CenGEM
Funder: Association Française de l'Ataxie de Friedreich (AFAF)
Duration: February 2025 -
Funder: Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
Duration: January 2025 - March 2025
Funder: National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research
Duration: January 2025 - June 2025
Grant for gene therapy safety
Funder: Leukaemia & Myeloma Research UK Ltd
Duration: May 2024 - October 2025
Funder: The Royal Society
Duration: March 2024 - August 2026
Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council
Duration: February 2024 - February 2027
Funder: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Duration: January 2024 - March 2024
Development of diagnostics
Funder: Ataxia UK
Duration: January 2024 -
Funder: CCLG - Little Princess Trust
Duration: October 2023 - September 2025
Funder: Medical Research Council
Duration: September 2023 - September 2026
Infectious diseases were once the leading cause of death amongst men and women in almost all age demographics in the UK. However, the discovery of antibiotics revolutionised our ability to treat bacterial infections and, as a result, saved millions of lives. Bacteria inhabit almost every corner of our planet due to their incredible ability to adapt to different environmental niches. This capacity to evolve and survive even in the most inhospitable environments means that, following the introduction of a new antibiotic to our healthcare systems, resistant bacterial strains rapidly appear. This cycle has kept repeating until the emergence, in some instances, of infections that cannot be effectively treated with any currently available antibiotics. This is creating a dangerous situation where a "post-antibiotic" era is now becoming a reality, threatening all aspects of healthcare from cancer treatment to dental work. At the forefront of pathogens that can evolve multidrug resistance is Acinetobacter baumannii. This pathogen can infect individuals who are already sick or have a supressed immune system, leading to a variety of life-threatening clinical complications and, potentially, death. This creates a problem particularly in hospitals where most A. baumannii outbreaks occur. Prior to the 2000s, A. baumannii infections were relatively infrequent and, typically, very treatable. However, there has been a rapid increase in the number of these infections, such that this bacterium now accounts for 20% of all infections seen in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) worldwide. These infections are incredibly difficult to treat, with up to 75% of A. baumannii isolated from these patients being resistant to more than 3 types of antibiotic. Previously, we have shown that the artificial sweetener acesulfame K (ace-K), a compound is consumed by millions of people around the world every day in "sugar free" or "calorie free" food and drinks, has a remarkable ability to tackle this pathogen. We demonstrated that not only can ace-K inhibit this pathogens growth. It can also inhibit a range of virulent processes that it uses to establish infection, including the ability to move from the initial site of infection and the capacity of this bacteria to form communities called biofilms which help it overcome antibiotic therapy. Remarkably, we also demonstrated that this compound will make A. baumannii vulnerable to antibiotics that it has previously evolved resistance to. We now want to explore what exactly ace-K is doing to the cell to stop it growing and to increase its sensitivity to antibiotics. We will use a range of cutting-edge fluorescent microscopy, proteomics and molecular biology techniques to uncover exactly how ace-k effects the bacterial cell and resensitises it to antibiotics. We will develop, characterise and assess novel ace-K loaded wound dressings to tackle acute and long-term, difficult to treat infections and test them in a porcine ex vivo wound model. We will also test these loaded wound dressings in a mouse wound model to determine their capacity to treat infection. As ace-k is approved for consumption by every international regulatory body including the Food and Drug Administration, it means it has been extensively tested for safety. Therefore, there is significant potential that the use of ace-K as a therapeutic to tackle infection could be fast tracked to clinical trials and into hospitals. This would overcome one of the main barriers delaying the introduction of new antimicrobials drugs which is that all the safety testing and trials required before final approval can take over 15 years on average to complete.
Funder: The University of Nottingham
Duration: June 2023 - October 2023
Seed funding to explore a potential new biotechnology/diagnostic application arising as an idea from recent CRISPR work
Funder: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Duration: April 2023 - March 2025
In a ground-breaking stride towards revolutionizing cardiac emergency care, Professor Wamadeva Balachandran and his illustrious team at Brunel University London, in collaboration with Harefield Hospital, are spearheading the development of an innovative, life-saving device. This compact, pioneering technology stands poised to transform the way heart attacks are detected – swiftly and accurately, even before a patient reaches the hospital. This remarkable innovation is more than a leap in medical technology; it's a testament to the relentless pursuit of excellence and compassion in healthcare. As this device moves closer to becoming a staple in ambulances, it holds the promise of safeguarding hearts and saving lives, heralding a new era of responsive and advanced emergency cardiac care.
Funder: N4 PHARMA
Duration: March 2023 - November 2023
Funder: N4Pharama
Duration: October 2022 - August 2023
Company funding
Funder: Lady Tata Memorial Trust
Duration: October 2022 - September 2024
PhD studentship to Ayona Johns
Funder: Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council
Duration: April 2022 - March 2025
Funder: Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council
Duration: February 2022 - January 2025
Funder: Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA)
Duration: January 2022 - January 2024
Funder: Wolfson Foundation
Duration: January 2022 - December 2023
equipment grant
Funder: Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance
Duration: October 2021 - October 2023
Funder: Bowel Research UK
Duration: October 2021 - September 2024
An investigation of the role of two novel candidate risk genes in colorectal cancer, and how common DNA variants may change the expression of these genes.
Funder: National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research
Duration: February 2021 - July 2021
commercial grant
Funder: Kay Kendall Leukaemia Fund
Duration: January 2021 - January 2024
Funder: Ataxia UK
Duration: January 2021 - July 2021
Project Grant
Funder: N4Pharma
Duration: January 2021 - August 2022
vector enhancement of LV
Funder: Guts UK
Duration: November 2020 - November 2022
Funder: Alan Turing Institute
Duration: October 2020 - October 2021
Funder: Medical Research Council
Duration: June 2020 - October 2021
Funder: Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity
Duration: April 2020 - March 2022
Funder: British Society for Haematology
Duration: March 2020 - February 2021
Early Stage Research Set-Up Grant
Funder: British Society for Haematology
Duration: March 2020 - February 2021
Funder: Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council
Duration: February 2020 - January 2023
Funder: Rosetrees Trust
Duration: February 2020 - July 2021
Funder: Cancer Research UK
Duration: January 2020 - December 2023
Funder: European Commission
Duration: January 2020 - December 2024
Funder: Breast Cancer UK
Duration: January 2020 - December 2021
Funder: Royal Society
Duration: December 2019 - November 2021
Funder: Kidscan
Duration: October 2019 - September 2022
Funder: Waterloo Foundation
Duration: October 2019 - September 2020
Funder: Cancer Treatment and Research Trust
Duration: October 2019 - September 2022
Funder: University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust
Duration: October 2019 - March 2023
Funder: Wellcome Trust
Duration: October 2019 - September 2026
Wellcome Trust Investigator Awards in Science
Funder: Brunel BRIEF Award
Duration: September 2019 - September 2021
Funder: Medical Research Council
Duration: -