������Ƶ.

After an intense selection process, the finalists are competing for funding of up to £15,000 in one of the five categories: Environment, Healthcare, Services, Social & Technology. The winners will be announced at our awards ceremony on 11 June.

Environment Category

Josiah Edebiri - UrbanWatt 

School of Engineering, PhD EEE 

UrbanWatt is revolutionising sustainable urban logistics by simplifying the commercial adoption of Light-EVs through integrated wireless power technology, AI-driven optimisation, and smart charging systems.

Farah Frikha - Vesta Capsules 

School of Engineering, Mechatronic Engineering 

Inspired by Japanese capsule hotels, Vesta Capsules offers affordable, eco-friendly sleeping pods built with smart technology and sustainable materials, providing a modern alternative to traditional accommodations.

Mohammad Israil Hossain - Aqua Graph 

School of Natural Sciences, Nano and Functional Materials 

Aqua Graph has developed graphene-based filtration technology where micro-sponges can adsorb harmful chemicals from wastewater up to their own weight, with a reversible process allowing for material recovery and reuse.

Thando Mathe - Khuluma 

School of Environment, Education and Development, MSc Global Development Environment and Climate Change 

Khuluma uses AI-driven climate communication to break language barriers across Africa, making critical climate information accessible to diverse communities.

Healthcare Category

Adrian Perez Barreto - Revine 

CDT-Advanced Biomedical Materials 

Revine addresses diabetic limb ulcers with a graphene-based electrostimulation patch that enhances tissue regeneration while preventing infection, with integrated biosensors providing real-time wound data.

Indu Khemchandani - abetesCareAI 

Alliance �������Ƶ Business School, MBA 

abetesCareAI is an AI-powered app helping users manage diabetes through real-time insights, personalised recommendations, and seamless device integration, with a freemium model and B2B partnerships.

Grigorii Rodionov - FlashAid AI 

School of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering BEng 

FlashAid AI tackles ambulance delays with an AI-powered platform for emergency response featuring instant triage, smart dispatch, real-time tracking, and dynamic routing optimised for traffic conditions.

Jasper Beaumont - Mend 

School of Medical Sciences, MBChB Medicine 

Mend is an AI-powered digital mental health platform helping patients build positive lifestyle habits through automated tracking, personalised care insights, and data-driven recommendations.

Services Category

Usman Aziz - JIFFL

Alliance �������Ƶ Business School, PhD Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy 

JIFFL is a SaaS platform revolutionising part-time recruitment with an end-to-end solution enabling all recruitment stages on a mobile app and website, supported by machine learning and NLP for automated interviews.

Xiang Zheng - Purfetch 

Alliance �������Ƶ Business School, MBA 

Purfetch combines an AI-powered app and pet robot to help owners better understand their pets' emotional changes, behaviours, and health needs through real-time analysis and personalised care advice.

Matilde Lerias - Syncit

Alliance �������Ƶ Business School, MSc Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship

Syncit is a fitness app that considers the menstrual cycle, providing science-backed personalised fitness, nutrition, and wellbeing plans to help women maintain consistent routines.

Sebastian Contreras - Unisights

Alliance �������Ƶ Business School, BSc Management (Innovation, Strategy & Entrepreneurship) with Placement

Unisights connects Latin American high school students with UK universities through insights from current students, direct access to university representatives, and AI-powered university matching.

Social Category

Alex Kapadia - Pomelo

School of Natural Sciences, Earth and Planetary Science 

Pomelo is an AI-powered platform making local shopping more affordable and convenient by connecting users with nearby food suppliers and chefs, with smart meal planning to reduce food waste.

Bohyuck Han - The Senior Vision Project

Alliance �������Ƶ Business School, MSc Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship

The Senior Vision Project addresses elderly poverty by creating meaningful part-time employment and providing AI-powered dementia prevention training, with data sales reinvested into senior employment projects.

Derry Duffy - Cause

School of Social Sciences, BSocSc Politics and International Relations

Cause is the first online giving platform built specifically for small charities, removing fundraising barriers with no platform fees and enabling connections through data-driven recommendations.

Oboroghene Ogbevire - PalmPro

School of Biological Sciences, Biochemistry BSc (Hons)

PalmPro is pioneering sustainable palm oil extraction through extremophile-derived enzymes that enhance oil yield while reducing environmental impact, with profits reinvested in small-scale producers.

Technology Category

Patrick Johansen Sarsfield - Graphene Thermal

School of Natural Sciences, Graphene NOWNANO CDT

Graphene Thermal specialises in cutting-edge graphene heated floor panels that reach their target temperature in seconds while consuming over 50% less power than conventional underfloor heating.

Dr Sangeethsivan Sivakumar - Ardhann

School of Natural Sciences, PhD Materials

Ardhann develops advanced carbon fibre composites and graphene-based solutions for hydrogen and hydrocarbon storage systems, with integrated monitoring and a SAAS platform for predictive maintenance.

Leo Benjamin Feasby - PulsR

School of Natural Sciences, MPhys Physics with Astrophysics

PulsR offers a suite of AI-powered GPTs including Image Generator Pro and Excel AI, with over 10 million chats and top rankings on ChatGPT's store, enhancing productivity across various fields.

Eduardo Marques - Amplify

School of Engineering, BEng Mechatronic Engineering

Amplify is building a non-invasive Brain-Computer Interface wearable that reads brain signals and uses AI to decode them into commands, streamlining repetitive tasks for 10x productivity.

MEC would like to invite the community at The University of �������Ƶ in congratulating these remarkable entrepreneurs on reaching the finals of the Venture Further Awards 2025. Their innovative ideas showcase the exceptional talent and entrepreneurial spirit within the University ecosystem.

Stay tuned for the announcement of winners on 11 June!

#VentureFurtherAwards2025 #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #StartupCompetition

Find out more about the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre (MEC) on our website .

The researchers suggest that policymakers should increase funding so that deprivation is taken into account as a factor in general practice funding to address income disparities between GPs in more deprived and less deprived areas.

Published in the today (22/04/25) and funded by the , the researchers analysed data from over 8,500 GPs between 2015 and 2021 in the GP work life

They looked at the relationship between deprivation of practice population and job pressures, job satisfaction, reported income, working hours, and intentions to leave direct patient care.

The lead researcher is , an NIHR Clinical Lecturer at The University of �������Ƶ and practicing GP.

He said: “This study shows how the socioeconomic deprivation of practice populations in England is adversely linked to the working conditions of the GPs that work there.

“We highlight a clear and persistent challenge in ensuring equitable healthcare provision.

“Without targeted investment and policy interventions, the difficulties faced by GPs in deprived areas will only continue to worsen, exacerbating health inequalities.”

Key Findings also included:

• GPs in the most deprived areas earn less than those in wealthier areas with an average difference of £5,525 less per year.
• Despite higher job pressures, there were no differences in overall job satisfaction, hours worked per week, or intentions to leave patient care between GPs working in more deprived and less deprived areas.

from The University of �������Ƶ, senior author of the study, added: “Though deprived populations have higher needs for GP services, we know these areas have the most difficulty recruiting and retaining GPs.

“Our study is the first to examine how working in deprived areas affects the working lives of GPs. Addressing their concerns about increased job pressure and decreased resources would help reduce health inequalities.”

According to the researchers, the findings explain why working in areas of greater deprivation is less attractive to GPs, exacerbating workforce recruitment and retention issues.

Dr Anderson added: “Alongside financial incentives, non-financial incentives such as enhanced career development opportunities including fellowships that incorporate time for additional training, research, and leadership responsibilities could be a useful lever to promote GP recruitment and retention in areas of greater deprivation”.

“We also think it’s important to acknowledge we find no differences in hours worked per week, job satisfaction, and intention to quit direct patient care in more deprived and less deprived areas.

“Despite the challenges experienced by GPs working in areas of greater deprivation, this suggests that there are many rewarding aspects of working in areas of greater deprivation.  A broader recognition by the GP community of the potential advantages of working in areas of greater deprivation would therefore be helpful to promote recruitment and retention.”

This article reports the findings from independent research commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care and carried out by the Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Systems and Commissioning (PRUComm). The research was conducted by the Health Organisation, Policy, and Economics (HOPE) group within the Centre for Primary Care & Health Services Research at The University of �������Ƶ. The study was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Policy Research Programme. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Policy Research Programme, NIHR, or the Department of Health and Social Care

• Deprivation and General Practitioners’ working lives: Repeated cross-sectional study is published in the  Journal of the , DOI: JRSM-24-0273.R2 and is available here.

Funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the study on mice shows that the brain’s hypothalamus controls how the immune system adapts during fasting, through a handful of highly specialized neurons responsible for making animals hungry.

Published today (04/04/25) in —one of the world’s leading immunology journals—the study shows the brain’s perception of hunger or fullness, rather than actual eating or caloric restriction, is enough to drive changes in the body’s immune cells.

The findings cast doubt on the current view that a lack of nutrients alone controls how the immune system responds to fasting, indicating the brain has a critical role, beyond the simple absence of food.

By artificially switching on specific brain neurons in mice—which typically signal low energy levels—scientists induced a synthetic sense of hunger. Remarkably, within hours, they saw a fast reorganization of immune cells in the blood, with a noticeable drop in inflammatory monocytes. These artificially hungry mice looked, from an immune perspective, just like mice that had fasted for real.

This discovery could have important implications for developing new therapies to treat a range of inflammatory diseases as well as for treating wasting syndromes seen in cancer, in which individuals lose weight despite eating normally.

It may also explain why obesity often accompanies inflammatory conditions and why malnourished individuals are more prone to infections and inflammation.

The lead senior researcher, Dr Giuseppe D’Agostino, who coordinated the study, said: “Our perceptions can shape our bodies in ways we don’t always notice. It’s easy to see how thoughts guide our actions, but this study reminds us that even our internal body adjustments that are not under conscious control respond to the brain’s signals.

“This study underlines how important the brain is in regulating the immune system. But if internal or external factors alter the brain’s perception, these processes can go awry, reminding us how deeply the mind and body are—and should remain—connected.

"In addition to BBSRC who funded the work, we are grateful to the Medical Research Council for providing early-stage seed funding that helped the lab explore completely novel areas — a small but truly visionary contribution that still resonates today."

Collaborator and �������Ƶ immunologist Professor Matt Hepworth added: “This work challenges the long-standing view that fasting’s immunological impact is driven purely by nutrient levels. It highlights the nervous system’s profound influence on how the immune system adapts during fasting.”

Lead author Dr Cavalcanti de Albuquerque said: “By showing how the brain exerts top-down control over immune cells, we can further explore when and how fasting might deliver health benefits. It also opens up potential ways to treat infectious, inflammatory, metabolic, and psychiatric conditions.”

The paper Brain Sensing of Metabolic State Regulates Circulating Monocytes   is available

The study of 15.7 million patient records, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research and published in the prestigious Journal of the R, implies there could be scope to prescribe far fewer antibiotics. 

The researchers found the probability of being prescribed antibiotics for a lower respiratory tract or urinary tract infection was unrelated to hospital admission risk. 

And the probability of being prescribed an antibiotic for an upper respiratory tract infection was only weakly related to hospital admission risk. 

The study also showed that patient characteristics such as age and the presence of other health problems were only weakly associated with the probability of being prescribed an antibiotic treatment of common infection. 

The most elderly patients in the sample were 31% less likely than the youngest patients to receive an antibiotic for upper respiratory infections. 

That inevitably means, say the researchers, that because many younger people are being prescribed antibiotics, even though they are often fit enough to recover without them, potentially  leading to resistance. 

Conversely,  many older people may not be able to deal with infections without antibiotics are not  receiving them, with the potential of complication and hospital admissions. 

Patients with combinations of diseases were 7% less likely than people without major health problems  to receive an antibiotic for upper respiratory infections. 

Lead authors are  Professor Tjeerd van Staa and Dr Ali Fahmi, from The University of �������Ƶ. 

Professor Tjeerd van Staa said: “Antibiotics are effective in treating bacterial infections, but they carry the risks of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and loss of effectiveness when used inappropriately. 

“That is why AMR to antibiotics has been recognised as one of the biggest threats to global public health. 

“Given the threat of resistance, there is a need to better target antibiotics in primary care to patients with higher risks of infection-related complications such as sepsis. 

“But this study finds that antibiotics for common infections are commonly not prescribed according to complication risk and that suggests there is plenty of scope to do more on reducing antibiotic prescribing.” 

The study also showed that the probability of being prescribed an antibiotic for lower respiratory infections was even more unrelated to complication risk during the pandemic, however they were only minor changes for urinary tract infections. 

The research team accessed anonymised patient-level electronic health records of primary care data from The Phoenix Partnership (TPP) through OpenSAFELY, a secure platform for electronic health records in the NHS. 

They included adults registered at general practices in England from January 2019 to March 2023 diagnosed with upper respiratory, lower respiratory and urinary tract infections. 

Patient-specific risks of infection-related hospital admission were estimated for each infection using risk prediction scores for patients who were not prescribed an antibiotic. 

Dr Ali Fahmi added: “Rather than imposing targets for reducing inappropriate prescribing, we argue that it is far more viable for clinicians to focus on improving risk-based antibiotic prescribing for infections that are less severe and typically self-limiting. 

“Prognosis and harm should explicitly be considered in treatment guidelines, alongside better personalised information for clinicians and patients to support shared decision making.”

“A Knowledge Support (KSS) led by Professor Tjeerd van Staa, which provides personalised information to clinicians is  now being tested in the North-West England

“We hope it could provide a workable solution to the problem of untargeted antibiotic prescribing.”

Antibiotics for common infections in primary care before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: cohort study of extent of prescribing based on risks of infection-related hospital admissions  is published in  DOI: 10.1177/01410768251328997

The study team at �������Ƶ University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and The University of �������Ƶ (UoM) implemented the new technology across MFT hospitals in December 2023, which provides specialist liver care to the Greater �������Ƶ region. The technology aims to improve early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) – the most common cancer affecting the liver and the third most common cause of cancer death.

Developed by Roche Diagnostics, the pioneering test, known as Elecsys®GAAD, combines blood tests with gender and age, which can increase the detection rate of HCC at an early, curable stage. This is being used alongside routine surveillance tests to see how it can benefit patients, so they have the best chance of surviving this type of cancer.

One of the risks for developing HCC is a pre-existing liver disease and scarring of the liver, known as cirrhosis. Approximately 3,000 people are found to have HCC in the UK every year. Less than 1,000 are identified at a stage when they can have curative treatment, leaving over 2,000 people per year with a cancer that cannot be cured.

More than 600 patients with cirrhosis have been tested using Elecsys®GAAD within clinics at �������Ƶ Royal Infirmary, Wythenshawe Hospital and North �������Ƶ General Hospital, all part of MFT, and four patients have been detected with early-stage liver cancer at a treatable stage, which would not have been found without the new technology.

Gerry’s story

Father of three, Gerry, 67 was diagnosed with hemochromatosis approximately 15 years ago, a hereditary condition where the body stores too much iron, which has led to scarring on his liver, cirrhosis.

Whilst attending his routine screening appointment at Wythenshawe Hospital, Gerry joined the research trial using the Elecsys®GAAD technology, which detected the early stages of liver cancer.

Following a number of CT scans at �������Ƶ Royal Infirmary, it was confirmed that there is a small tumour on the upper part of his liver, which he has now had removed and remains cancer free.

Gerry said: “I was shocked to find out that I had liver cancer, but also relieved that it had been found early and it hadn’t spread any further. I didn’t have any symptoms that would make me think that there was anything wrong, so I am grateful that the cancer has been caught early, where a number of treatment options are available to me.

“It isn’t until you’re in this position, that you truly realise how cancer can affect anyone, and detecting it early can save your life. I would encourage others to take part in this research trial, if given the opportunity, as this new technology will save lives. I am grateful to be in a position where curative treatment is available and I am now cancer free.”

How the technology works

In early, curable stages, HCC can have no symptoms and so it is recommended that everyone with known cirrhosis is tested every six months which involves an ultrasound scan and a blood test (alpha fetoprotein – AFP) to screen for primary liver cancer – HCC.

The new test is an algorithm used in addition to the current standard of care, which uses the AFP information alongside another blood test (Elecsys®PIVKA-II), age and gender to calculate a risk score. Data suggests that this test increases the likelihood of detecting liver cancer at an earlier stage where curative treatments are far more likely. 

Principal Investigator for the study, Dr Varinder Athwal, Consultant Hepatologist at MFT and Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of �������Ƶ, said: “�������Ƶ has some of the highest rates of liver disease and liver cancer in the UK and far too many people are diagnosed when curative treatment is not possible.

“This innovation is a non-invasive test that easily fits into our current pathway. Early results from the project are very promising and show we are able to detect more cases of HCC at earlier, treatable stages which would have been missed by standard routine care – so it truly has the potential to save lives.

“Using this new test and with additional improvements to the surveillance pathway, we believe more than 1,000 people per year could be additionally detected at an earlier stage when their cancer is potentially curable. This number could be increased if more people are offered the test and stay in surveillance, which is something we are addressing in this project.”

Vic’s story
 

Vic joined the research trial at MFT and was detected in the early, curable stages of liver cancer and despite not being fit enough for common therapies to cure his cancer, Vic has since received a treatment called transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE) which cuts off the tumour’s blood supply with little or no effect to liver functioning.

Detecting his cancer early through Elecsys®GAAD means that it has prevented the spread of his cancer and there is currently no sign of his cancer on repeat scans.

He said: “When I agreed to join the trial, I had been being monitored routinely because of the presence of liver disease but the last thing that I thought I would ever develop was cancer. I had been stable for some years and had not experienced any new symptoms to suggest anything had changed.

“The GAAD test changed all that. The results were high and detected that I had a primary liver cancer which turned out to be a Stage 2 liver cancer. I had no symptoms. I was referred immediately for expert treatment.

“Because the GAAD test detected the cancer early I have been able to access one of several treatment options quickly, before the cancer had the chance to spread outside the liver. Early diagnosis and treatment has meant that I can also benefit from the care and support of an amazing multidisciplinary team.

“It has also meant that I have been given time to involve my family, especially my children, to navigate this journey together. Without the GAAD test, the diagnosis of cancer may have come too late for all of us.”

Through the study, researchers aim to find out if the Elecsys®GAAD test reduces unnecessary further scans and if it improves earlier detection of HCC. They will also investigate if a six-monthly ultrasound adds any further benefit to Elecsys®GAAD to detect HCC – or if Elecsys®GAAD could be used on its own, which would provide a considerable cost saving to the NHS and a significant improvement to current standard of care. 

Director of Access and Innovation at Roche Diagnostics UK and Ireland, Chris Hudson said: “Roche Diagnostics is committed to early disease diagnosis and to ensuring our innovations reach the people who need them. Working with the team in �������Ƶ, we are taking the learnings from this hugely successful trial to help other NHS Trusts implement the Elecsys®GAAD digital diagnostic solution and enable more patients with liver cancer to access timely diagnostics and potentially curative treatments.”

Dr Katherine Boylan, Director of Innovation at MFT said: “As one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, MFT is uniquely placed to test the innovation, which brings together the knowledge and expertise of academic, medical and industry partners – strengthening our position as a leader in research and innovation in the UK. We are proud to partner with Roche Diagnostics to address this unmet clinical need for the benefit of our patients, which has the potential to revolutionise early cancer diagnosis for HCC.”

Elecsys®GAAD was fast-tracked into the NHS at MFT, following £1million funding from NHS England, to test the accuracy and benefits of technology over a two-year period.

Project Managers at NHS England visited MFT alongside Roche Diagnostics, to see the progress of the project and how we are utilising the test alongside current pathways.

Dr Michael Gregory, Regional Medical Director for NHS England – North West, said: “This is a great example of how the NHS can transform health outcomes and save lives through the use of cutting-edge technology and a greater focus on prevention.

“The stories of the patients who have already benefited from this new test highlight why it is so important that we diagnose and treat cancers at the earliest possible opportunity and I’m excited to see how it could be made more widely available in the future.

“In the meantime, I would continue to encourage people with potential signs of cancer to come forward and speak to their general practice as soon as possible.”

The study is running until April 2025, recruiting more than 600 patients to the research project. Findings from the implementation at MFT will be used to co-develop a plan for the national roll out within the NHS.

This work is supported by Imperial College London who are observing the economic impact of the new technology on the NHS, and Unity Insights who are carrying out an independent evaluation of the findings across the project.

Photo: Photo: Patrick Ezean (NHS England Cancer Programme Manager), Emily Corser (NHS England Cancer Programme Manager), Dr Varinder Athwal (Principal Investigator for the study), Darren Banks (MFT Interim Deputy Trust Chief Executive), Chris Hudson (Roche Diagnostics UK and Ireland), Delphine Scokaert (Roche Diagnostics UK and Ireland), Oliver Street (Programme Manager, The University of �������Ƶ), Dr Katherine Boylan (Director of Innovation at MFT), Laura Tornatore (Senior Programme Manager, LGC).

Led by Health Innovation �������Ƶ, the University of �������Ƶ and �������Ƶ University NHS Foundation Trust, this collaborative project has helped bridge the gap between research and clinical implementation of advanced diagnostic technologies.

ADA is one of ten projects funded within the Greater �������Ƶ portfolio of the Innovation Accelerator (IA) programme, which is transforming the innovation landscape in the UK and paving the way for the future of place-based research and development (R&D) investment.

Since its launch, the IA programme has invested £100m in 26 transformative R&D projects between 2022-25, focusing on high-potential innovation clusters across three UK regions - Greater �������Ƶ, West Midlands and Glasgow City Region and has been extended by £30m for 2025/26. The programme builds on regional cluster strengths and brings together the innovation ecosystem, to drive economic growth and technological advancement.

The programme is led by Innovate UK, on behalf of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and co-created in Greater �������Ƶ with regional leadership to ensure it is locally led and focused on harnessing the region’s strengths in high performance materials, health innovation, advanced manufacturing and digital technology.

The IA programme in Greater �������Ƶ provided a unique opportunity to test hypotheses in real-world settings, and those projects emerging from the programme have made significant impacts in just two years. The programme has supported more than 500 businesses to take forward innovations, while over 1000 Greater �������Ƶ residents have accessed skills support – to either upskill or begin their journey to a career in a high-growth sector.

The work delivered has been highly output-focused, resulting in the creation of meaningful networks and lasting relationships. Partners and stakeholders have embarked on a collective learning journey, creating something new that they can be proud of whilst adding tangible value to a new paradigm shift in ways of working. An approach that has proven to be highly effective in bringing together diverse stakeholders, while strengthening key relationships.

Two years since its launch the projects are demonstrating globally competitive research and development that is putting the region’s innovation strengths on the map including Advanced Diagnostic Accelerator (ADA)..

ADA has various work streams from public and patient involvement through focus groups to the development of data-driven advanced diagnostics, point-of-care testing and rapid, cost-effective diagnostic tests for conditions like heart failure and lung cancer. By utilising Greater �������Ƶ’s academic and industry excellence from frontier sectors of Bioinformatics and Genomics, and AI, the project builds on assets already in existence within the city-region’s ecosystem, including validating and translating biomarkers and therapeutic assets into clinical use.

Key achievements include attracting £2.7m in co-investment to date, the development of a new MedTech product, deployment of new engagement techniques, alongside the identification and creation of at least three new products and services. The programme has strengthened Greater �������Ƶ’s research, innovation, and data landscape through four submitted grants, two network events, and 26 digital communications assets. It has also expanded access to screening and diagnostic services, engaging over 1200 patients in treatment or research activities, while fostering greater research participation and early diagnosis for underserved communities, with over 400 patients engaged in community events.

By enhancing early diagnosis, boosting business sustainability, and tackling health inequalities, Advanced Diagnostic Accelerator is contributing to increased productivity, reduced economic inactivity due to poor health, and longer life expectancy for Greater �������Ƶ residents and created multiple high value jobs.

Building on this momentum, Health Innovation �������Ƶ, the University of �������Ƶ, �������Ƶ University NHS Foundation Trust and the industry partners have together secured a further £1.6 million Innovate UK grant for the Advanced Diagnostic Accelerator in Greater �������Ƶ.

Science Minister, Lord Vallance, said: “The Innovation Accelerator programme is unlocking new opportunities for growth in regions across the UK and this £30m investment backs further collaboration between business, academia and government to build on local innovation that can improve lives across the country.

“Greater �������Ƶ’s Advanced Diagnostics Accelerator’s work to support early disease detection and targeted care will support our NHS and with further investment is driving up local jobs, benefiting the local economy and helping to deliver our Plan for Change.”

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater �������Ƶ, added: “It’s fantastic to see the innovation happening in Greater �������Ƶ having such a wide-ranging impact. The Advanced Diagnostics Accelerator is improving the diagnosis and treatment of diseases while also delivering a significant economic boost, creating high-value jobs, driving investment, and encouraging closer collaboration between industry and academia. It is also doing great work in getting more of our residents involved in supporting medical trials, and speeding up access to the newest treatments and diagnostics being developed in our universities and research hospitals.

“The wider Innovation Accelerator programme has been an important catalyst for locally led innovation, and we’ve seen that translate into business growth, new jobs and investment, and advances in technology across a range of sectors. The extension of funding for Greater �������Ƶ’s 10 projects will help them build on the success they’ve already achieved.”

Professor Ben Bridgewater, Chief Executive at Health Innovation �������Ƶ, commented: “The investment we have received from the Innovation Accelerator programme for Advanced Diagnostic Accelerator was a catalyst to progress in our mission for improved population health. For each of our focus areas from liver disease and lung cancer to heart failure and chest pain we had a shared ethos to reduce inequalities, build on assets in existence and drive productivity through collaboration. To reach over 1,200 patients, create high-value jobs and establish a spin out in just two years shows the potential of projects like ours to make a meaningful impact on health outcomes.”

The Innovation Accelerator programme has helped to catalyse transformative innovation projects and bolster the UK’s global competitiveness. For more information and find out about other projects that have been funded through the programme, visit the website.

Working in partnership with �������Ƶ University NHS Foundation Trust and Roche, the team developed the project - REVISE-HCC.

The REVISE-HCC project, funded by SBRI Healthcare /NHS England, was established to explore the use of an innovative test for liver cancer, which will help patients access earlier care and potentially save lives.

This project focused on implementing an improved strategy for liver cancer surveillance in patients who are at high risk by using the GAAD algorithm developed by Roche.

GAAD is an accurate test that combines blood tests with gender and age to indicate the presence of HCC (Hepatocellular carcinoma), which is the most common cause of cancer affecting the liver and a leading  cause for cancer-related deaths worldwide. The test is used alongside routine HCC surveillance tests to see how it can benefit patients.

With the  combined purpose to improve the detection rate for this deadly cancer at curable stages and improve the quality of life for these patients, we’re thrilled to receive this recognition.

Healthcare is rapidly shifting, towards more personalised care that’s more in tune with patients, embracing digital technologies that enable new possibilities. We’re excited to be at the forefront of this new class of diagnostic algorithms that our teams are helping to shape.

Programme Manager  Oliver Street said:  “�������Ƶ has some of the highest rates of liver disease and liver cancer in the UK and is a significant healthcare and societal burden. Far too many people are diagnosed too late when curative treatment is not possible.

“We were thrilled to be recognised at this year’s HSJ Partnership Awards for our partnership with Roche and �������Ƶ University NHS Foundation Trust that implemented this innovative technology at MFT and allows for more patients with liver cancer to be detected an early stage when their cancer is potentially curable.”

University of �������Ƶ students embraced entrepreneurial spirit with this innovative online challenge-based programme, which creates a unique platform for students to explore their entrepreneurial potential, offering participants the opportunity to win up to £500 and develop critical entrepreneurial and employability skills.

Turning Ideas into Opportunities

The programme's inaugural run demonstrated remarkable traction, attracting 113 students from across The University and generating 38 innovative project submissions with a total prize pool of £10,500.

The inaugural programme generated impressive interest and students submitted exceptional quality work:

• Total Participants: 113 students enrolled
• Submissions: 38 innovative project proposals
• Prize Pool: £10,500 to fuel student innovation

University-Wide Participation

Participants spanned the entire academic spectrum - all nine Schools were represented in enrolments and participants spanned undergraduate to PhD - showcasing the programme's broad appeal. As it continues to evolve, Get Started promises to be a pivotal platform for student innovation, acting as an accessible first-step to explore entrepreneurial creativity.

• 9 schools represented in enrolments
• 8 schools submitted innovative proposals
• Participants spanning undergraduate to PhD levels

All Levels of Study: Undergraduate students formed the largest cohort at 52.2% of participants, with taught master's students making up 39.8% of the programme's participants. PhD and doctoral candidates rounded out the group, bringing their specialised knowledge and research-driven approach to the entrepreneurial landscape.

Top Three Schools: Alliance �������Ƶ Business School was the most represented School with 43 students (38.1% of total participants). The School of Engineering followed closely with 23 students (20.4%), while the School of Social Sciences rounded out the top three with 15 students (13.3%).

Gaining Momentum

As opposed to a competition, Get Started submissions are awarded funding and feedback based on individual progress and potential. The programme serves as a catalyst for innovation, providing as many students as possible with the tools, support, and motivation to explore their entrepreneurial ideas. The programme embraces digital learning, embeds skills development within real-world problem-solving, and breaks down barriers to taking early steps in a business journey.

By bridging the gap between academic learning and real-world innovation, the University of �������Ƶ is nurturing the next generation of creative thinkers and business leaders. Get Started will run eaech semester and has now also opened to The University of �������Ƶ’s international partner institutions.

For more information about the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre, head to .

According to their study published today (25/03/25), satisfaction levels were lower in practices that rely more both on telephone appointments and consultations with non-GP staff.

Advanced nurse practitioners, physician associates, practice-based pharmacists and even paramedics, are among the roles who over the past few years have increasingly worked in place of GPs.

The study also theorises that patient satisfaction could increase by 1% when 10 additional face to face GP appointments per 1000 patients per month are added.

The findings are released amid recent changes to Government policy which aims to place more emphasis on non-GP roles to fill gaps in primary care provision.

However, critics of the policy argue that the new roles can be a cheap substitute which blur the lines between doctors and non-doctors.

The study is the first to use national appointment data to investigate the complex relationships between patient satisfaction, access, preference for a specific GP, and support for managing long-term conditions against appointment volume, modality (telephone or face-to-face), and practitioner type.

The data set of over half a million English patients from 5,500 practices was taken from the General Practice Patient Survey (GPPS) and  NHS Digital's practice level appointment data, covering August 2022 to March 2023.

The study found that 69.5% of appointments were face-to-face and 27.2% were on the telephone. Only 29.6% of appointments were face-to-face with a GP and 18.4% were GP telephone appointments.

The researchers also found that practices with a larger amount of telephone consultations had less satisfied patients. This dissatisfaction was still present and decreased only slightly when telephone calls were carried out by GPs, rather than non-GP staff.

The  correlation coefficient between face-to-face appointments and overall satisfaction was 0.096, showing that  practices with a greater percentage of face-to-face appointments were  more likely to have patients with higher overall satisfaction.

However the figure for GP face-to-face appointments was 0.167 showing that GP face-to-face appointments have an even stronger correlation.

The study also found that:

• Practices offering more on the day appointments had reduced satisfaction with access compared to practices that offered appointments days or weeks in advance.
• Greater numbers of appointments of any type with any staff member overall resulted in improved patients satisfaction.
• Greater numbers of GP appointments at a practice were associated with reduced unmet health needs.

Dr Patrick Burch is an academic clinical lecturer at The University of �������Ƶ and a practising GP.

He said: “This study of appointments from over 5,500 practices showed that more appointments, particularly with face-to-face with GPs, tended to be associated with more satisfied patients who were better able to meet their health needs.

“While telephone and IT assisted appointments have an important role to play in general practice, we would cautiously welcome an overall increase in the proportion of face-to-face consultations.

“Until recently, simply employing more GPs was not seen as feasible. However, given six out of 10 job-seeking GPs have to find a vacancy to apply for over the past year, this may now be a potential option.

“We would also welcome measures that free up GP time to enable more patient appointments.”

He added: “A greater proportion of telephone appointments were associated with decreased satisfaction in general, especially when provided by non-doctor roles.

“Non-GP clinicians employed in primary care since 2019 has increased by 21,600 full time equivalent staff members.

“As primary care funding has not gone up significantly, arguably this cash is now being used to pay other less expensive clinicians rather than GPs.

“The reasons for the findings behind this study are likely to be complex, but there is undoubtedly an important role for non-GP clinicians in primary care.

“Patient satisfaction is not the only measure of success in general practice but it is important that policy makers take note of the link between patient satisfaction and numbers of appointments with GPs.”

In the paper, appointments were only divided into GP or non-GP, with no other categories used. As a proportion, if one goes up, the other goes down.

The paper What is the relationship between the volume and type of appointments in general practice and patient experience? An observational study of general practice in England is published in the British Journal of General Practice . DOI:

The research looks, for the first time, into how to assess the range of ongoing needs after having a brain tumour for young people between 16-39 year olds.

Using a questionnaire designed with the help of nearly 130 patients, detailed information is now going to be gathered from 100 brain tumour survivors as part of their follow-up consultation. Researchers will then assess the impact the survey has on providing personalised care to improve the long-term support after treatment. If this trial improves the experience for patients at The Christie, then the plan is to roll it out at to other hospitals around the UK.

Dr Kate Law, a research fellow and specialist nurse at The Christie and honorary research associate at The University of �������Ƶ, who is leading on the research study known as YOU-CAN said: “A third of all childhood cancers are brain tumours and survival is highest for 15 – 39 year olds. Currently there is no assessment tailored specifically for young people with a brain tumour.  We have identified an unmet need, and want to address this to make life better for young brain tumour survivors in the future.

“At The Christie alone we see approximately 550 patients who were diagnosed with brain cancer as a child or young adult every year on long-term follow-up. What is fantastic is that people are living longer and recovering from brain tumours, but we are aware that often these very determined and resilient young people need help with independent living, forming relationships and friendships, starting a family and managing the emotions associated with the long-term effects of a brain tumour. They want to make the most out of life and we need to support them in doing this.

“It is hoped that the evidence gathered from the YOU-CAN study will be a step towards a change in clinical practice in the future where every young person has access to a multi-disciplinary team for on-going support after being treated for a brain tumour.

Claudia Laird (27), a children’s nurse from Burnley in Lancashire was diagnosed with a brain tumour in January 2022 when she was 24. Her tumour was 7cm by 5cm and doctors believed it had been growing in her head for 15 years. Claudia went to the GP several times due to headaches, fatigue, memory loss, hallucinations and sickness. She initially thought she had a virus, but a scan revealed she had an astrocytoma, a form of brain cancer.

“I was a healthy person, so it was hard at first to get a diagnosis. But when I did, from the scan to surgery was like a whirlwind and I had emergency neurosurgery.  Thankfully the surgeon believed he’d removed the whole tumour. Now I just go for six-monthly scans. While I feel well physically, and no longer on treatment, you’re left with psychological trauma and you worry about what will happen if the tumour grows back. You have to pick up your life where you left off but it’s a ‘new normal’. Forming relationships is hard and I haven’t had a partner since all this happened. I’m not 100 per cent back to where I was, and have some short term memory loss and I can get overwhelmed easily.  Hopefully that will improve in time and the brain can re-learn things. It’s still quite early days and it’s still hard for me but I take it day by day.

“I was discharged two days after surgery and I didn’t even take any time off work. My mum has been a massive support system, and I don’t think I’d be here without her, but having a professional like a support worker you can go to with questions would be so useful. I’ve been writing poetry which has been great therapy. I do a lot of charity work and fundraising to give back and next month I’m helping with a creative workshop for other young people who have brain injuries. I also do a lot of yoga, pilates and relaxation classes which really help. I’m enjoying life and see things differently now and appreciate everything so much more than before.”

The chances of a dental appointment resulting in an antibiotic prescription increased dramatically during the pandemic, and new led by Dr Wendy Thompson from The University of �������Ƶ shows prescribing levels across each of the UK’s four nations have been slow to return to where they would have been if the pandemic hadn’t happened.

Though the Government has begun commissioning 700,000 urgent appointments, the British Dental Association says the total unmet need is far higher.

Dr Thompson also leads on antimicrobial stewardship for the College of General Dentistry and chairs the FDI World Dental Federation's Preventing Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and Infections task team.

She said: “Too many people have been unable to access urgent dental treatment for toothache, and have ended up with antibiotics. The best way to protect us all from the existential threat of antibiotic resistance is to ensure patients have timely access to urgent care.

“Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, we knew that dentistry was responsible for around 10% of antibiotic prescriptions and that rates of unnecessary use were high. During the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, the amount of antibiotic prescribing by NHS dentists

“Our research has shown how were at this situation which UK Health Security Agency researchers have linked to the use of , where care is given remotely. Our latest shows just how slowly antibiotic prescribing in NHS dentistry is returning to its pre-pandemic pattern.

“Antibiotics don't cure toothache although our research shows that many people wrongly believe they are necessary. Unnecessary use puts patients and the public at risk from the spread of infections which don't respond to antibiotics. The for toothache and dental infections is generally a procedure rather than a prescription, although sometimes antibiotics are vital. found that appointments where dentists provide procedures take more time than just giving antibiotics.”

“That is why FDI World Dental Federation argues that to the right oral health care at the right time to prevent and treat toothache and dental infection should be an essential part of national efforts to tackle antimicrobial resistance by reducing the unnecessary use of antibiotics.”

She added: “Routine monitoring of antibiotic prescribing by dentists providing care to NHS patients is key, but until prescribing by dentists is digitised, this will be impossible. Integrating high-street dentistry into NHS digital systems will be an important part of national efforts to help keep patients safe by ensuring antibiotics are only prescribed when strictly necessary.”

A highlight of the life sciences calendar, the awards dinner was held at the Concorde Conference Centre on 6 March, with over 340 attendees gathering for an evening of celebration and achievement.

The University and Saraco Industries received the Project of the Year Award in recognition of taking a major step forward in the area of research, by demonstrating an innovative and novel approach for a collaborative project - marking a breakthrough in sustainable healthcare products.

An interdisciplinary team from �������Ƶ comprising of materials science, biological physics and microbiology experts collaborated with Saraco Industries, a UK-based SME wet wipe manufacturer, to achieve a breakthrough first – a plastic-free wet wipe meeting EN standards against bacteria, yeast, and viruses under dirty conditions with a 1-minute contact time. This innovative clinical disinfection wipe has now been commercialised and submitted against an NHS tender.

The collaborative partnership has continued to develop and grow, including securing a 3-year Centre for Doctoral Training PhD project in Advanced Biomedical Materials, a follow-on UKRI IAA Advance Fund project to further optimise the existing wipe formulation, and a recent second Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) submission to develop bacteriophage-infused wipes for healthcare applications.

Sarah Cartmell, Professor of Bioengineering, The University of �������Ƶ said: “We are so proud to be recognised for our achievements in this important interdisciplinary project. Our progress is a result of the synergy of University and industry collaboration. We look forward to building on our success with our continuing teamwork.”

Andrew McBain, Professor of Microbiology at The University of �������Ƶ said: “KTP has enabled The University of �������Ƶ to make a tangible, positive contribution to a highly dynamic local business. It has been so rewarding to see the KTP Associate, Carolina Angulo Pineda, develop through considerable talent and tenacity, into a mature scientist who is now employed full-time as a Senior R&D Materials Scientist at Saraco.”

Dr Carolina Angulo Pineda, KTP Associate and now Senior R&D Materials Scientist, Saraco Industries, commented: “I will always be honoured and grateful to have been part of this fantastic KTP Team. This opportunity allowed me to grow both personally and professionally, and I look forward to continuing to work together on innovative solutions for real-life challenges.”

Idris M Bapu, Managing Director, Saraco Industries, added: “This is a wonderful honour and acknowledgment of all the hard work put in by the KTP team, the Academics at The University of �������Ƶ and our Saraco team members. This award will be prominently displayed in our offices with great pride.”

The project was funded through an Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership; celebrating its 50th year in 2025 of bringing together forward-thinking businesses and organisations, academics, and graduates to solve complex innovation challenges which help our economy, society, and environment. Delivered through the Knowledge Exchange Partnerships team, part of Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange, The University of �������Ƶ has collaborated on more than 300 KTPs and in the last five years alone, has supported 42 KTPs with a total research value of £11 million.

If you would like to discuss how KTP can help your business innovate for growth, please contact collaborate@manchester.ac.uk.

R2I is a bespoke entrepreneurship training programme for final-year PhD students, PDRAs and early-career researchers from across all faculties with ambitions to develop commercial ventures or to create impact from their academic studies.

The programme includes a series of interactive personal and professional development sessions, which introduce the concept of commercialisation, equipping researchers with strategies to take ideas forward and discover new pathways to funding.

Read more about the researchers from cohort 1 supported to further their ideas.

and register now to attend one of our short where we’ll introduce you to the R2I programme. You’ll hear from researchers about their experiences and explore the opportunities and benefits of joining the programme and how to apply.

Key Dates

Cohort 2:

• Information Sessions: In person and online across 26^th and 27^th March 
• Applications Open: 27^th March 2025
• Application Deadline: 23:59, 8^th April 2025
• Full Programme: 28^th April – 17^th July 2025

The MEC Researcher to Innovator (R2I) programme is supported by the University’s Innovation Academy. The Innovation Academy is a pan University initiative and joint venture between the , the  and the Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange team, bringing together knowledge, expertise and routes to facilitate the commercialisation of research.

Researchers at �������Ƶ University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and The University of �������Ƶ, with colleagues in Newcastle, Germany and the USA, collaborated with clinicians across the world to identify changes in two different genes, that both result in Perrault syndrome.

Funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) �������Ƶ Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), Action Medical Research, The Royal National Institute for Deaf people (RNID) and the Medical Research Council, the results from two separate studies, which identified changes to the DAP3 and MRPL49 genes, have been published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Professor Bill Newman, Consultant in Genomic Medicine at MFT, and Rare Conditions Co-Theme Lead at the NIHR �������Ƶ BRC, who co-led the research, said: “Finding the causes of rare conditions like Perrault syndrome are the first steps in understanding why people are affected, providing clearer diagnosis, and developing novel treatments.

“Previously up to half of all people with Perrault syndrome could not have this diagnosis confirmed by a genetic test. These new discoveries through this research will provide an accurate diagnosis to more affected people.”

Initial research into the condition began in 2011 at The �������Ƶ Centre for Genomic Medicine, Saint Mary’s Hospital, part of MFT, when researchers led by Professor Newman undertook genetic studies on a local family with Perrault syndrome. Their research identified a novel gene and changes within the gene which led to the diagnosis of the syndrome. Further studies by the �������Ƶ group and other researchers around the world have found eight different genes that cause Perrault syndrome.

Sam’s story

56-year-old Sam was diagnosed with Perrault syndrome when she was 28 years old, after being under the care of various hospitals to diagnose her rare genetic condition. 

Sam is profoundly deaf and was fitted with hearing aids before the age of one, which is a common feature of the condition. Other symptoms that led to her diagnosis include short stature, very small ovaries and the absence of periods.

 Sam was identified with a DAP3 genetic change through this research in August 2024.

DAP3 is found in every cell of the body and is important in a part of the cell called the mitochondria, often referred to as the powerhouses of the cell. Some tissues in the body are very susceptible to when the mitochondria do not work properly, and it is why researchers believe hearing and ovarian problems occur in Perrault syndrome.

Sam said: “When I was told I had DAP3 gene changes I was pleased as it helped me make sense of my symptoms and better understand Perrault syndrome.  

“This research is incredible and will help others who are in a similar position to me. I struggled for years not knowing what was wrong with me so, I hope it will help others too – especially those who are younger so they can get an earlier diagnosis and access to the help they need. 

“I would advise anybody who is concerned to get advice as soon as possible. Thanks to this research, family members will also be tested which will provide an early diagnosis for more people potentially affected by the condition.”

This research will now be used globally to provide an accurate diagnosis for those at risk or undiagnosed with the condition.

Professor Ray O’Keefe, Professor of Molecular Genetics at The University of �������Ƶ co-led the work. Professor O’Keefe said: “Genetic testing helps families to get diagnosed earlier and to access the right care and support sooner.

“When patients – particularly children, are presenting with hearing loss or changes on their brain scan, they can be genetically tested to see if their health problems are caused by changes in these genes.

“Genetic testing removes the need for unnecessary investigations, allows closer monitoring to spot problems earlier and enables accurate genetic counselling for other family members who may be at risk.”

Dr Ralph Holme, Director of Research at RNID said: “We are delighted to have been able to support this important research.

“As ovarian problems are a key feature of the diagnosis, men are rarely diagnosed even though they have the same risk of being affected. Early, accurate diagnosis can result in improved hearing outcomes.

“Understanding rare types of hearing loss, such as Perrault Syndrome, also gives us important insights that may be relevant to more common forms of hearing loss.”

Professor Newman, who is also Professor of Translational Genomic Medicine at The �������Ƶ Centre for Genomic Medicine at The University of �������Ƶ, added: “Although genetic research into Perrault syndrome is complex, this new information provides important pieces in the jigsaw. We are continuing to look at all the genes that cause Perrault syndrome as understanding how these genes are all linked together means that perhaps it would be possible to create a treatment that would work for all of them.

“We have also started to make hearing nerve cells from skin cells of individuals with Perrault syndrome. This is exciting as testing the cells that are actually affected by the condition will help us to develop treatments targeted to the correct cell type.” 
 

Both research papers are available to read in the American Journal of Human Genetics:

(published 2 January 2025).

Published 4 March 2025).

These body ideals continue to be influenced by visual exposure to different body weights into adulthood, the research also found.

The results show that people’s perceptions of body weight are flexible and adult-like from seven years of age onwards and have implications for our understanding of body size and the perceptions, and possible misperceptions, of weight in health and wellbeing.

Professor Lynda Boothroyd, from Durham University’s Department of Psychology, carried out a first-of-its-kind study to examine the flexibility of body weight perceptions in children and young adults.

The study, published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, found that children as young as seven years old adjust how heavy or light they rate other people’s bodies after seeing a series of pictures of low or high weight bodies.

The analysis uncovered a significant shift in weight perceptions after exposure to images depicting various body weights. The results showed that the manner in which our brains represent what constitutes “heavy” or “light” develops at a very young age.

The research, which involved more than 200 individuals aged seven through to adulthood, also indicated that media influences known to shape adult body perceptions can almost certainly impact children to the same degree, starting from early childhood and continuing to evolve into adulthood.

Lead author, Professor Lynda Boothroyd said: “It has been clear for many years that we need to be wary about visual media which present only a narrow range of bodies, because this affects adults’ body perceptions. 

“Now we know that’s true for children, too. Even very neutral images can adjust their ideas about what is heavy or thin if they see enough of the same kind of body.” 

C-author Dr Amelia Parchment from The University of �������Ƶ said: “This was such an interesting study to work on and highlights that body-weight perceptions are shaped early on in life and continue into adulthood. Our findings have important implications, including the potential impact of unrealistic body weights, typically seen in visual media, on the lifelong body weight perceptions of children as young as 7-years old. “

Professor Boothroyd’s team at Durham has previously shown that adults’ ideas about what is an ‘attractive’ body weight or muscle mass are affected by visual experience. This includes the effect of television access on body perceptions among remote communities in Latin America and, in a separate study, finding that White Western women have lower body appreciation and experience greater pressure from the media to be thin compared to Black Nigerian and Chinese women across all ages.

Looking ahead, the team is now investigating how best to address body image concerns in young adults across the globe in a major £2 million (€2.5M) research project and developing novel play-based techniques to investigate children’s understandings of body weight and body ideals from a younger age.

Professor Boothroyd added: “Researchers often assume that children’s body perceptions and their ideas about body image work the same way as adults. We’ve shown that that’s true, down to seven years, for basic perceptual impacts on body weight perception. But there’s more to explore in how that converts into their own body image and their own feelings about weight.”

This new study included data gathered during the University’s ‘Junior Scientist’ event, which actively involves families from the local communities around Durham, UK, in various research and educational activities.

Additionally, the research involved stimuli provided by Northumbria University and contributions from a Post-doctoral Research Associate at the University of �������Ƶ.

Dr Lucy Buckley, a leading figure in the Greater �������Ƶ business community, will start the Royal Society , part of its , on 1 March 2025. 

Dr Buckley, who has over 20 years of experience in business across diverse sectors of healthcare, will spend one day a week at the university, developing bespoke projects with university staff and students. 

Her career spans the healthcare system from academic drug discovery to all aspects of the product life cycle in the pharmaceutical industry. 

Latterly, she has turned her hand to digital health, launching a Care Quality Commission-registered online fertility clinic. She has also held clinical roles in both the NHS and private sector. 

Throughout her professional life, Lucy has been committed to her values of strong governance, ethics and compliance and has experience of a wide range of regulations across healthcare and data security. 

She will provide support and expert advice on promoting innovation and the translation of research, as well as research and development. 

And she will pass on her extensive knowledge on the scientific challenges faced by industry in the health sector. 

After qualifying as a pharmacist at Cardiff University, and working in community and hospital pharmacy, she went on to take a PhD in drug discovery at The University of �������Ƶ’s for applied pharmacokinetic research in 2006.

 The PhD was sponsored by a major pharmaceutical company which meant she spent time in their labs, her first taste of working across academic and industry.

 From 2014, she worked at a major pharmaceutical company and built relationships with both clinical and academic key opinion leaders and worked with them as advisors to help drive scientific projects and improve patient outcomes. 

Soon, she was in a position to set up her own business, called Dr Fertility, the first online primary care provider for fertility to be registered with the Care Quality Commission. 

The company raised over two-and-a half million pounds to make the transition from ecommerce into a digital health provider for fertility. Dr Fertility provided fertility care delivered by both Doctors and nurses for anyone trying for a baby. 

Her new venture, The was launched in November 2023 to improve quality of care in digital health while supporting businesses to grow and scale.

The company has brought together a diverse range of experts and healthcare professionals with experience in academia, the pharmaceutical industry and the private and public healthcare sector.

Dr Buckley said: “I have experienced the roller coaster of raising venture capital and the challenges of being an executive.”

“So, I have lots of experience to pass on to the scientific community in the Faculty of biology, medicine and health.”

She added: “Scientists are sometimes regarded by investors as not having commercial acumen. Many often undersell themselves.”

“Academics have many transferable skills that are essential in business such as identifying problems, developing innovative solutions, testing hypotheses, gathering and analysing data and making evidence-based decisions’

“One of my key aims of this role is to help bridge that gap between academia and industry.

“If your business idea is strong, I passionately believe there are always opportunities to make that dream happen.”

Professor Allan Pacey, Interim Dean and Vice President of the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health said “It is very exciting to welcome Lucy to the Faculty though this prestigious Royal Society scheme”

“I first met Lucy over 10 years ago when I helped with the first start-up company Dr Fertility. It’s been great to see her go from strength to strength and be recognised by The Royal Society by being awarded this prestigious Royal Society scheme

“The University of �������Ƶ is a global leader in Digital Health, being ranked by the Times Higher Education as first in the UK and fourth in the world.

“I hope that Lucy will be able to help us capitalise on this and held our researchers to navigate the tricky path of commercialisation.”

University of �������Ƶ Scientists are among the researchers at the Cancer Research UK National Biomarker Centre in �������Ƶ have developed a simple blood test which can tell doctors at a very early stage if the melanoma is back even if a scan looks normal.

The test is now being used as part of a Cancer Research UK funded clinical trial, led by researchers at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, for patients across the region which could mean quicker diagnosis for people at risk of a relapse.

Among those taking part is mum of two Karen Dickinson, who was at a routine appointment for her arthritic knee, when her osteopath pointed out an irregular looking mole on her lower back.

The next day, the 57-year-old IT manager, now living in Lancaster, went to see her GP, who referred her for tests which revealed that Karen had melanoma – the most serious form of skin cancer.

Unfortunately, she was also told that the melanoma – which affects 2,200 people in the North West every year* - had spread to her lymph nodes.

Karen had surgery to remove the mole including a wider area of skin as well as the affected lymph nodes and she was unable to work for a month.

She said: “It was such a shock. I had noticed the mole one day getting out of the shower and wondered if it was slightly darker. I thought it may have been due to the fact we’d been on holiday, even though it had been covered up. So, I had decided to keep an eye on it, but when my osteopath pointed it out and said I should get it checked sooner rather than later, I went straight to my GP. Then it all just happened so fast. They had removed it and diagnosed me with melanoma skin cancer all within a few weeks.

“I had no idea how serious melanoma was, and you do worry that you could die. Telling my husband Stephen and my two girls Chelsea and Alex was hard. Having cancer has changed my outlook on life. You do worry it might come back, but it absolutely doesn’t define who I am. It’s made me prioritise my time and not take my health for granted anymore. My time is precious, and I value what is most important to me more than ever.”

Now Karen is one of 50 people to sign up to the DETECTION-2 clinical trial which aims to prevent people from having unnecessary treatment if their cancer is unlikely to return.

For most people who are diagnosed with melanoma at an early stage, the cancer will be successfully removed by surgery. But in a small percentage of patients the cancer will come back.

On the NHS, patients are currently offered a one-year preventative drug treatment aimed at reducing the risk of recurrence. But with this new blood test, it could be possible to identify patients most at risk, so that further treatment is only given to those who really need it. 

The blood test spot can spot small fragments of DNA shed by cancer cells - known as circulating tumour DNA or ctDNA.

The trial, which launched last month, is led by teams of researchers from The University of �������Ƶ, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit.

Consultant medical oncologist at The Christie, Professor Paul Lorigan is leading on the trial. He said: “While immunotherapy or targeted therapy after surgery can help to prevent cancer returning, the majority of patients do not need this.  Giving this treatment to everyone means that many patients may unnecessarily receive additional treatment, which can have serious and long-term side effects. Ideally, only patients likely to have the melanoma return would receive the additional treatment and we therefore want to see if we can use a simple blood test to spot those patients who are most at risk.”

Senior Lecturer in medical oncology at The University of �������Ƶ and Principal Investigator on the trial, Dr Rebecca Lee added: “If ctDNA is detected, then we can fast-track patients on to treatment and this would mean that only those patients who really need drug treatment receive it.”

The research team, which is working closely with the charity Melanoma Focus and its patient groups, has recently begun recruiting patients at eight hospitals across the UK, including The Royal Preston Hospital where Karen had her first blood test which has shown no signs of melanoma.

Patients who decide to take part will be randomly assigned to one of two groups, half will receive the standard NHS care and the other half will have regular ctDNA blood tests following surgery instead. The results will be compared at the end of the study and if successful, the trial will be expanded to more hospital sites and more patients.

All patients will continue to have regular scans and skin checks and will be followed up for 5 years.

Karen added: “The benefit for me of this brand-new trial is that I don’t need to go on medication, that could make feel very ill, if I don’t need it. Also, I have that reassurance that alongside the regular scans and checks, I will have these fantastic blood tests every three months that show up signs of the cancer coming back up to 12-months earlier than a scan. So for me it’s hugely beneficial both mentally and physically.”

Analysis by Cancer Research UK showed that rates of melanoma have increased by almost a third over the past decade with around 16,000 people diagnosed with melanoma every year in the UK.**

With melanoma cases in the UK on the rise, this clinical trial has come at a crucial time according to Cancer Research UK’s Executive Director of Research and Innovation Dr Iain Foulkes. He said: “Cancer Research UK is dedicated to discovery science while ensuring our findings in the laboratory have patient benefit. This project is an important step towards ensuring that our understanding of cancer can provide more personalised treatment for people diagnosed with melanoma, whilst sustaining their quality of life."

Melanoma Focus CEO Susanna Daniels added: “It’s hoped that by using these ctDNA blood tests, doctors will be able to identify very early on which patients have a high chance of the melanoma returning and treat those patients accordingly. Doctors will also be able to provide reassurance to those patients that do not have ctDNA in their blood that their melanoma is not returning, and therefore avoid unnecessary treatment and potential side effects for many patients.”

Image: Karen Dickinson

The Options Roundabout event on the 19^th February 2025 was the culmination of the which saw our researchers pitch to a panel of commercialisation experts, entrepreneurs and funders. The event was a resounding success and an opportunity for the cohort to network and celebrate their achievements with peers and supporters of the programme.

The programme aims to inspire and accelerate the translation of the knowledge created through academic research into products, services or processes to deliver tangible benefit through a series of bespoke workshops and mentoring opportunities. The workshops helped researchers articulate their ideas by taking them through a lean start-up pathway to explore the commercial potential of their research.

The Innovation Enabling Awards were granted to acknowledge the impact and growth potential with early career researchers receiving between £1000 to £8000 to further develop the commercial potential of their ideas and businesses.

Aline Miller, Professor of Biomolecular Engineering and Associate Dean for Business Engagement and Innovation, presented the Innovation Enabling Awards to the six winning projects.

Award Winners

Innovation Enabling Award: £8,000

Tiny Human Dramas 

Dr Meghan Rose Donnelly (School of Social Sciences)

“The R2I programme provided me with the skills I needed to take my research out into the world and make a real impact: connecting with industry, refining ideas, building a plan for the future, pitching to potential investors, and much more. R2I absolutely brought me from researcher to innovator.”

Innovation Enabling Award: £5,000

Antenatal Education

Dr Holly Reid (School of Medical Sciences)

"The programme and the award have meant that the little idea with which I started R2I, could now be a commercially viable business very soon and that's really exciting."

Innovation Enabling Awards: £3,000

Graphene Vision

Dr Rui Zhang and Dr Matthew Lindley (School of Natural Sciences)

"The R2I programme has equipped us with the skills and confidence needed to navigate the entrepreneurial journey. The Innovation Enabling Award will help accelerate the commercialization of our innovation and has given us even more motivation to succeed." 

AI- GPR

Dr Frank Podd (School of Engineering)

“R2I was a fantastic way to learn about the best approach to starting a company, from the inception of an innovation through to the collaborative development of a product with customers” 

Innovation Enabling Awards: £1,000

Green Terra Energy Storage

Camilo Salazar (School of Engineering)

&�Բ�����;“R2I is a very user-friendly program that provides you with the fundamental tools to start becoming an entrepreneur. The key is to believe in your role, you are already the best.”

Battery Waste Recycling

Dr Amal Nadri (School of Engineering)

The prize winners will also receive expert support and signposting to regional and national accelerator programmes and all the participants on the MEC R2I programme will be connected to the wider ecosystem for further support, mentoring and guidance in taking their research ideas forward.

The organisers wish to thank the  Fellowship for their sponsorship of the Innovation Enabling Awards.

Get Involved

If you are an early career researcher looking for an exciting opportunity to develop your innovative thinking and enhance your understanding of creating and developing impact join the next round of the R2I programme. Find out more .

The is supported by the University’s Innovation Academy. The Innovation Academy is a pan University initiative and joint venture between the , the and the Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange team, bringing together knowledge, expertise and routes to facilitate the commercialisation of research.

The  guideline establishes new standards for managing fungal infections, which affect millions of people worldwide every year, and was recently published in Lancet Infectious Diseases. 

The new guideline contains detailed recommendations on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of various forms of candidiasis – from superficial infections to life-threatening invasive infections – for clinicians, including innovative diagnostic procedures and the latest therapeutic approaches. 

Particular attention is paid to new challenges such as resistance to common antifungals and the increasing spread of Candida auris, a multiresistant pathogen 

“With this guideline, we have taken an important step towards improving treatment for patients worldwide,” said Professor Cornely, head of the global initiative. Co-lead Dr Sprute added: “Our aim was to pool the expertise of a global network to provide doctors and healthcare professionals with a practical and scientifically sound tool. 

The document is the result of four years of intensive collaboration among more than one hundred experts from 35 countries. Supported by the expert associations ECMM (European Confederation of Medical Mycology), ISHAM (International Society for Human and Animal Mycology) and ASM (American Society for Microbiology).

Dr Cornely invited potential authors for the guideline based on speciality, geography, and gender. Six coordinators were appointed to ensure the structure of the guideline, assign topics, identify missing aspects and monitor progress.

The guideline has been endorsed worldwide by seventy six international expert associations as an important guide for practising physicians and meets the highest standards of quality and relevance to clinical care.

“Our compilation is unprecedented and provides a basis for improving the treatment and chances of survival of affected patients worldwide,” said Cornely, underlining the significance of the work.

Dr Riina Rautemaa-Richardson, Senior Clinical Lecturer in Infectious Diseases and Medical Education at The University of �������Ƶ said: “"It was a mammoth project to bring practically the world together to agree how to diagnose and manage the most common invasive fungal disease. For the first time, all continents are represented and all aspects of Candida infections covered, including the very common superficial ones (thrush).”

"It was amazing to see how much more evidence there is to support the recommendations made compared to the previous European guideline 10 years ago. Although we had over 100 expert authors in the group it was easy to agree on the recommendations.”

Published in the and led by David Denning, Professor of Infectious Diseases in Global Health at The University of �������Ƶ, the team analysed fungal infection management policies from the Netherlands,Italy, South Korea, China, and India. 

The contrast between the countries gives a representative picture of policies around the world according to Professor Denning. 

The research focussed on recognition and prioritization, awareness and education, prevention and monitoring, diagnosis and coordinated care, access to appropriate treatment, and diagnostic and treatment innovation. 

They also found worrying gaps in policy coverage, including low prioritization of diagnostics and omission of fungal pathogens from antimicrobial resistance policies.

There was also a general lack of awareness, poor healthcare professional training on optimal management of the potentially deadly infection which often presents with minimal, vague, or nonspecific symptoms.

Professor Denning said: “Development of efficient and coordinated national systems to reduce avoidable deaths from fungal diseases has lagged behind other infectious diseases.

“A key element is timely and appropriate use of antifungal agents, based on diagnostic results, prevailing resistance trends and stewardship.

“We hope this article will provide a stimulus for all countries to put in place comprehensive plans for fungal diseases and monitor their implementation.”

The policy framework that was developed is summarised in 6 areas: policy recognition, awareness and education, prevention and monitoring, diagnosis and coordinated care, access to appropriate treatment and innovation.

Each item in each country was scored using a traffic light system.

Founded by University of �������Ƶ graduates Prithveesh Reddy and Harvey Lowe, Arcube has already caught the attention of industry insiders by winning the Venture Further Awards in the Technology category. Their platform leverages artificial intelligence to boost loyalty and ancillary revenue for airlines.

Making loyalty pay

Arcube’s flagship product, the “Passenger Intelligence Platform” is the world’s first post-flight solution. It uses advanced data analytics to track passenger behaviour and suggest personalised upsells immediately after a flight. The technology was trialled by Etihad Airways, generating $1.6 million in extra revenue from just 1,300 passengers over the course of a year and achieving a notable 10.3% increase in average order value.

Airlines have long struggled to build loyalty among infrequent flyers. Many passengers hold dormant loyalty accounts with insufficient points to redeem meaningful rewards. Arcube’s solution enables passengers to convert their unused miles into ancillaries such as priority boarding, fast-track security and lounge access. These ancillaries are reserved for a future booking, to incentivise the passengers return to the same airline.

Reddy explained, “Airlines have vast amounts of passenger data—what people eat on board, how early they arrive at the airport, how long they spend in lounges—but much of it goes unused. Our platform bridges that gap by offering tailored, real-time options to passengers as soon as they get off the flight.”

 From student project to startup success

Arcube’s journey began at The University of �������Ƶ’s Masood Entrepreneurship Centre (MEC), which was established by Alliance �������Ƶ Business School (AMBS) enterprise lecturers in 2000 and provides resources and support for budding entrepreneurs. The duo started by taking part in the Centre’s entrepreneurship courses and later secured early-stage funding through MEC’s Kickstarter scheme. Earlier this year, Arcube took first place in the prestigious Venture Further Awards, one of the UK’s leading university startup competitions. “The Masood Entrepreneurship Centre gave us a vital platform,” said Lowe. “Their mentorship and financial support have played a crucial role in our progress.”

The company has also recently secured the Turing Innovation Catalyst �������Ƶ AI innovation grant.

Building trust with industry giants

Breaking into the airline industry is notoriously difficult for newcomers, but Arcube managed to convince Etihad Airways to pilot its technology. Lowe reflected on the challenge: “We didn’t have a track record, so we offered to build the software at our own risk, asking only for a share of the additional revenue we could generate. It was a bold approach, but after months of negotiations, Etihad agreed.” The pilot scheme’s results speak for themselves. With Etihad handling over 17 million passengers annually, the potential for rolling out the solution on a larger scale is substantial.

Looking ahead

Having recently graduated, Reddy and Lowe are now focusing on scaling their operation. They are in discussions with 14 airlines globally and aim to establish Arcube as a leader in the burgeoning travel ancillary data market. “Our ambition is to create the world’s largest data set for travel ancillaries,” Reddy said. “Ancillaries already account for up to 20% of revenue for traditional airlines, and for low-cost carriers, it’s often more than 50%. We’re starting with airlines, but our vision extends to the entire travel ecosystem—car rentals, cruise lines, hotels.” With a combination of technical expertise, entrepreneurial grit, and early success, Arcube looks set to become a major player in travel tech. As the startup scales its platform and expands its client base, it’s poised to offer a smarter, data-driven approach to airline loyalty and revenue generation.

Read more about Arcube's success .

Masood Entrepreneurship Centre (MEC)

The Masood Entrepreneurship Centre (MEC) is the focal point for enterprise and entrepreneurship teaching, learning and startup support at The University of �������Ƶ. Find out more about our on- and co-curricular activities .

These findings underscore the importance of addressing sleep issues to support the mental health of young people and that gender is an important factor when considering how sleep and wellbeing are connected. 

The #BeeWell survey, which made this study possible, continues to provide valuable insights into the lives of young people, informing better policies and practices to improve outcomes. The programme is a collaboration between The University of �������Ƶ, The Gregson Family Foundation, and Anna Freud. Visit  to find out more.

A £1m funding award from the Medical Research Council in collaboration with Innovate UK will accompany £1.2 million of in-kind support from 85 partners to fund the pilot phase of the UK Centre of Excellence on In-Silico Regulatory Science and Innovation (UK CEiRSI). This Centre will collaborate globally to address some of the sector's most pressing challenges and target unmet patient outcomes and safety needs. 

The consortium will work with computational modelling and simulation and AI techniques—all of which are poised to revolutionise the healthcare landscape. The UK CEiRSI will contribute to making the UK the best milieu for delivering medical innovations using in silico evidence and regulatory science. 

The Centre will consist of leading universities from the UK’s four nations, world-class companies, and health systems and regulatory bodies, including the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Health Research Authority (HRA) but will also collaborate with colleagues in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US, and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in mainland Europe.

Professor Alex Frangi, Bicentennial Turing Chair in Computational Medicine at The University of �������Ƶ, will direct the Centre.

He said: “Human and animal trials often face high failure rates resulting in delays, increased costs, and potential risks to patients.

“On average, pharmaceutical products take 12  years to develop, with testing consuming up to 30% of costs.

“However, we will seek to address these critical inefficiencies by developing in-silico technologies that produce digital evidence for the digital age. Our aim is to reflect engineering practices in other sectors where physical testing is complemented by virtual testing and product optimisation. This will result in improved medical products (drugs or devices), faster and more affordable lifesaving therapies for patients, and innovative regulatory approval processes.”

He added: “These cutting-edge tools can greatly enhance reliability in testing, while substantially reducing development time and costs, as well as improving the diversity of testing conditions, leading to more equitable care.”

“And that will benefit patients through reduced failure rates and recalls, while fostering economic growth by driving innovation in pharmaceuticals and medical technologies.”

However, despite their transformative potential, a regulatory deadlock for in-silico technologies means the technologies face barriers to adoption. Regulators lack frameworks to assess in-silico evidence, while developers hesitate to invest without clear pathways to approval.

The UK CEiRSI aims to break the deadlock and position in-silico technology and virtual trials as a mainstream approach to eliminate risk from future medical and pharmaceutical innovation developments. To tackle this impasse, the Pilot phase will implement an In Silico Airlock Initiative where actors from industry, academia and regulatory bodies will explore 10 industry-led pre-commercial regulatory pilots and assess the opportunities and limitations of current credibility frameworks.

Building on the success of a six-month discovery phase, UK CEiRSI will bring together industry leaders, regulators, Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and standardisation bodies, academics, and patient representatives - to test and refine frameworks for assessing in-silico evidence.

Reports from the project will address key issues such as regulatory frameworks, legal and ethical implications, and patient risk reduction, paving the way for in-silico technologies to make a real impact on our lives.

• "in silico"  is a term used to describe experiments or studies that are performed using computer simulations or software. 

For more information visit:

• UK CEiRSI LinkedIn
• InSilicoUK
• InSilicoUK
• InSilicoUK
• InSilicoUK L 

Alex Theodossiadis, 25, died five years ago on 28 January 2020, after struggling to get a GP appointment. 

Reception staff had failed to realise  that the DJ’s symptoms needed urgent evaluation and offered him an appointment in three weeks. 

Alex had developed a severe and debilitating headache, and felt so ill and weak he was unable to eat properly or go out, which can be symptoms of meningitis in which the three thin layers of tissue that cover and protect the brain and spinal cord become inflamed, usually by an infection. 

Symptoms also include fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhoea, confusion and drowsiness muscle pain, stomach cramps and fever with cold hands and feet, and a rash, though they may appear in any order. Some may not appear at all. 

Alex was taken by a friend to Leeds General Infirmary and then transferred across the city to St James' Hospital where he stopped breathing after falling from his hospital bed and banging his head on the floor.

 An inquest heard he was likely to have already succumbed to the infectious disease, which was complicated by the head injury. 

His mother, Professor Sue Astley Theodossiadis, a medical imaging expert at The University of �������Ƶ, has been working with the charities Meningitis Now and the PSHE Association to develop the resources. 

They consist of two lessons which teach 16 to 18-year-olds  how to recognise serious illness in themselves and others, and to have the confidence and knowledge to navigate the healthcare system. One section includes role playing on how to get a doctor’s appointment. 

The pack was part-funded by the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health  at The University of �������Ƶ and part-funded by Meningitis Now. 

She said: “We strongly feel Alex’s care could have been better, and that his death might have been preventable. 

“He was told he had to wait for three weeks for a GP appointment. But after becoming progressively unwell, he went to a walk-in clinic where the first words written by the nurse at the appointment were 'cough and cold' symptoms, despite his most concerning symptoms including a new, debilitating headache. 

“He was so ill he couldn't even climb the stairs to his bedroom, but the duration and severity of his symptoms wasn’t discussed at the appointment. 

“It's likely that his inexperience in presenting his symptoms contributed to a presumption of a flu type viral infection; he left the surgery with painkillers for the headache.”

A record of his Facebook messages to his friends and family, compiled by Professor Astley Theodossiadis, reveals the heartbreaking progression of the symptoms caused by the disease.

After posting one message to a friend in Germany which said he was 'in and out of naps', another friend took him to hospital, where he died three days later.

She added: "The coroner picked up the need for GP receptionists to ask questions and help people to be clearer about their symptoms so they can triage them more appropriately to get urgent appointments.

"This resource pack draws on Alex’s experience to help young people recognise serious illness in themselves and others, and to have the confidence and knowledge to navigate the healthcare system.

“Until the time of his illness, Alex’s interactions with the NHS had mainly been for sports injuries, and many of those were when he was young, so I was there with him.

“My hope is that this will help prevent others dying in a similar way.  All healthcare professionals, including receptionists, need to be aware of the difficulties young people have in explaining themselves. The resources also highlight when to seek help urgently, either for yourself or for someone else”

Director of Meningitis Now Dr Tom Nutt said: “We welcome this valuable resource and thank Alex’s mother Sue for her tireless efforts to raise awareness and fight back against the disease that sadly took her son’s life.

“Young people are an at-risk group of meningitis and research tells us that up to a quarter of 15 to 24-year-olds carry the bacteria that cause meningococcal meningitis in the back of their throats, compared with one in 10 of the general population.

“Common complaints such as a hangover and Freshers’ Flu are often given as reasons for a person not feeling too well – but we are asking young people not to simply assume this is the case. A headache and fever are also common signs of meningitis.

“It’s important that young people have the confidence and the knowledge to understand what may be happening to them when they are unwell and to know when to seek medical help or the help of others. This means taking a few minutes to learn the signs and symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia, and to know that it’s OK to seek urgent medical help if you are concerned that someone maybe unwell and getting worse.  This new resource will give young people the knowledge and confidence on how best to go about this.”

Monica Perry from PSHE Association said: “These lessons will help students to develop responsibility for monitoring and maintaining their health and wellbeing; learning how to access reliable health information, recognising when to seek medical care, and rehearsing communication with healthcare professionals.

“Young adults have an increased risk of contracting meningitis or meningococcal disease – this resource will support students to be aware of vaccinations available, common signs and symptoms of the disease and what to do if someone is seriously unwell.”

The May Davidson Award 2024 has been presented to Dr Sarah Parry by the British Psychological Society (BPS) for her exceptional early career achievements.

Dr Parry is a Senior Clinical Lecturer and Academic Director for the Clinical Psychology Doctorate at The University of �������Ƶ. Her research focuses on young people’s mental health and advancing care for children and families.

Alongside this, Dr Parry co-leads a research centre at , where she works with young people and families to develop evidence-based improvements to mental health services.

Dr Parry’s current research studies include exploring joint responses for young people experiencing mental health crises, supporting young people with distressing sensory experiences, identifying and overcoming barriers to inclusive research, and developing a trauma-informed care approach for use in homes for cared for children.

Dr Sarah Parry said: “I am truly grateful to receive the May Davidson Award, especially when I think of the inspiring previous recipients of the award, whose work I greatly admire.

The BPS seeks to represent psychology and psychological professions, with the aim of promoting the incredible impact the field can have on individuals and society.

The May Davidson Award is presented to clinical psychologists who have made an outstanding contribution to the development of clinical psychology within the first 10 years of their work as a qualified clinical psychologist. The late May Davidson was president of the BPS in 1976 and was actively involved in government discussions about the role of clinical psychologists.

The BPS said: “Sarah has championed a reflective and compassionate approach to training in mental health and clinical psychology. She has pioneered leading on clinical research in under researched areas in the field of youth mental health using a collaborative approach in developing communities of support and co-creating research with experts by experience.

“The Award is in recognition of the dedication and thoughtfulness shown and the quality of the work in improving children and young people's mental health.”

The Young People’s Research Centre at Pennine Care reports an increasing number of young people are reporting mental health concerns, with one in six 7-16 year-olds experiencing a mental health difficulty in 2022. The centre recognises that early access to support is crucial, as around 50% of mental health challenges emerge by the age of 14.

Through the vital research Dr Parry is championing, she hopes to learn how to improve the quality and accessibility of mental health services, to support and advocate for young people with a range of different needs.

The HDRC is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). It will connect the Council, University of �������Ƶ researchers and other academic institutions to give local people an equal say in research and the ability to influence decisions made from that research, using both real-life experiences and building on current ways of doing things, to make sure the benefits last long after the programme ends.

The funding approval given today  follows last year’s submission to the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

The collaboration, led by �������Ƶ City Council, University of �������Ƶ and partner organisations, is a significant step in uniting �������Ƶ academic institutions and residents with other key players including voluntary and faith organisations, and public and private sector partners.

It aims to enhance better understanding of the factors affecting health and health inequalities, increase research capacity and use this evidence to inform future policy and planning and improve health outcomes in areas of high deprivation.

Councillor Thomas Robinson, Executive �������Ƶ for Healthy �������Ƶ and Adult Social Care said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for �������Ƶ to lead the way in tackling health inequalities by ensuring that local people’s voices are at the heart of shaping policy. By building our research capacity and working closely with partners and local people across the city we can develop a deeper understanding of the challenges our communities face and create evidence-based solutions that will have a real and lasting impact on people’s lives.

"This collaboration allows us to continue to shape the future of health and wellbeing in our city which is the central tenet of our Making �������Ƶ Fairer Programme to address health inequity and preventable deaths by looking at all the social factors that mean that some people in the city die earlier than others.”

Professor Arpana Verma from The University of �������Ƶ, Academic Lead for the HDRC, said: “We are so proud that �������Ƶ has been awarded full HDRC status. This is a testament to our communities and public contributors who have helped us as the HDRC team create a plan of work that will strengthen our partnership. The HDRC will ensure we continue to hear the voices of the unheard, make the invisible, visible and making sure that we don’t leave anyone behind.

“Putting people at the heart of this exciting initiative is vital for inclusive research and improving health and wellbeing. As we look to the next 5 years, we will continue to build our research-active communities and research-responsive policies to tackle inequalities together."

This commitment to addressing health inequalities across �������Ƶ is echoed in the University's recent investment in interdisciplinary research focused on delivering fairer health outcomes for all through its  research platform.

The study of special bacteria, which have evolved nanoscopic syringes –Type 6 Secretion Systems (T6SSs) – that inject cocktails of deadly toxins into rival microorganisms, is published today in the journal PNAS. 

Microbes been fighting their own wars on germs for Millions of years  – battling for survival against each other.

The new Wellcome Trust-funded research shows that toxin cocktails used in these fights have a highly valuable property – they limit resistance evolution to T6SS attacks.

In both computer simulations and lab experiments, the researchers found that microbes readily evolved resistance to individual T6SS toxins, but that resistance did not occur when the toxins were injected together.

That means multi-toxin T6SSs might be ideal candidates for resistance-busting antimicrobials of the future.

T6SS-armed bacteria are already being harnessed as antimicrobials, with applications in crop protection or aquafarming.

Attacker bacteria could also be engineered as “living biotherapeutics”, targeting drug-resistant bacteria or fungi inside hosts. 

The new results could now be used to improve these technologies,using toxin combinations to limit resistance evolution and extend their lifespan.

The work also suggests that microbes themselves might have much to teach us when it comes to overcoming resistance.

While the idea of combination therapy – using multiple toxins together to prevent resistance – dates from the 1950s, bacteria seem have been beaten humans to the discovery.

“Bacteria have been using T6SSs to attack other microbes for millions of years, and have developed their own type of combination therapy – injecting a range of toxin types together ,” said Lead author, Dr Will Smith, from the University of �������Ƶ.

“It’s possible this evolved to limit resistance in competitors. If so, what other mechanisms might microbes have to do this?”

“It’s an exciting prospect that we might make better antimicrobial therapies by consulting our top microbial assassins: the germs themselves”

• Video shows attacker and target bacteria. The dead bacteria is stained pink