Development of improved technologies for high throughput screening of potential disease susceptibility genes. This research is aimed at developing more efficient strategies to identify genes involved in common, human disorders. We aim to develop cost-effective, high throughput approaches for DNA extraction and preparation, accurately determining DNA concentration and quality and for undertaking extensive polymorphism genotyping and analysis. The suitability of equipment, analysis packages and so ....Development of improved technologies for high throughput screening of potential disease susceptibility genes. This research is aimed at developing more efficient strategies to identify genes involved in common, human disorders. We aim to develop cost-effective, high throughput approaches for DNA extraction and preparation, accurately determining DNA concentration and quality and for undertaking extensive polymorphism genotyping and analysis. The suitability of equipment, analysis packages and software, will be assessed and better technologies and packages developed. The study involves collaboration between a research centre with considerable expertise in molecular genetics and Corbett Research, a leader in the field of molecular equipment production. The development of better gene screening technologies has both molecular and commercial significance.Read moreRead less
Image-guided skin microbiopsy technology development. There is a need for targeted biopsies in dermatology. This novel technology enables minimally invasive biopsies to be taken from suspicious skin lesions by integrating micromedical and imaging devices.
Molecularly engineered cell-instructive hydrogels for enhanced tissue regeneration. The outcomes of this project will be relevant to range of wounds, including burns, bed-sores, and diabetic and venous ulcers. Clearly, innovation in wound healing is urgently required as the treatment of wounds represents a significant challenge at all levels of our society, in terms of cost (physical, emotional and financial) to patients, the economy and to the wider community. Despite this obvious and overwhelm ....Molecularly engineered cell-instructive hydrogels for enhanced tissue regeneration. The outcomes of this project will be relevant to range of wounds, including burns, bed-sores, and diabetic and venous ulcers. Clearly, innovation in wound healing is urgently required as the treatment of wounds represents a significant challenge at all levels of our society, in terms of cost (physical, emotional and financial) to patients, the economy and to the wider community. Despite this obvious and overwhelming need, research in wound healing is relatively under-developed and has yet to adopt modern biotechnology and biomaterials approaches. This project is therefore directed at generating cost-effective frontier wound dressing technologies that accelerate wound repair.Read moreRead less
Improving immune response to vaccines by selective targeting of epithelial regions with the Nanopatch. Vaccination protects us from infections like measles and flu. In principle, it could protect us from all diseases, even from skin cancer and arthritis. In practice, however, vaccines to diseases like cancer have largely proved ineffective. One problem is that we don't really understand how the body's immune system responds to vaccination. Our aim, therefore, is to investigate changes in the imm ....Improving immune response to vaccines by selective targeting of epithelial regions with the Nanopatch. Vaccination protects us from infections like measles and flu. In principle, it could protect us from all diseases, even from skin cancer and arthritis. In practice, however, vaccines to diseases like cancer have largely proved ineffective. One problem is that we don't really understand how the body's immune system responds to vaccination. Our aim, therefore, is to investigate changes in the immune system when a vaccine enters the skin, as might happen by injection. Experimenting with laboratory mice and a special vaccine-injecting Nanopatch that is attached to each mouse's ear, we are starting to understand how a vaccine affects the immune cells in the skin. In the future we plan to apply this knowledge to improve vaccination in people.Read moreRead less
Advancing hybrid imaging with magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography (MRI-PET). This project aims to increase the utility, accessibility, cost-effectiveness and accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography (MRI-PET) hybrid imaging technology for brain tumour imaging. This project will develop new contrast agents, better ways of measuring their uptake including a new high sensitivity MRI-PET head coil and methods for predicting tumour progression us ....Advancing hybrid imaging with magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography (MRI-PET). This project aims to increase the utility, accessibility, cost-effectiveness and accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography (MRI-PET) hybrid imaging technology for brain tumour imaging. This project will develop new contrast agents, better ways of measuring their uptake including a new high sensitivity MRI-PET head coil and methods for predicting tumour progression using imaging information.Read moreRead less
Optimising the body's immune response with a Nanopatch that delivers biomolecules to the skin. The team is developing a new improved way to vaccinate against deadly infectious diseases such as influenza and malaria. They believe their Nanopatch technology will boost the power of seasonal influenza vaccination and could even solve vaccine shortages in an influenza pandemic. This is because the Nanopatch needs much less vaccine per person than a conventional syringe. They also predict that vaccine ....Optimising the body's immune response with a Nanopatch that delivers biomolecules to the skin. The team is developing a new improved way to vaccinate against deadly infectious diseases such as influenza and malaria. They believe their Nanopatch technology will boost the power of seasonal influenza vaccination and could even solve vaccine shortages in an influenza pandemic. This is because the Nanopatch needs much less vaccine per person than a conventional syringe. They also predict that vaccines delivered with a Nanopatch will require less refrigeration than conventional vaccines and can be safely administered by individuals without medical training, making the benefits of vaccination accessible to more people more cheaply, even in remote areas.Read moreRead less