UCL SCHOOL OF LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES (SLMS)
ISSUE 3 APRIL 2009
SLMS NEWSLETTER
www.ucl.ac.uk/slms
SLMS RESEARCH
UCL Partners update
New grant success
SLMS EDUCATION
MSc in Sports & Exercise Medicine
UCL Health & Society Summer School
SLMS News
New tissue culture equipment
in Cruciform labs
SLMS People
Interview with David Shanks
SLMS Events
Launch event of the UCL Centre
for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine
CONTENTS
DEANS COLUMN
2 DEANS COLUMN
3 SLMS RESEARCH
3-5 MAJOR INITIATIVES
6 NEW GRANT SUCCESS
7-8 RESEARCH FOCUS
9-11RESEARCH NEWS
11-13RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
14SLMS EDUCATION
14 NEW GRADUATE
OPPORTUNITIES
15-17EDUCATION NEWS
16SLMS NEWS
18-19SLMS NEWS ROUND UP
19 SLMS STUDENT NEWS
20SLMS PEOPLE
20-21
INTERVIEW PROFESSOR
DAVID SHANKS
22-23NEW APPOINTMENTS
1 JANUARY –
28 FEBRUARY 2009
23
PEOPLE NEWS IN BRIEF
24EVENTS
24ACADEMIC EVENTS
24STEM CELLS AND
REGENERATIVE MEDICINE
LAUNCH EVENT
Dear Colleagues
By now most of you will be aware that
the Department of Health granted
UCL Partners (UCLP) the status of
being one of the first Academic Health
Science Centres in the country. The
Partnership is one of just five bids
which satisfied the Department of
Health’s rigorous selection process,
demonstrating that it possessed
excellence in research, education and
patient care.
The Partnership will work towards
delivering world-class research,
education and patient care for the
benefit of the local community, and
then promote the application of
discoveries in the NHS and around
the world. Last month we held a
number of open meetings to inform
staff about this opportunity. But what
impact will this partnership have
on staff in the School? A detailed
analysis (by Professor Byrne) is
available in this newsletter.
Progress continues with plans for the
UK Centre for Medical Research and
Innovation (UKCMRI), the partners
are working together to determine the
scientific direction of the Centre and
the exact nature of the involvement of
UCL staff.
Over the last few months SLMS
research has received significant
coverage and has featured across
web, print and broadcast media.
2
We are delighted to report that the
History of Medicine podcasts have
been a huge success, the series,
Today’s Neuroscience, Tomorrow’s
History, is top of the list of UCL
iTunes downloads. In addition,
staff in the Medical School have
developed an e-Learning revision
resource for final year MBBS
students, the initiative has received
positive feedback. There is no doubt
that blended learning will increase
in the coming months as staff begin
to utilise the technology available.
In the last newsletter we noted that
plans were progressing for the UCL
Education Deanery, after a lengthy
consultation period the proposed
format has changed somewhat but
we are currently moving forward with
a joint committee structure across
the School. This newsletter contains
an update from DoME on the MBBS
and the postgraduate review.
Kind Regards
Professor Edward Byrne
Dean of UCL Faculty of Biomedical
Sciences and Head of UCL Medical
School
Professor Peter Mobbs
Professor of Physiology and Dean
UCL Faculty of Life Sciences
The results of the first Newton
International Fellowships have just
been announced. The purpose of the
scheme is to select the very best early
stage post-doctoral researchers from
all over the world, and offer support for
two years at UK research institutions.
UCL SCHOOL OF LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
ISSUE 3 APRIL 2009
SLMS RESEARCH
MAJOR INITIATIVES
UCL Partners
The Department of Health recently
granted UCL Partners (UCLP) the
status of being one of the first
Academic Health Science Centres
in the country.
Professor Edward Byrne, Executive
Dean of UCL Faculty of Biomedical
Sciences, comments on this new
era in university health service
collaboration.
The UK Government with the NHS
recently completed a designation
process for Academic Health Science
Centres. The aim of this process,
conducted with the help of an
international jury, was to identify a
small number of University/Health
Partner Consortia which have the
capacity and the ambition to compete
internationally at the highest level as
centres of innovation and excellence
in health care. The very best academic
activities in medical and health
science and health delivery in North
America are referred to as Academic
Health Centres (AHSC) and this
model has become increasingly
prevalent for Centres of Excellence
around the world, for example the
Karolinska University and Hospital in
Stockholm and the new developments
in Singapore with merger of the
National University Medical School
and its key hospitals. The international
jury were looking for evidence of
major underpinning excellence in
research and education relevant to
health but also for a commitment
to develop and improve processes
which improve health outcomes
in local communities in the United
Kingdom within a relatively short time
frame. Quite a number of University,
Hospital Trust Partnerships applied
for designation as AHSC and seven
consortia were shortlisted. Eventually
five were designated namely UCL
Partners and the consortia centred
around Imperial College, King’s
College, Cambridge University and
Manchester. The expectation is that
with this designation, the academic
Health Science Centres designated
will make significant contributions to
both medical research and education
and to health outcomes in the United
Kingdom. They will be beacons of
excellence recognised internationally.
Designation has been an extremely
important process and achievement
for the UCL Medical School and for the
School of Life and Medical Sciences.
Medical science at UCL has a rich
history and represents a coming
UCL SCHOOL OF LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
together of a number of outstanding
medical schools namely the Middlesex
School, the Royal Free School, the
UCLH School and four Postgraduate
Institutes that were previously
independent institutes of the BMA
namely the Institute of Neurology, the
Institute of Child Health, the Institute
of Ophthalmology and the Eastman
Dental Institute. These outstanding
centres of medical research have long
been affiliated with major hospitals
and have stimulated excellence in
clinical care. The Royal Free and UCL
Medical School (now the UCL Medical
School) has long been a collaboration
between life scientists in the Faculty of
Life Science and clinicians and clinical
scientists in what was for many years
the Faculty of Clinical Science at UCL.
This alignment of clinical science with
outstanding basic science has been
one of the real strengths of medical
science at UCL and has contributed
to the leading place that UCL now
enjoys in Europe in terms of medical
and health research outputs. The
Faculty of Life Sciences and what
3
is now the Faculty of Biomedical
Sciences also underpin
outstanding teaching activities both
in the basic medical degree and in a
range of taught postgraduate degrees.
ISSUE 3 APRIL 2009
SLMS RESEARCH
MAJOR INITIATIVES
Together they support an outstanding
graduate student programme with over
a thousand PhD students enrolled.
The development of a shared
vision for teaching and research
underpinning excellence of health care
delivery under the auspices of UCL
Partners will provide new opportunities
for the great strengths in medical
research and education in the UCL
family to drive improvements in health
outcome. This will include developing
new educational approaches to
meet needs in health leadership. A
joint approach to education in many
aspects of the post graduate arena will
be developed between UCL and its
healthcare partners. On the research
side the opportunity is already being
taken advantage of in many parts of
the university to take basic science
advances through a translational
stage into the clinic and this will be
accelerated. In addition, the rigorous
scientific approach embraced by UCL
and its key partners will be further
strengthened ensuring a sound
evidence base and aspiration to world
class practice and clinical outcomes
underpins all major activities. True
excellence in education and in
research will support and underpin
clinical excellence and health
outcomes.
UCL Partners has been established
with five core partners namely UCL
itself, and four hospital trusts, UCLH,
The Royal Free, Moorfields and
Great Ormond Street Children’s
Hospital. These core partners have
been working for almost two years
in developing plans for UCLP. A
number of other members have
4
indicated a commitment to join
UCLP including five primary
health care trusts, four mental
health trusts and a number of other
major hospitals in our region. New
academic members will include the
School of Pharmacy and the School
of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
which are independent colleges of the
University of London. The capacity
and excellence brought together by
these partners is considerable as is
the resultant opportunity. The aim
will be to provide seamless links in
education and research across the
partnership. There is a firm ambition
to improve health care outcomes at
every level ranging from community
services to outcomes in tertiary
referral practice.
evidence that partners have world
class capacity in education and
research which can underpin and
improve clinical outcomes. New
themes are currently being explored.
The themes involve activities
extending from the community to the
hospital and bring together scientists
across the breadth of UCL from both
the Faculty of Life Sciences (FLS) and
the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences
(FBS). Theme leaders are in the
process of being appointed who will
have a high degree of responsibility
in co-ordinating and leading large
programmes in the agreed areas.
UCL Partners as with other Academic
Health Science Centres in the
UK will be flag ships for medical
research, education and treatment
of patients in the United Kingdom.
UCLP will compete internationally
at the highest level and has the
aim of being one of the outstanding
Academic Health Science Centres in
the world going ahead. It will be fully
collaborative with other Academic
Health Science Centres in London
and elsewhere in the United Kingdom,
leading health science for the UK.
The brief is to improve health in our
local communities underpinning an
aspiration to excellence, patient safety
in treatment pathways and in health
outcomes. Health outcomes will be
improved nationally both through
the development of new innovations
and through approaches that can be
extended to other areas in the United
Kingdom. International outcomes will
be improved through the development
of new discovery and innovation which
will influence how patients are treated
around the world.
In addition, co-ordinating functions for
strategic deliberation and planning
will be developed under UCLP in the
areas of research, education and
clinical safety and outcomes. These
will facilitate collegiate discussion and
opportunities for collective planning.
In developing partners a number of
themes have been selected where
there is an aspiration or existing
UCL SCHOOL OF LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
We all know the ancient Chinese curse
“to live in a time of change” but for
the UCL family at the moment change
presents massive opportunity. There
are major opportunities in the research
area through the reorganisation
and consolidation of activities in
FLS and FBS with joint theme and
platform development, in research
more generally with opportunities
offered by UCL’s collaboration in
major new institute developments
and the development of UCL Partners
completes an essential part of the
equation by consolidating the already
strong links both between UCL and
key hospital and health provider
trusts and within the extensive health
care family affiliated with UCL.
These developments have attracted
considerable attention internationally
and provide a platform for ongoing
success in the years ahead.
ISSUE 3 APRIL 2009
SLMS RESEARCH
SLMS allocates
£7.8M CIF funding for
technology platforms
at UCL
The Faculties of Biomedical and
Life Sciences have combined
their share of the 2008-2011
Capital Infrastructure Fund (CIF)
allocation. A total of £7.8million
has been dedicated to the Platform
Technology Development initiative,
led by Professor Salvador Moncada.
Platform Technologies encompass
genomics and genotyping, proteomics
and biophysics, imaging, transgenics
and biological services, biobanks,
and the informatics systems required
to support these technologies.
Professor Moncada has chosen
to stage a series of open calls for
proposals over three years. “This
will allow us to support and facilitate
research and at the same time
introduce some strategic thinking in
the development of our combined
infrastructure” said Professor
Moncada.
UCL Genomics has purchased a
state-of-the-art genome analyser, the
Roche GS-FLX, which complements
the Illumina Genome Analysers
based at the Cancer Institute,
providing UCL with the largest next
generation sequencing capability in
London. Dr Mike Hubank, Scientific
Director of UCL Genomics and a
group leader at the Institute of Child
Health says “The system allows us
to study the complexity of genomic
DNA at the level of the individual
nucleotide, allowing us to rapidly
and economically identify mutations
responsible for disease in patients,
to discover new disease genes at
a rate never previously possible,
and to study the complexity of
bacterial populations with astonishing
resolution The acquisition of this
platform will allow UCL to continue at
the forefront of genome discoveries in
the years to come.”
Several Imaging labs have benefited
from this particular CIF round,
including Professor David Becker who
runs the Live Cell Imaging Facility in
the Dept. of Cell and Developmental
Biology. Prof Becker says “The
addition of lifetime and TIRF imaging
has enabled us to examine the
dynamics of a variety of cellular
processes, which was not possible
with our existing equipment. Now we
have a TIRF imaging system we will
be able to image the dynamics of a
cell’s cytoskeleton, under different
conditions, whilst it is migrating
forward or growing out neurites.”
UCL SCHOOL OF LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
In another example of supporting
innovation in Imaging, Prof Angus
Silver (Neuroscience, Physiology and
Pharmacology) has received funding
to develop a new type of 2-photon
microscope capable of functional
imaging in 3 dimensional space at
high speed with submicron resolution.
“This novel technology is expected
to help UCL neuroscientists to better
understand how networks of neurons
in the brain process information.”
Dr Juan-Pedro Martinez-Barbera runs
the ES targeting facility at the Institute
for Child Health, which is one of the
Transgenics platform labs receiving
funds to develop UCL’s capability for
generating transgenic mouse strains.
“This investment is expected to have
a favourable effect on the application
we have recently submitted to the
Wellcome Trust with the main aim of
establishing a central facility at UCL for
the generation of genetically modified
mice, as well as cryo-preservation and
re-derivation of mouse lines.”
The third and final call for proposals
for CIF funding will be open from
June 2009 to researchers based
in SLMS. For information about
the Platform Technologies
initiative please contact the
Coordinator Jacky Pallas
(j.pallas@ucl.ac.uk).
ISSUE 3 APRIL 2009
5
SLMS RESEARCH
New grant success
We are indebted to all our sponsors. Without their continuing support we would not be able to undertake world class
research. Listed below are details of research projects above £500,000 with a start date of 1st January - 28th February.
These awards, from a variety of sources, support a wide range of research across the School. SLMS Staff can obtain
details of all awards on the School website: www.ucl.ac.uk/slms/research/current-projects.
Professor Linda Franck
UCL Institute for Women’s Health
£ 500,000
NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR
HEALTH RESEARCH
Patient Care Research and
Innovation Centre: Providing the
Infrastructure to Expand Patient
Care Research at the UCLH/UCL
CBRC
Professor Jim Mallet
UCL Division of Biosciences
£ 513,501
BBSRC
Genomic Analysis of Complex
Speciation in Heliconius
Dr Mala Maini
UCL Division of Infection &
Immunity
£ 521,179
MRC
Bim-Mediated Attrition of VirusSpecific CD8 T Cells in Chronic
HBV Infection
Professor Greg Towers
UCL Division of Infection &
Immunity
£ 572,278
MRC
Correlating Gene Expression
Changes and Innate Immune
Responses with Protective SIV
Vaccination in Cynomolgus
Macaques
6
Professor Francesco Muntoni
UCL Institute of Child Health
£ 576,399
MRC
A Phase I/II Clinical Trial in
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Using Systemically Delivered
Antisense Oligonucleotides
Dr Gareth Ackland
UCL Division of Medicine
£ 711,840
ACADEMY OF MEDICAL
SCIENCES
Fellowship - Academy of Medical
Sciences
Prof Stephan Beck
UCL Cancer Institute
£ 778,097
WELLCOME TRUST
Epigenomics of Common Disease
Professor Ian Jacobs
UCL Division of Research Strategy
(DORS)
£ 797,000
MRC
Pump-Priming Translational
Research Initiative
Professor Robin Weiss
UCL Division of Infection &
Immunity
£ 815,930
MRC
Humoral Immunity to Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
Professor David Shima
UCL Institute of Ophthalmology
£ 883,231
GLAXO RESEARCH &
DEVELOPEMENT LIMITED
GSK Collaborative Agreement
UCL SCHOOL OF LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
Professor Harry Hemingway
UCL Division of Population Health
£ 1,135,164
WELLCOME TRUST
Higher Resolution Cardiovascular
Epidemiology: Unique Insights from
Linking the National Cardiac Event
Register with Primary Care Records
and Highly Phenotyped Cohorts
Professor Linda Partridge
UCL Division of Biosciences
£ 1,295,343
MRC
Fellowship - A Detailed Network
of Transcriptome Regulation
Associated With Life-Span
Extension in Model Organisms
Professor Mark Marsh
MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell
Biology
£ 1,588,091
MRC
Fellowship - Cell Cycle Regulated
Transcription and Control of
Genome Integrity
Professor Bill Richardson
Wolfson Institute for Biomedical
Research at UCL
£ 1,874,619
MRC
Stem and Progenitor Cells of the
Postnatal CNS
Professor David Miller
UCL Institute of Neurology
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN
£ 2,544,384
Translating new magnetic
resonance imaging insights in to
treatment options and clinical trial
design in multiple sclerosis
ISSUE 3 APRIL 2009
SLMS RESEARCH
Research focus
UCL study reveals
therapists still
offer treatment for
homosexuality
Researchers from UCL and St
George’s, University of London have
published a report which indicates that
a significant minority of psychiatrists
and therapists still attempt to help
lesbian, gay and bisexual clients
become heterosexual, despite a lack
of evidence that such treatment is
effective or even safe.
The research, funded by the Wellcome
Trust and published in the open access
journal BMC Psychiatry, coincides with
the researchers’ launch of the web site
www.treatmentshomosexuality.org.
uk. The aim of the web site is to raise
awareness of this issue. It provides oral
histories from lesbian, gay and bisexual
people who have undergone treatment,
and from professionals who developed
and conducted such treatments.
The researchers questioned more
than 1,400 mental health professionals
on whether they would attempt to
change a client’s sexual orientation,
if requested to do so. Although only
one in twenty-five (4%) said that they
would do so, one in six (17%) reported
having assisted at least one client to
reduce their gay or lesbian feelings,
usually through therapy. There has
been little or no decline in numbers
treated over recent decades.
“There is very little evidence to show
that attempting to treat a person’s
homosexual feelings is effective, and
in fact it can actually be harmful,” says
Professor Michael King, Professor of
Primary Care Psychiatry at UCL Mental
Health Sciences, “so it is surprising that
a significant minority of practitioners still
offer this help to their clients.”
Professor King and his colleagues – Dr
Glenn Smith (at the time of the study a
Research Fellow at UCL Mental Health
Sciences, now at Imperial College
London) and Dr Annie Bartlett from St
George’s – found that the reasons given
by these psychiatrists and therapists
for offering this kind of assistance
ranged from the counsellor’s own moral
and religious views on homosexuality
to a desire to help patients who
were suffering stress as a result of
discrimination. There was also a degree
of ignorance among the practitioners
about the lack of evidence surrounding
the efficacy of such therapies – in
particular, that no randomised control
trials showing that therapy is effective
have ever been conducted.
Research offers hope for
early detection of ovarian
cancer
Preliminary results of a UCL-led
investigation suggest that testing
women for ovarian cancers may
become a reality. Following the largest
randomised trial of ovarian cancer
screening to date, Professor Ian
Jacobs (Dean of UCL Health Sciences
Research and Director of the UCL
Institute for Women’s Health), and
Dr Usha Menon (Head of the UCL
Gynaecological Cancer Research
Centre), have published their findings
online in The Lancet Oncology.
The report, to be published in print in
The Lancet Oncology’s April edition,
indicates that two tests – a multimodal
one involving a combined blood test
and ultrasound, and a transvaginal
ultrasound – are feasible on a large
scale and capable of detecting early
stage ovarian cancers, with almost
half of all cancers detected in stages
I (i.e. with the cancer confined to
the ovaries) and II (i.e. the cancer
UCL SCHOOL OF LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
has spread beyond the ovaries, but
is confined to the pelvic area). The
blood test measures levels of a protein
called CA125, which is often elevated
in the blood of women who have
ovarian cancer. The research team
used statistics to determine the risk of
ovarian cancer based on the woman’s
age, how much CA125 was present in
their blood and how the level changed
with time. The ultrasound scan is used
to look for abnormalities in the ovaries.
Ovarian cancer, often referred to
as ‘the silent killer’, causes more
deaths than any other cancer of the
female reproductive system. When it
is detected early – that is, when the
disease is still confined to the ovary –
it is 90% curable. However, because
there are few or no early symptoms,
70% of women with ovarian cancer
are diagnosed with advanced-stage
disease, when the survival rate is
only 20–30%. Currently, there is no
effective screening test to detect
early stage disease. However, recent
advances in transvaginal ultrasound
and the development of a risk score
for the interpretation of the results of
the blood test for the tumour marker
CA125, suggest that screening for
ovarian cancer could now be possible.
In the course of the UKCTOCS study,
between 2001 and 2005, 202,638
post-menopausal women aged
between 50 and 74 were recruited
through 27 regional Primary Care
Trusts across the UK. Women were
randomly assigned to no treatment
(control), annual multimodal screening
(MMS), or annual screening with
transvaginal ultrasound (UUS) in
a 2:1:1 ratio. Women with repeat
abnormal screens underwent
clinical evaluation and surgery.
Findings showed that the screening
programmes using MMS and USS
ISSUE 3 APRIL 2009
7
SLMS RESEARCH
Research focus
were able to detect symptoms in 90%
and 75% respectively of those women
who developed ovarian cancer. The
authors of the report believe that the
fact that almost half of the cancers
detected were in stages I or II (48% of
these in stage I) is encouraging, since
currently only about 28% of invasive
cancers are detected at this early
stage in most ovarian cancer series.
Overall, the total number of cancer
cases detected (87 primary ovarian
and three fallopian tube cancers) in
the screening groups was similar: 42
in the MMS group and 45 in the USS
group. The authors note that the correct
identification of true negatives was
significantly better in the MMS than
in the USS group, resulting in fewer
repeat tests and almost nine times fewer
operations per cancer detected. They
add, however, that the overall results
show that both screening strategies
have good performance characteristics
and are feasible on a large scale.
Dr Usha Menon, the UKCTOCS trial
co-ordinator and one of the principal
investigators, said: “These results
are extremely encouraging. […] The
early results suggest that both types
of screening can be used on a large
scale and both successfully identify
ovarian cancers.”
and healthcare workers in the UK
collaborate in research and involve
volunteers nationwide to improve
health.’’
The UKCTOCS trial has been funded
by the Medical Research Council
(MRC), Cancer Research UK and
the National Institute for Health
Research and is supported by the
gynaecological cancer research
charity The Eve Appeal.
Economic recessions
and the individual live
course
Staff in the Division of Population
Health have undertaken research into
how previous economic recessions
affected the health and well-being of
individuals. This research becomes
increasingly important as the UK faces
the present downturn.
Past research focused on
unemployment alone, and its possible
influence on the risk of suicide and
heart disease mortality, as well as on
mental health. During the recessions
of the 1980s and 1990s there was little
consideration that individuals likely
to suffer most at times of economic
downturn were those who had already
faced adversities in their earlier lives.
Professor Ian Jacobs concluded:
“I believe the UKCTOCS trial is an
example of UK healthcare at its
best. It is a combination of a huge
research effort, involving charity,
research council and Government
funders, hospital staff, university
researchers and GPs around the
UK and crucially more than
200,000 women. The first
8
results are an important step
forward and the trial itself is a
powerful demonstration of how our
best scientists, clinical researchers
UCL SCHOOL OF LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
Nor did we investigate the possibility that
a spell of unemployment might knock
people off a favourable life trajectory.
The ESRC International Centre for Life
Course Studies in Society and Health
(ICLS) is well placed to relate research
on health and well being in past
recessions to what service providers
might expect in the present one.
Previous work by Centre members has
shown that those who become trapped
in unemployment for longer periods
tended to come from less privileged
homes with lower paid parents and
greater overcrowding. They tended
also to have had more behavioural
problems and less academic success
during their school years. However,
large amounts of unemployment could
have a detrimental effect over long
periods of time even on individuals
from more privileged homes, with
good educational qualifications and
high intelligence.
The graph shows that people with
high IQ who had suffered over 36
months of unemployment in the 1980s
recession were hardly any more likely
to engage in healthy behaviours such
as not smoking, healthy diet and
taking exercise than others with lower
IQ who had a stable work history with
no unemployment.
Proportion with healthiest behaviours
at age 33 by IQ at age 11 and amount
of unemployment
30
None
25
1-12 months
13-36 months
20
37+
15
10
5
0
Top IQ
Bottom IQ
ISSUE 3 APRIL 2009
SLMS RESEARCH
Research news
Professor Brian
Henderson (UCL
Eastman Dental Institute)
awarded £240,000 grant
funding from the British
Heart Foundation
Del Besra), QUB (Professor Karl
Hale), Oxford (Professor Edith Sim),
St Georges (Professor Coates and
Professor Butcher), Birkbeck (Dr
Sanjib Bhakta), School of Pharmacy
(Professor Peter Taylor) to form the
UK tuberculosis drug development
consortium (TBDUK).
Professor Brian Henderson (UCL
Eastman Dental Institute) has
received £240,000 (Fec equivalent
£432,000) from the British Heart
Foundation for a study entitled:
Circulating Cell Stress Proteins,
Lymphocyte Function, and
Cardiovascular Disease. This
application is with Professor Andrew
Steptoe, UCL Research Department
of Epidemiology and Public
Health and Dr Steve Thompson,
Department of Immunology, King’s
College London and is to study the
relationship between circulating
levels of the cell stress protein,
heat shock protein (Hsp)60, and
leukocyte function in participants in
the Whitehall Study - a prospective
study of cardiovascular risk factors.
This is part of ongoing studies at UCL
EDI to identify the pathological roles
of bacterial and human cell stress
proteins.
This group have been awarded a
“Collaboration” grant from the Medical
Research Council. The new award
which will be administered by UCL
will provide a synergistic environment
for academic and commercial
organisations researching new drugs.
It is hoped that the consortium will
bring together others engaged in
drug development activity together,
increase the funding available to TB
drug discovery and develop a system
that will support the identification
of new candidates, early testing
and drug improvement through
chemical modification and all stages
of clinical drug development. Even
in its early days the consortium
has been awarded a new research
grant to develop drugs that attack
the tuberculosis bacterial cell
wall. If successful, the TBDUK will
reverse the decline in UK antibiotic
development research and create the
new drugs to defeat this worldwide
scourge.
For more information contact:
Professor Brian Henderson, tel: 020
7915 1190
TB Drug Development
UK – a new grant from
the Medical Research
Council
UCL researchers (Professor Gillespie
and Dr Tim McHugh) have joined
with academics from seven centres
around the UK who are active in
tuberculosis research: Strathclyde (Dr
Geoff Coxon), Birmingham (Professor
£95,000 donation to UCL
cancer research
Bottoms Up, a North-West London
bowel cancer charity, has donated
£95,000 to UCL to buy a vital piece
of equipment to aid cancer research.
The ‘CellSearch’ machine, which
helps to detect tumour cells in the
blood stream, was presented at an
event at the UCL Cancer Institute in
March.
UCL SCHOOL OF LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
Professor Chris Boshoff, Director
of the UCL Cancer Institute, said:
“The generous funding raised by
Bottoms Up, combined with funding
from the National Institute for
Health Research, has allowed us to
purchase this equipment and fund
a technician and running costs. We
believe that this initiative will play
an important role in the monitoring
of patients being treated for cancer
and that this technology will play an
expanding role in cancer research
within UCL.”
Dr Tim Meyer, Senior Lecturer in
Oncology (UCL Cancer Institute),
said: “The CellSearch machine has
been designed to detect individual
circulating tumour cells which
have become detached from the
main tumour and released into the
blood stream. The machine is very
sensitive and able to detect even one
or two cells present in one tube of
blood. Recent research has shown
that the number of circulating cells
detected can provide important
information about the prognosis in
individual patients, and can also be
used to detect relapse or disease
progression.”
Tina Hancock, Chairman of the
Bottoms Up bowel cancer charity,
says: “As a small, local charity we
have in the past donated funds to the
Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust for
vital early diagnostic equipment for
bowel cancer. When Anthony Glantz,
the husband of one of our committee
members, sadly died of the disease
two years ago, we decided to look at
research opportunities to support.
As soon as we heard about the
need for the CellSearch machine
for the UCL Cancer Institute
we knew that we had found the
perfect fund-raising goal. It has been
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SLMS RESEARCH
an absolute privilege to be associated
with UCL and the fantastic research
work carried out at the Institute.”
Bowel cancer, also known as colon
or colorectal cancer, is the second
most common cancer to kill people in
the UK, causing more deaths every
year than breast and cervical cancer
combined. Around 35,000 people in
the UK will be diagnosed with bowel
cancer in 2009.
HTA award for
collaborative research
project into recall
intervals for dental
check-ups
Professor Ian Needlman (UCL
Eastman Dental Institute) is
Co-applicant on a NIHR Health
Technology Assessment programme
funded grant totalling £596,000
for research into recall intervals
for dental check-ups. The Chief
Investigator is Professor Nigel Pitts at
the Dental Health Services Research
Unit (DHSRU), Dundee University.
The study, named the INTERVAL
Dental Recalls Trial (Investigation
of NICE Technologies for Enabling
Risk-Variable-Adjusted-Length Dental
Recalls Trial), is an initial 18 month
study into the effectiveness of different
recall intervals for dental check-ups
and, if successful, will be extended
to a four-year trial. It will compare
three groups: check-ups at variable
intervals determined according to
individual risk, as recommended by
the current NICE guidance; six
monthly check-ups; and recalls
at 24 months. The research will
10
look at the psychological impact
of the different check-up intervals
as well as the incidence of caries and
periodontal disease.
The study has been designed to
address and answer research
questions resulting from the NICE
Dental Recall Guideline (2004) for
which Professor Needleman carried
out the periodontal health research
synthesis. The resulting trial is an
excellent example of clinical research
responding to priorities identified in
systematic reviews.
For further information contact:
Professor Ian Needleman,
tel: 020 7915 1075
UCL Ear Institute
magnetoencephalography (MEG)
device
In March the UCL Ear Institute took
delivery of one of the world’s first
magneto-encephalography (MEG)
devices specifically designed for
experimental work in small animals.
A collaborative research programme
between UCL, Kanazawa Institute
of Technology (KIT), Japan and the
Centre National de la Recherché
Scientifique (CNRS), France, the
MEG device will open up a whole
new arena of research possibilities,
enabling researchers to bridge the
gap between traditional single-neuron
recording techniques employed
in auditory research and human
brain-imaging technologies. MEG
employs so-called superconductive
quantum interference devices
(SQUIDS) to record tiny magnetic
signals generated, in this instance,
by neurons in the brain’s auditory
cortices. MEG is proving a powerful
new tool in the repertoire of human
brain-imaging, and is particularly
suited to studies of the auditory
system, where timing of sounds is
crucial. The teams from KIT and
CNRS joined the Ear Institute team
UCL SCHOOL OF LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
for 4 days of installation and trials,
and included a visit to the London
Centre for Nanotechnology where
pioneering research is underway
developing the next generation of
SQUID sensors.
Good practice agreement
involving d/Deaf children
in academic research
A good practice agreement has
been coordinated by The Deafness
Cognition and Language Research
Centre (DCAL) at UCL and The Sign
Bilingual Consortium on involving d/
Deaf children in academic research.
The agreement came about following
consultation which highlighted
that both schools and University
researchers were keen to formalise
and improve their relationship and
shared a desire to ensure good
practice when carrying out research
into d/Deaf children’s development.
The agreement was originally drawn
up between coordinating partners
based in London at DCAL and Frank
Barnes School for Deaf Children but
the principles in this document are
applicable to all educational settings
for d/Deaf children. A wide range
of organisations contributed to the
agreement including City University
and, Oxford Brooks University as well
as the universities of Sheffield, Leeds,
Bristol, Plymouth and Newcastle.
Other organisations outside the
higher education sector signing up
include The British Association of
Teachers of the Deaf (BATOD) and
The National Deaf Children’s Society
(NDCS). A copy of the agreement
can be downloaded from: www.batod.
org.uk/content/articles/research/
gpa081008.pdf.
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Publication of British
Sign Language (BSL)
norms for age of
acquisition, familiarity,
and iconicity
One of the reasons research into BSL
has wide reaching impact is because
it offers the opportunity to think about
important questions about language
that it may not be possible to address
by just looking at spoken languages
alone. Up till now this research has
been hampered by the fact that there
was not sufficient research on the age
of acquisition, familiarity and iconicity
of individual signs. In contrast there is
a wealth of data on spoken or written
language such as the massive British
National Corpus sample of 100 million
words.
Researchers at the Deafness
Cognition and Language Research
Centre (DCAL) at UCL have now
published normative data on 300
lexical signs. This will be available
to other academic researchers as
well as feeding into an assessment
tool that will be useful for teachers,
interpreters, social workers and
language therapists.
Data was collected from a wide
range of BSL signers all over the
UK using an on-line questionnaire
that could support BSL streamed
video (www.RiddleMeThis.net). This
enabled anybody with access to
high-speed internet access to take
part in the research. Further details
about the research can be found at
http://brm.psychonomic-journals.
org/content/40/4/1079.abstract. The
norms may be downloaded from the
following website: www.psychonomic.
org/archive.
Research HIGHLIGHTS
Key resource will help
address complications
in pregnancy
A new resource at the UCL Institute
of Child Health (UCL ICH) will help
doctors and scientists address the
four key complications in pregnancy.
Jointly led by Professor Gudrun
Moore (UCL ICH) and Professor
Lesley Regan (St Mary’s Hospital,
Imperial College London), the
resource – known as the Baby Bio
Bank – will be the first study of its
kind and the most extensive, as it
will analyse maternal and paternal
inheritance patterns.
The four key complications
during pregnancy are recurrent
miscarriage, intrauterine growth
restriction (abnormally small
babies), pre-eclampsia (highblood pressure in pregnancy)
and preterm delivery. 250,000 UK
pregnancies end in miscarriage per
annum, while over 50% of stillbirths
remain unexplained.
The resource will help doctors
identify the inherited and biological
nature of these complications. The
resource will also store protein
from the placenta for expression
and translational studies (the
process by which inheritable
information from a gene is made into
a functional gene product).
The research at the bank will involve
collecting blood samples from the
parents and placenta from the babies
affected by any of these complications.
The samples taken will be examined
to investigate the possible underlying
causes of these conditions and how
much inheritance plays a part. Parents
in London can help address these
serious conditions by anonymously
donating blood and placenta samples.
The bank will be based at UCL ICH
and St Mary’s Hospital, Imperial
College London. It will create a panLondon project and an international
resource, bringing together eminent
professionals in the fields of
obstetrics and gynaecology. Once
complete, the research database will
be available to researchers from all
over the world to share.
Professor Moore said: “It is a huge
and exciting collaboration between
UCL and Imperial College London,
and between medicine and science.
It will enable breakthroughs in
the diagnosis and treatment of
these four serious pregnancy
complications.”
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UCL scientists show how
brain records memory
Professor Eleanor Maguire (UCL
Institute of Neurology) and Demis
Hassabis have published research
which confirms that it may be possible
to ‘read’ a person’s memories just by
looking at brain activity. In a study
published in the journal Current
Biology, the researchers show that
our memories are recorded in regular
patterns, a finding which challenges
current scientific thinking.
Professor Maguire and Demis
Hassabis have previously studied
the role of a small area of the brain
known as the hippocampus which is
crucial for navigation, memory recall
and imagining future events. Now,
the researchers have shown how the
hippocampus records memory.
When we move around, nerve cells
(neurons) known as ‘place cells’, which
are located in the hippocampus,
activate to tell us where we are.
12
Professor Maguire and colleagues
used an fMRI scanner, which
measures changes in blood flow
within the brain, to examine the activity
of these places cells as a volunteer
navigated around a virtual reality
environment. The data were then
analysed by a computer algorithm
developed by Demis Hassabis.
“We asked whether we could see any
interesting patterns in the neural activity
that could tell us what the participants
were thinking, or in this case where
they were,” explains Professor
Maguire. “Surprisingly, just by looking
at the brain data we could predict
exactly where they were in the virtual
reality environment. In other words, we
could ‘read’ their spatial memories.”
brains. By looking at activity over
tens of thousands of neurons, we can
see that there must be a functional
structure – a pattern – to how these
memories are encoded. Otherwise, our
experiment simply would not have been
possible to do.”
Professor Maguire believes that
this research opens up a range of
possibilities of seeing how actual
memories are encoded across the
neurons, looking beyond spatial
memories to more enriched memories
of the past or visualisations of the
future.
Earlier studies in rats have shown that
spatial memories – how we remember
where we are – are recorded in the
hippocampus. However, these animal
studies, which measured activity at
the level of individual or dozens of
neurons at most, implied that there
was no structure to the way that these
memories are recorded. The work
by Professor Maguire and Demis
Hassabis appears to overturn this
school of thought.
“Understanding how we as humans
record our memories is critical to
helping us learn how information is
processed in the hippocampus and
how our memories are eroded by
diseases such as Alzheimer’s,” added
Demis Hassabis.
Professor Maguire said: “fMRI
scanners enable us to see the bigger
picture of what is happening in people’s
Professor Maguire led a study a
number of years ago which examined
the brains of London taxi drivers, who
UCL SCHOOL OF LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
“It’s also a small step towards the
idea of mind reading, because just by
looking at neural activity, we are able to
say what someone is thinking.”
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SLMS RESEARCH
spend years learning “The Knowledge”
(the maze of London streets). She
showed that in these cabbies, an
area to the rear of the hippocampus
was enlarged, suggesting that this
was the area involved in learning
location and direction. The new study
confirms that the patterns relating to
spatial memory were located in this
same area, suggesting that the rear
of the hippocampus plays a key role
in representing the layout of spatial
environments.
National Medical Laser
Centre
The National Medical Laser Centre
is one of the most comprehensive
medical laser research centres in
Europe. The major emphasis is on
translational research - understanding
the interaction of light with living
tissue in the laboratory and using the
results to develop new techniques
for the diagnosis and treatment of
human disease. It is a world leader
in photodynamic therapy (PDT
-the combination of light and a
photosensitising drug), having defined
much of the biology that has led to
clinical applications in the treatment
of dysplasia and cancer in the mouth,
oesophagus, lungs and other organs.
It was the first centre to describe
image guided, minimally invasive
PDT for cancers of the prostate and
pancreas and as an adjuvant to balloon
angioplasty to prevent re-stenosis.
With each new laser technique, the
aim is to find out how best to use it
in any particular clinical situation and
then to undertake trials to compare it
with the best available conventional
alternatives, recent work includes:
• Using light to detect cancer in
the lymph nodes of breast cancer
sufferers, which recently won
a prestigious Medical Futures
Innovation Award.
• Measuring drug concentrations
in patients using white light
measurements, optically scan
excised oesophageal nodules,
and provides clinical support for
Photodynamic Therapy treatments
including studies in the prostate,
oesophagus and bile duct.
• Targeted nano-systems for
photodynamic therapy and
diagnosis of cancer: In this project
UCL SCHOOL OF LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
the use of nanoparticle delivery
systems are being investigated in
order to achieve a more efficient
and selective delivery of a clinicallyapproved photosensitiser to
tumour cells, both for therapy
and diagnostic imaging. A range
of targeted and non-targeted
nanocarriers (liposomes, polymeric
and silica nanoparticles) are
supplied by project partners and
their pharmacokinetics assessed
in comparison to the effect of PDT
treatment.
• Diagnosis and management of
pre-cancerous lesions (dysplasia) in
Barrett’s oesophagus. This includes
evaluation of biomarkers (aneuploidy/
tetraploidy) that may help to identify
patients who are more likely to
develop dysplasia and can also
predict success of treatment.
• Elastic Scattering Spectroscopy
Optical Biopsy system to
detect cancer and HALO
Radiofrequency Ablation to
treat the lesion.
Further information about the
Centre is available at:
www.ucl.ac.uk/surgery/nmlc/
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SLMS EDUCATION
New Graduate Opportunities
from September 2009
The teaching will include lectures,
tutorials and field work and the
modules have been formatted to
allow one day per week attendance.
This course is open to both medical
graduates and non medical graduates
with an appropriate physiotherapy
background. This particularly includes
those in orthopaedics, rheumatology,
sports medicine, General Practice
and geriatrics; and nurses, osteopaths,
physiotherapists, and Allied Health
Professionals such as biologists,
bioengineers and pharmaceutical
or medial devices industry trainees.
Students may undertake the programme
on a full-time (one year) or part-time (two
years) basis.
Further information is available on the
Division website:
www.ucl.ac.uk/surgicalscience/
MSc in Frontiers in
Infection & Immunity
MSc in Sports & Exercise
Medicine
The Division of Surgery &
Interventional Science will launch a
new Masters’ programme entitled
‘Sports and Exercise Medicine in
September 2009. The programme
is designed to give a broad
understanding of sports medicine,
sports injuries and exercise and
health. The fundamental basis
for musculo-skeletal injuries, the
diagnosis and management of
common sports related problems
and research into musculo14
skeletal injuries will all be
covered. There are optional
modules such as sports dentistry
and sport in extreme environments.
The Division of Infection & Immunity
will launch a new Masters’ programme
entitled ‘Frontiers in Infection and
Immunity’ in September 2009. The
programme is unique and aims to
train young scientists or clinicians in
the field of infection and immunity. It
offers a varied diet of courses and a
specialist research project that leads
to a specialism in clinical microbiology,
tropical microbiology, virology or
immunology. Exciting new themes
have been introduced that reflect
the research and clinical excellence
within UCL’s Division of Infection and
Immunity. These include courses on:
Biofilms in health and disease (including
quorum sensing and device-associated
infections); HIV research frontiers to
clinic (covering lentiviral vectors for
use in gene therapy) and Frontiers
in therapeutics: from lab to clinic
(describing drug discovery through to
UCL SCHOOL OF LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
clinical trials). The programme is also
open to students wishing to obtain a
postgraduate diploma or postgraduate
certificate. Students may undertake the
programme on a full-time (one year) or
flexible (from two to five years) basis to
suit their individual needs.
Further information is available on the
Division website: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/
medicalschool/infection-immunity/
MSc in Reproductive
Science & Women’s
Health
In September 2009 the Institute
for Women’s Health will launch a
new Masters’ programme entitled
‘Reproductive Science & Women’s
Health’. The programme will provide
medical, science and nursing
students with a comprehensive
knowledge and understanding of
the field of reproductive science
and women’s health, specifically
human genetics, female physiology
and anatomy, reproductive health,
gametogenesis, preimplantation
development and IVF, pregnancy and
childbirth, prenatal diagnosis and
screening, preimplantation genetic
diagnosis, breast and reproductive
cancers. The MSc programme
structure consists of an eight month
lecture and practical programme and
a four month research project. Each
module is run over a three week
period and examined by workbooks,
essays and exams. Three modules
are taken in term 1 and 2, and two
modules in term 3. The project runs
from June to September. Throughout
the course all students have
observation days in the IVF and Fetal
Medicine unit.
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SLMS EDUCATION
EDUCATION NEWS
New e-Learning initiative
for final year students on
the MB BS programme
In 2008 UCL Medical School’s Year
5 Curriculum Manager, Pratibha
Kothari, in conjunction with Dr Anita
Berlin and Dr Aroon Lal, piloted the
use of e-Learning revision resources
for final year students using the
centrally supported virtual learning
environment, moodle, and audio
recordings of lectures.
In recent months Ms Kothari, aided
by Jason Norton, developed this
e-Learning resource, using ITunes,
MP3, and audio lectures. In addition,
online assessments, based on the
format of the finals; and an online
forum have been developed by
former students, Dr Paul McGovern
and Dr Zaheer Mangera, in
conjunction with Ms Kothari. Dr
McGovern and Dr Mangera use the
forum to post answers to student
questions about the MB BS finals
and Ms Kothari answers questions
about administration of the degree
programme.
Ms Kothari said, ‘The extensive and
growing use of online resources and
materials in learning and teaching
presents new opportunities, we feel
it is important to use the technology
available in order to develop this
resource for final year students. We
will solicit feedback from students
and based on their comments and
suggestions we will continue to
develop the material available. Next
year we would like to use ‘ProfCast’,
a versatile tool for recording
presentations including PowerPoint
and Keynote slides, to create
enhanced podcasts’.
Professor Peter Mobbs, Executive
Dean UCL Faculty of Life Sciences,
said, ‘Staff have worked hard in
order to make this e-Learning
resource a success, it required a
clear strategy, careful planning, solid
instructional design, and commitment
on the part of those involved; I have
no doubt that we will continue to
build on this success.’
UCL SCHOOL OF LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
UCL Health and Society
Summer School (13 –
17 July 2009) Social
Determinants of Health
The summer school is designed for
two types of participant: those who
already work in the field of public
health and who want to refresh their
knowledge of population health, and
those who are considering a career
in public health or related research
such as social epidemiology. Our
course is multi-disciplinary. Topics
covered include: Class, Work,
Gender, Ethnicity, Socialbiological
translation, Lifecourse epidemiology,
Disability, inequality and human
rights, Russian mortality crisis, Public
health ethics, Politics of health and
equity, Globalization and health and
Inequalities in dental public health.
Michael Marmot will open the
summer school with a presentation
on the social determinants of health
and close the week with a lecture
and discussion on national and
international policy development.
Members of the Strategic Review
of Health Inequalities in England
(Marmot Review) have been invited
to brief summer school participants.
Richard Wilkinson will give a guest
ISSUE 3 APRIL 2009
15
SLMS EDUCATION
lecture on relative deprivation and income
inequality.
Summer school participants will also
be invited to a public lecture on the
financial crisis and health by Professors
Blane & Bartley and Dr Eric Brunner.
The summer school will be held
at UCL which is located in central
London, close to Regent’s Park, the
British Museum, the British Library and
West End shops and theatres.
History of Medicine at UCL presents
a series of podcasts on the history of
neuroscience featuring eminent people
in the field, Today’s Neuroscience,
Tomorrow’s History, has been a huge
success. Further information about this
series is available at: www.ucl.ac.uk/
histmed/audio.
MBBS and Postgraduate
Review – update from
DoME
The full programme will run Monday –
Friday between the hours of 9 – 5pm
approximately with additional evening
lectures on Tuesday and Thursday.
Further information is available at:
www.ucl.ac.uk/healthandsociety
Dick Whittington Medical
Summer School (6 -10
July 2009)
Each summer UCL runs the Dick
Whittington medical summer school for
thirty Year 11 students from Camden
and Islington. The week of activities
gives pupils the opportunity to meet and
work with medical staff and patients and
to visit different hospital departments
and GP practices. The summer school
gives them a taste of hospital life and
working in the medical professions.
Dates of the school are 6 -10 July
2009. The closing date for applications
is 8 April 2009, further information is
available at: http://www.pcps.ucl.ac.uk/
dickwhittington
16
Today’s Neuroscience,
Tomorrow’s History podcast series
Supported by a grant from the
Wellcome Trust to Dr Tilli Tansey
and Professor Leslie Iversen,
the Wellcome Trust Centre for the
The education reviews of the MBBS
course and of postgraduate taught
courses in FBS, are now starting to
produce some significant changes. The
reviews, carried out last academic year,
had a catalytic effect and generated
a lot of very productive discussion
about ways of improving teaching
and learning throughout the faculty.
This means that, as well as the broad
recommendations of the original
reviews, DoME have also had more
specific recommendations from working
groups and teaching committees which
they have agreed to implement.
The education reviews and the
subsequent discussion has clearly
demonstrated the enormous amount of
skill and enthusiasm for teaching and
learning, from those involved at every
level. DoME’s task now is to deliver on
the agreed recommendations from the
original reviews, while recognising that
the creativity of our staff and students
will continue to generate new ideas and
initiatives.
UCL SCHOOL OF LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
Examples of current developments
include:
Within the MBBS course:
• DoME have implemented all of the
recommendations for welfare and
careers from the MBBS review. The
Welfare system is now integrated
across the MBBS with improved
support and training for staff
involved. Careers advice and support
has been enormously enhanced,
including the creation of a dedicated
web page with student factsheets
and timetabled sessions on careers
throughout the course.
• DoME are improving the integration
of the MBBS course, which is now
managed entirely through FBS.
Assessment is being harmonised
throughout the course, including
the introduction of SBA (Single Best
Answer) items and Anghoff-based
standard setting in each phase.
Modules in different phases with
common themes (e.g. Circulation and
Breathing in Phase 1 and Respiratory
Medicine in Phase 2) have been
working collaboratively to ensure that
students are made aware of how the
course material builds on, and links
to, their previous learning. Module
Management Groups are in place
for vertical modules such as Drugs
and Use of Medicines to co-ordinate
teaching throughout the course.
• DoME are redesigning the Medical
School’s web pages, in keeping
with the overall template for the
School of Life and Medical Sciences,
to improve the accessibility of
information for students, staff and our
external audience.
• DoME have reviewed our final year
curriculum and will be introducing
longer clinical attachments as part of
this. Students will spend a 16 week
block at the same District General
ISSUE 3 APRIL 2009
SLMS EDUCATION
Hospital, giving staff there a much
greater opportunity to get to know
them, assess their learning needs
and objectives and support them both
academically and pastorally. These
changes will feed through to the other
phases in due course, to ensure that
each stage of the course has explicit
linkages to the overall outcomes
students are expected to achieve.
• DoME have reconstituted the MBBS
Resources and Facilities Committee,
under the chairmanship of Dr Jean
McEwan. This will now be the first
point of contact for these issues for
the MBBS course and Dr McEwan will
refer them onward as appropriate.
Mobile Data Collection
Unit
Staff in UCL Research Department of
Computer Science have commissioned
a purpose-built Mobile Unit that can be
moved by virtually any driver using a 4x4
vehicle. The unit will contain when fully
equipped two 3D body scanners, height
gauge, 3D foot scanner, plus a Body
Composition Monitor. A single 3D body
scan provides: 200 linear measurements
(e.g. waist, hips etc. and ratios), 3D body
shape (e.g. posture), and skin surface
area (e.g. whole body, body part). The
Body Composition Monitor provides body
composition and weight.
In addition, the Computer Science
Department has developed a
comprehensive software infrastructure to
manage data collection. It comprises: a
registration and briefing website, survey
management software (e.g. tracking
subjects), software for integrating the
data collection equipment, software for
uploading data, and we are working on
specialist data analysis tools.
Within postgraduate education:
• DoME have drawn up Faculty
guidelines for the modularisation of
taught masters’ courses including
guidelines for module size and
credits. DoME have modularised all
taught masters courses within the
Faculty and each Division is currently
harmonising local time-tables in order
to offer a suite of masters courses
with options to pick-and-mix modules
between courses.
• DoME have an approved policy on
improving PhD submission rates.
• DoME have entered discussions with
professional market researchers to
develop our marketing and branding.
Configuring of the mobile unit has
been a pan-UCL effort with equipment
donated by the Child Growth Foundation
to ICH being loaned by Dr Jonathan
Wells, and other equipment being
purchased by UCL Computer Science.
The website and survey management
software was developed as a group
project by a team of Computer Science
students and another team is installing
the equipment and writing the necessary
software to link the equipment,
download collected data into an onboard
server, and also software to upload
subjects’ data to a central server. Once
the Unit’s equipment and software is
configured students on the UCL MSc
in Clinical & Public Health Nutrition will
conduct projects in nutrition and sport’s
exercise using cohorts of students. This
will be used to ‘debug’ and commission
the mobile unit.
It is hoped that charities such as the
Child Growth Foundation and BHF
utilise the unit as a centre-piece for
campaigns for a healthy lifestyle; that
sports organisations use it to develop
UCL SCHOOL OF LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
Good progress has been made on
implementing the recommendations from
the reviews and many more ideas have
been produced from the discussions
which the reviews have generated.
Looking ahead, the next major
development, which is crucial to the next
phase of implementation, is the creation
of a SLMS Education Deanery. This will
allow DoME to make more progress on
integrating the provision of education in
both Faculties at both undergraduate
and postgraduate levels. For example,
through the SLMS e-Learning Advisory
Group, DoME are working towards
providing support and guidance
for individuals setting up e-learning
programmes, and linking people together
on e-learning matters in undergraduate
and postgraduate education.
software to match young people to
sports where they might excel based
on their body shape, and thus promote
exercise; that healthcare researchers
in nutrition and epidemiology use it to
survey body measurements and the
impact that better nutrition, health care
and the influence of sedentary lifestyles
has on the widening of the human form.
UCL Computer Science has over 300
students who provide a pool of talent
for developing software for analysing
body shape and skin surface area etc.
They are keen to do ‘real projects’,
and would welcome the opportunity
to collaborate with other departments
and outside organisations. Over the
next few weeks they will invite potential
stakeholders to visit the unit to discuss
possible collaborations and also to
enable use to get their input on the
design and aesthetics of the unit.
For further information contact
Professor Philip Treleaven,
tel: 020 7679 7288, Email:
p.treleaven@ucl.ac.uk
ISSUE 3 APRIL 2009
17
SLMS NEWS
SLMS news round up
New tissue culture
equipment in the
Cruciform laboratories
Following substantial investment by
the Faculty of Life Sciences and the
UCL Teaching Equipment Executive
sub-Committee over the last three
years the Cruciform Teaching
Facility (CTF) is now equipped to
employ mammalian cell culture as
part of practical teaching.
Facilities include:
•E
ight excellent laminar flow hoods
for sterile cell culture work. Each
hood is equipped to allow up to
two students to work side-byside and each has two vacuum
aspirators and flasks (for the
safe removal of liquids) and two
pipettors for media handling. Six of
the eight hoods are on trolleys and
can be moved between the two
wet laboratories to allow different
teaching configurations.
•T
he laboratories share three large
CO2 cell culture incubators for the
maintenance of cultures.
•T
here are sixteen inverted
microscopes each with high
and low power magnification for
the examination of cells. There
are also a very large number of
conventional microscopes and
haemocytometers for cell counting.
•F
our members of the CTF
staff now have experience of
preparing sterile cell cultures for
large classes (so far up to 96
students requiring more than
200 flasks) and can prepare,
18
aliquot and distribute sterile
buffers, enzyme solutions and
media for each student along
with autoclaved glassware and
disposable pipette tips. Staff can
also manage the safe disposal of
all by-products.
generated income from a charity
ball and a sponsored bike ride (from
London to Paris).
‘I do not know of any other
university teaching facility that is
so well equipped for this aspect of
modern cell biology’, said Professor
Elizabeth Shephard, Department of
Structural and Molecular Biology,
‘Professor Chris Danpure and I
now have substantial experience
in the design and supervision of
classes using cell culture that are
suitable for undergraduates or
postgraduates. We would be happy
to help colleagues learn how to
include this type of work in their
courses.’
Professor David Isenberg, UCL
Centre for Rheumatology, said:
“We’re delighted to welcome
Anna here today to open these
new facilities. We have two main
research groups – adolescent,
directed by my colleague Professor
Pat Woo, and adult – and the
refurbishments mean that these
groups can now work together more
closely. The general environment
is also now much more pleasant.
We will continue carrying out
research here to help further our
understanding of this group of
diseases and help improve the
treatment we offer our patients.”
New facilities at
the UCL Centre for
Rheumatology
New offices and research
laboratories were opened by the
well known British actress Anna
Chancellor. The facilities are part of
the UCL Centre for Rheumatology,
based in the Windeyer building on
Cleveland Street in Camden. Work
carried out at the Centre helps
to further the understanding and
treatment of debilitating autoimmune
rheumatic diseases such as
rheumatoid arthritis and systemic
lupus erythematosus.
The labs and offices used by
the Centre’s staff have been
reorganised, extended and
redecorated. The refit cost in the
region of £150,000, with money
contributed by UCL and through
fundraising carried out for the
unit by organisations including
the Arthritis Research Campaign
(ARC) and The Rose Foundation
and strongly supported by patient-
UCL SCHOOL OF LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
The UCL Centre for Rheumatology
is one of the leading academic
rheumatology units in the UK. As
well as seeing over 3,000 new
patients and over 15,000 follow-ups
annually, the Centre undertakes an
enormous amount of clinical and
basic research aimed at increasing
understanding of the causes of
musculoskeletal diseases such
as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus,
Sjogren’s syndrome, the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome
and vasculitis, as well as finding
ways to optimise the management
of patients with these conditions.
The clinical work of the Centre is
based in University College London
Hospital, part of University College
Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
ISSUE 3 APRIL 2009
SLMS NEWS
CO-EXISTENCE
A new work by German-born product
designer Julia Lohmann will provide
bold viewing for passers-by on
London’s Euston Road. ‘Co-existence’
is the latest commission for the
Wellcome Trust’s window display and
consists of 9000 petri dishes brightly
illuminated with colours and designs
that form the shape of two naked
women lying head-to-head.
Inspired by the unseen universe
consisting of at least 2000 different
species of microbe that inhabit our
bodies (microorganisms including
bacteria, viruses and fungi), Julia
Lohmann has produced pixellated
photographic images of the colonies
of the most common species, which
appear on the bases of the petri dishes.
The positioning of each microbe
within the artwork shows the part
of the human body in which it most
commonly lives. Selected dishes
have been drawn on, adding visual
interpretations of imagined microbes
and helping to form the outline of the
human body.
Julia Lohmann explains: “It’s been
really fascinating delving into the
science behind our bodies. When
I started work on the project, I did
not realise that we are hosts to such
a vast number of different species
of microbe. We decided to use the
female form as females contain a
greater variety of microbes than
males, which is a surprise in itself!”
Julia Lohmann consulted Professor
Michael Wilson, a microbiologist at
the University College London (UCL)
Eastman Dental Institute, whose
recent book ‘Bacteriology of Humans:
An ecological perspective’ describes
the bacterial communities that live on
the body. Information from this book
was used to identify those bacterial
species that inhabit particular regions
of the body. Dr Derren Ready, a
Clinical Scientist in Professor Wilson’s
laboratory, grew and photographed
colonies of the various bacteria used
in the display - a total of 750 images
were produced.
Professor Wilson comments: “Only
one in ten of the cells comprising
a human being is mammalian - the
rest are microbes and multicellular
organisms. This symbiotic association
between mammalian cells and
microbes forms the stable, living
structure which we think of as
the human body. So, in reality,
the human body is not only a
beautifully integrated assembly of
organ systems, it is also a complex
ecosystem that provides a variety
of environments - each of which is
populated by a distinct microbial
community. A symbiotic existence is
probably the most common form of
life on this planet and we humans
are popular hosts. I’m delighted that
Julia has used this concept as an
inspiration for her work.”
SLMS
Student
news
Changes to RUMS
RUMS held two very successful General
Meetings which allowed all those present
to really influence the RUMS Executive
Officers. Aside from various campaigns
and policies on issues, there are two
major changes: the new constitution and
the new name.
After a long discussion in the first General
Meeting, the students of RUMS made a
bold decision to change the name of the
society to reflect the historic nature of the
institution and the influence that the past
has had on its current form. RUMS will now
stand for Royal Free, University College,
and Middlesex Medical Students’ Society.
Incorporating the word ‘Middlesex’ into
the title was one that has been welcomed
by the Medical School and one that will
hopefully remind the students of future
years that they belong to an institution with
a rich and long history.
The second significant change is to the
make-up of the RUMS Executive Team;
it will now operate with new Media,
Events, Campaigns, and Welfare Officers
to complement Education Officers and
the Sports and Societies Officer. RUMS
Executive Team is confident that this new
system will help to better represent the
medical students as well as provide a
much more consistent provision for extracurricular activities.
The new constitution will come into
affect from the next academic
year, pending approval from
Union Council. Please forward
comments or questions, to Billy
Street, Medical and Postgraduate
Students’ Officer, UCL Union,
email: mps.officer@ucl.ac.uk.
UCL SCHOOL OF LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
ISSUE 3 APRIL 2009
19
SLMS PEOPLE
INTERVIEW
David Shanks
Professor of Psychology
and Head of the Division of
Psychology and Language
Sciences
Tell us about the Division
of Division of Psychology
and Language Sciences?
We are one of two Divisions within the
Faculty of Life Sciences. Our Division
came in to existence last year in a
reorgansation of Life Sciences and
comprises of the staff who used to be
in three Departments: Psychology,
Human Communication Science, and
Phonetics and Linguistics.
Our Division comprises of
approximately 110 academic staff,
divided in to a series of research units,
they cover Cognitive Neuroscience,
where UCL is extremely strong; Basic
Experimental Cognitive Psychology,
on topics like vision, perception,
learning, memory and language;
Linguistics; Clinical and Educational
Psychology, that group is very heavily
involved in professional training for
Clinical Psychologists and Educational
Psychologists; Developmental Science,
we have quite a strong history at UCL
with research in to, Child Development
and Developmental Disorders; we
have a smaller group that we share
with Computer Science, which does
research and teaching on human
computer interaction – the design
of technology with a psychological
design angle to it; Language &
Communication, where there
is much research on speech
20
disorders and therapy; and
Speech Hearing and Phonetic
Sciences, which is a research group
that is very strong on phonetics, speech
perception, and hearing technology like
hearing aid development.
A happy coincidence of the merging
of the Departments in to the Division
was the co-location of many of
the staff, who work in the field of
language sciences, into the fabulously
refurbished building, Chandler House.
Human Communication had many of
their staff in the building previously but
these language science groups are
now co-located there.
We have three undergraduate
teaching programmes in Psychology,
Linguistics, and Speech Sciences. The
quality of our undergraduate students
is exceptional, these programmes are
all successful and are a major part of
our activity.
We have a considerable number of
research-led masters’ programmes,
both MA’s and MSc’s, and this is an
area that we are keen to continue
to expand. We offer programmes
in a wide range of topics from
Psychoanalysis to Cognitive
Neuroscience, language related topics
and decision making. The majority
of these programmes are extremely
successful and attract a large number
of overseas students.
We have a lot of students doing
conventional PhD/research doctorates
but the third major strand of our
teaching is in professional training –
which means taught doctorates. In
Clinical Psychology, we are the largest
trainer in the UK and we are probably
one of the largest trainers in the world
UCL SCHOOL OF LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
in training Clinical Psychologists
for careers in the health service.
Many of the students who graduate
from our undergraduate psychology
degree aspire to get in to Clinical
Psychology, but it is an extremely
difficult and competitive field. We
also have a much smaller but equally
prestigious programme for Educational
Psychologists who would then typically
work for Education Authorities.
For us, undergraduate and graduate
training is big business. We are one
of the largest Divisions within UCL
in terms of teaching load, we have
around 1000 students. The scale of our
teaching is very large compared with
some other divisions, where research
and clinical activities take priority.
In terms of academic league tables
on undergraduate provision we
consistently receive high ratings, in
Psychology and Linguistics, UCL is
always in the top 10. We have recently
seen the publication of the results of
the Research Assessment Exercise
and our outstanding research has
been suitably recognised, we are the
top-rated centre for psychology in the
country, emerging ahead of Cardiff,
Birmingham, and Oxford, based on
volume of high-quality research. 75% of
our research in psychology was judged
to be world-leading or internationally
excellent. Our research in speech,
language and communication was
ranked 3rd nationally in Allied Health
Professions; linguistics was ranked
6th; computer sciences 5th, and
neuroscience 2nd; overall our Division
ISSUE 3 APRIL 2009
SLMS PEOPLE
received outstanding results and staff
should be proud of this achievement.
What are your priorities
as head of the Division?
We’ve been through complex
reorganisation in Life Sciences. For us
a major element of that has been the
reorganisation of support staff in to teams
in areas like Finance and HR, which has
been a very welcome move. I think it
considerably improves the management
and career opportunities for our support
staff as well as providing us with
continuing first rate support services.
Having gone through this lengthy
period or reorganisation we are very
keen, over the next year or two, to
make sure we take full advantage of
that, ensuring consolidation of what
has been done – that covers a range
of more specific topics, like our web
presence. We have an enormous
amount of work to do to make sure that
that we are providing an absolutely
top notch web presence to the outside
world and internally to our staff and
students, we are putting a considerable
amount of effort in to that.
On the teaching front the College
strategy is not to expand undergraduate
programmes but to look for opportunities
for improvements at graduate level.
We would like to continue to develop
the availability of psychology and
language science modules for students
of other faculties. Making these
modules more readily available to
those taking interdisciplinary courses
like the Biomedical Sciences degree
or the Natural Sciences degree, this
is really interesting for us because, for
example, the natural sciences students
are particularly numerate and there are
elements of psychology and language
(vision research or some neuroscience
aspects) which are extremely
mathematical so teaching those kinds
of students is very interesting. But
at undergraduate level we are not
envisioning major developments in the
future.
Our PhD, research, and professional
training programmes, are all heavily
accredited and that keeps us very
much on our toes, but again, we are not
envisioning massive changes other than
to make sure that at all times the quality
is as high as we can possibly make it.
Where we are looking at future
developments is at masters’ level.
We launched an MSc three years ago
in Cognitive and Decision Sciences.
Decision making, for example, is of
interest not just in psychology but also
in the law faculty, statistics, computer
sciences, and in economics. This
programme has exceeded all our
expectations and has been extremely
successful, it is now in it’s third year
and has about 30 students, a large
group from over seas, and the quality
of students is absolutely extraordinary.
That has been a path finding MSc for
us and although there is a lot of work
involved in running these MSc’s, of
course they do have great research
spin offs because the students are
doing significant components of
research in a PIs laboratory and it
is cutting edge. So we are looking
with some attention at other areas in
Psychology and Language Sciences
were we feel there is a market for
similar programmes and where we
believe student interest would be high
- across the whole discipline.
Financial stability will be one of our
priorities. The College finances are
turbulent at best, and our finances have
been rocky, with planning developments,
constant changes to the financial model
and significant changes to the funding
mechanisms, we would very much hope
that over the next three years things
calm down a little bit in terms of financial
planning and stability.
Tell us about your career
to date?
My career started at Cambridge, I was
an undergraduate and then a PhD
student in Psychology. I worked in an
MRC Psychology Unit in Cambridge
UCL SCHOOL OF LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
for my first post doctoral job before a
spell as a post doc at the University of
San Diego. I came to UCL in 1992 and
I became head of the Department of
Psychology seven years ago.
My own research area is cognitive
psychology and in particular learning,
memory and decision making. One
of the major research developments
for me over the last decade has
been the ESRC Centre for Economic
Learning and Social Evolution, which
is a joint centre between psychology
and economics and with substantial
input from other departments, such
as mathematics and anthropology.
Although that centre is coming towards
an end now it has been absolutely
fundamental in UCL’s development
of areas of research both from the
point of view of psychology of decision
making but also in terms of major
topics in public policy, particularly
on the economics side, where the
centre has been involved in many high
profile areas of public policy debates.
As a spin off from that UCL has now
become one of the world centres
in the very topical area of neuroeconomics – the interface between
the brain, decision making rationality,
behaviour and so on.
My recent book, The Psychology
of Decision Making (Hove, UK:
Psychology Press), a collaborative
effort with Ben R Newell and David
A Lagnado, came out a year ago.
I’ve had long term collaborations with
colleagues in Spain (Malaga and
Granada), Germany (University of
Marburg), and Australia (University of
New South Wales).
What are your career
highlights?
I’m very proud of substantial
research facilities that we have
been able to provide and/or
refurbish in neuroscience and
Continued on page 23
ISSUE 3 APRIL 2009
21
SLMS PEOPLE
New
appointments
from 1st January – 28th February 2009
Gatsby Computational Neuroscience
Unit at UCL
Ms Reign Macmillan, Administrative
Manager.
MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell
Biology
Dr Benjamin Baum, Senior Cancer
Research Fellow; Dr Robertus De
Bruin, Career Development Fellow; Dr
Patricia Kunda, Research Associate;
Dr Oscar Lancaster, Research
Associate; Mr Tao Liu, Research
Associate; Dr Petra Mlcochova.
UCL Division of Biosciences
Mr Alexandr Arenz, Research
Associate; Dr Reshma Baliga,
Research Associate; Ms Clarissa
Bradley, Research Assistant;
Ms Anne Cantarella, Research
Associate; Miss Charmian Dawson,
Teaching Fellow; Miss Catherine
Ingram, Research Associate; Dr
Vincent Cibert-Goton, Research
Associate; Dr John Kirkpatrick,
Biomolecular NMR Spectroscopist;
Dr Shivanthi Manickasingham,
Administrator; Dr Samuel Marguerat,
Research Associate; Dr Vera
Pancaldi, Research Associate; Ms
Jigna Patel, Research Technician;
Dr Matthew Sanders, Research
Associate; Dr Eugene Schuster,
Senior Research Fellow; Dr Matina
Tsalavouta, Research Associate.
UCL Cancer Institute
Mr Robert Harvey, Research
Technician; Ms Catherine Miles,
Director of Development: Cancer
Institute Research Trust; Dr Jonathan
Hasleton, Clinical Research Fellow;
Dr Derek Hausenloy, Consultant
Cardiologist; Miss Elizabeth
22
Spencer, Centre Administrator;
Dr Michael Chapman, Clinical
Reserach Fellow; Ms Yin Ku,
Research Assistant; Miss Hannah
Poulsom, Miss Mi Zhou, Research
Associate; Dr Bernard Khoo, Senior
Lecturer/ Honorary Consultant in
Endocrinology; Dr Oliver Staples,
Research Associate; Miss Ira
Jakupovic, TTP Data Manager/
Trial Co-ordinator; Ms Konstantina
Kallinikou, Research Technician; Dr
Deepika Kassen, Research Associate;
Mr Jo Edward Lewis, Research
Technician; Miss Lucy Young,
Research Technician; Miss Sultana
Begum-Rahman, Trials Assistant; Mr
Edward Blandford, Trial Co-ordinator;
Ms Elizabeth Chang, Trials Assistant;
Miss Sally Frampton, Trials Assistant;
Mr Anthony Lawrie, Trials Assistant;
Ms Dymphna Lee, Data Manager; Mr
Colin Lunt, Senior Data Manager; Ms
Jaymi Patel, Trial Co-ordinator; Ms
Bilyana Popova, Trial Co-ordinator; Mr
Jochim Sassmann, Trial Co-ordinator;
Ms Milena Toncheva, Data Manager.
UCL Division of Infection & Immunity
Ms Ruthie Birger, Mr Steven
Prideaux, Research Assistant; Dr
Stephen Toovey, Principal Clinical
Research Associate.
UCL Division of Medical Education
Ms Anushka Leslie, Administrator.
UCL Division of Medicine
Dr Samuel Janes, Clinical
Consultant; Mr Darren Foard,
Clinical Research Nurse; Miss Naomi
Leatham, Deputy Divisional Manager;
Miss Joan Maudsley, Infection
Control Research Nurse and Project
Co-ordinator for the I-STRAT Study;
Ms Charis Pericleous, Research
Assistant; Miss Eleanor Pyart,
Senior Clinic Co-ordinator; Ms Ivana
Slamova, Research Technician; Mr
Graham Wright, Research Assistant.
UCL Division of Population Health
Miss Kelly Lawless, Finance and HR
Administrator; Dr Charlotte WarrenGash, MRC Fellowship; Dr Laura
UCL SCHOOL OF LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
Broomfield, Research Associate;
Miss Alison Fildes, Administrative
Research Support Officer; Miss
Abigail Fisher, Research Associate;
Miss Corrinne Frazzoni,
Administrator; Dr Benjamin Gardner,
Lecturer in Health Psychology; Dr
Xin Mao, Senior Clinical Research
Associate; Mrs Joanna Phillips,
Research Nurse; Mrs Lubei Begum
Ali, Research Assistant; Ms Shajeda
Dewan, Research Assistant; Miss
Harriet Ferner, Research Assistant;
Ms Amanda Holman, Senior
Research Associate; Miss Louise
Owen, Research Assistants; Dr Sally
Sharp, Research Associate; Ms Mary
Apps, Assistant Project Co-ordinator;
Dr Sophie Eastwood, Senior Clinical
Research Associate; Ms Mary Good,
Course Administrator- Yr4; Miss
Laura Horsfall, Research Associate;
Dr Kingshuk Pal, Senior Clinical
Research Associate.
UCL Division of Psychology
& Language Sciences
Miss Beth Dumonteil, Unit
Administrator; Ms Emma Trustam; Mr
Robert Adam, Research Assistant; Mr
Jordan Fenlon, Research Associate;
Mr Malcolm Ballantine; Mrs Roisin
Clarke, Executive Officer; Dr Vikki
Janke; Ms Pui-Lai Law, Teaching
Administrator; Miss Katharine Mair,
Postgraduate Teaching Assistant; Dr
Mary Pearce; Dr Marco Tamburelli;
Mrs Sonia Theodoric, Divisional
Staffing Officer; Dr Jeffrey Beck,
Research Associate; Dr Aikaterini
Fotopoulou, Teaching Fellow; Ms
Manon Mulchuyse; Ms Joanna
Parketny, Research Administrator;
Dr Emmanuelle Volle, Research
Associate; Ms Stefanie Bucher, UCL
Teaching Fellow; Ms Fiona Newman,
Clinical Co-ordinator; Ms Alexandra
Perovic, Teaching Fellow; Ms Claire
Scahill, Administrative Assistant.
UCL Division of Surgery
& Interventional Science
Dr Babak Afrough, Research
Associate; Miss Janice Tsui,
Academic Clinical Consultant; Dr
Jayant Vaidya, Clinical Senior
Lecturer; Miss Hedeer Jawad,
Research Assistant.
ISSUE 3 APRIL 2009
SLMS PEOPLE
UCL Division of Research Strategy
Ms Manavi Tyagi, Research
Assistants.
UCL Ear Institute
Dr Lucy Anderson, Research
Associate; Dr Bradford Backus,
Research Associate.
UCL Eastman Dental Institute
Mr Robert Blizard, Dr Alon
Preiskel, Clinical Teaching Fellow;
Mr Robert Stone, Senior Clinical
Teaching Fellow; Dr Alexandra
Efthymiou, Clinical Teaching Fellow.
UCL Institute for Women’s Health
Mr Stephane Camuzeaux,
Research Associate; Dr Tamara
Davies, Research Co-ordinator; Ms
Marcia Jacks, Institute Manager; Dr
Dorottya Kelen, Research Assistant;
Dr Alice Len, Research Associate;
Ms Gergana Metodieva, Research
Technician; Ms Judy Okello, Senior
Staffing Administrator; Miss Emily
Rothwell, PA/ Office Assistant; Mr
William Stott, Research Associate.
UCL Institute of Child Health
Ms Sofia Lampropoulou, Research
Physiotherapist; Mr Mark Bishay,
Clinical Research Associate; Miss
Emanuela Falaschetti, Statistician;
Miss Stephanie Kumpunen,
Research Assistant; Mr Philip
Hennis, Research Technician; Mr
Alasdair O’Doherty, Research
Technician; Mr Benjamin Wheeler,
Research Assistant; Dr Samir
Ounzain, Research Associate; Dr
Maria Joannou, Research Associate;
Dr Karen Price, Research Associate;
Mrs Julie Lewis, PA/Unit
administrator; Miss Sophia Penny,
Research Assistant; Dr Mara
Cananzi, Experimental Officer;
Miss Deborah Briggs, Research
Assistant; Ms Antonia Houweling,
Senior Research Associate; Ms
Joanna Morrison, Research
Associate; Miss Lucinda CashGibson, Research Assistant;
Miss Sanja Stanojevic, Research
Associate; Miss Sarah Tempany,
Personal Assistant; Miss Kim
Dunaway, Assistant Accounts Officer/
Charitable Trusts Assistant.
UCL Institute of Neurology
Dr Helen Ling, Senior Clinical
Research Associate; Mr Mateen
Shaffi, IT Support Assistant; Mrs
Sharon Goering, IT Support
Assistant; Dr Anna-Elisabetta
Vaudano, Clinical Research Associate
(Maternity Cover); Dr Arnab Ghosh,
Clinical Research Associate; Dr
Ahmed Toosy, Clinical Senior
Lecturer; Mr Matthew Lawrence,
Research Assistant; Dr Verity
Leeson, Raymond Way Research
Fellow; Dr Frank Scharnowski,
Marie Curie Intra- European Career
Development Fellowship; Ms Isabel
Stromboni, Receptionist; Ms Victoria
Castleman, Research Technician; Dr
Parashkev Nachev, Clinical Training
Fellow (Walport Lecturer); Dr Otto
Bjoertomt, Research Associate; Dr
Mahaleskshmi Desikan, Clinical
Research Associate; Dr Gosala
Gopalakrishnan, Cohort Manager;
Ms Kate Macdonald, Research
Assistant; Dr Ashwani Jha, Research
Associate.
UCL Institute of Ophthalmology
Miss Pranita Gandhi, Research
Technician; Dr Clemens Lange,
Clinical Research Associate;
Miss Hannah Roche, Research
Assistant; Miss Kavitha
Thayaparan, Research Associate;
Miss Erika Halaszova, Laboratory
Manager; Dr Shazeen Hasan,
Research Associate; Dr Aki Kato, Dr
Hannah Levis, Research Associate.
UCL Medical School Management
Mrs Julia Richardson, Assistant
Administrative Officer.
Wolfson Institute of Biomedical
Research at UCL
Ms Joanna Andryszkiewicz,
Research Associate; Dr Ah Chan,
Research Associate; Dr Soraya Diez
Posada, Research Associate; Dr
Amos Folarin, Research Associate;
Ms Chrysanthia Leontiou,
Research Associate; Dr Ariadna
Mendoza-Naranjo, Senior Research
Associate; Mr Helin Zhuang,
Research Technician; Dr Aliakmal
Momin, Research Associate; Mr
Conrad Vink, Research Associate.
UCL SCHOOL OF LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
people
news
in brief
Developmental Science
Early Career Researcher
Prize
Dr Essi Viding won the Developmental
Science Early Career Researcher
Prize for her paper: Viding, E., Jones,
A., Frick, P., Moffitt, T., & Plomin,
R. (2008). Heritability of antisocial
behaviour at 9: Do callous-unemotional
traits matter? Developmental Science,
11(1), 17-22. This prize recognises the
emergence of new researchers with
outstanding potential in the field of
developmental sciences.
Professor Martin Birchall
Professor Martin Birchall joined the
Ear Institute in January after winning
this year’s Science and Technology
category in the Morgan Stanley/Daily
Telegraph Great Britons awards. He
received the accolade for leading the
team who created and transplanted the
first organ to be grown from stem cells.
Continued from page 21
in particular the creation of a neuroimaging centre in the Bedford Way
building to complement the neuroimaging facilities in Queen Square.
It is a joint facility that we run with
Birkbeck, called BUCNI, based around
an MRI scanner. It gives psychology
researchers access to neuro-imaging
methods. I’m also proud of the Institute
of Behavioural Neuroscience under
Kate Jeffery’s Directorship, based
on the refurnished fifth floor of
the Bedford Way Building, is a
state of the art facility for animal
behavioural neuroscience.
ISSUE 3 APRIL 2009
23
EVENTS
ACADEMIC
EVENTS
Listed below are details a small selection of SLMS events. As these events are subject to change, it is always advisable to confirm
details in advance with the named contact. A full listing of SLMS events is available on the website: www.ucl.ac.uk/slms/
15 April
24 April
7 May
DCNU Memory & Communication
Seminar Series
‘Brain structure and language
processing: individual differences and
expertise-related plasticity’
Dr Narly Golestani (UCL Institute of
Cognitive Neuroscience)
UCL Research Department of Cell &
Developmental Biology
‘The Interplay of Notch Wnt and Shh
in Mesoderm Development in the
Developing Chick Embryo’
Dr Kim Dale (Cell & Developmental
Biology, University of Dundee)
UCL Research Department of Cell &
Developmental Biology
‘The mechanism of Neural Crest
cell emigration coupled to early fate
restrictions’
Professor Chaya Kalcheim
Time / location: 16.30, Room C 2nd
floor Wellcome Trust Building, UCL
Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford
Street, WC1N 1EH
Free admittance, with no need to
pre-book.
22 April
Wellcome Trust Centre for the
History of Medicine
‘Matters of the Heart, Or Why the
Heart Matters: Emotions, the Body
and Medical History’
Dr Fay Bound Alberti (Queen Mary,
University of London)
Time / location: 16.30–18.00 (doors
open/refreshments at 4pm), 183
Euston Road
Registration not required
Further information: www.ucl.ac.uk/
histmed/events
Time / location: 16.00 JZ Young
Lecture Theatre
Contact: Glenda Young; +44 (0)20
7679 3346
Further information: www.cdb.ucl.
ac.uk/seminars/special.shtml
6 May
Wellcome Trust Centre for the
History of Medicine
‘Qi or Blood Circulation? Rashid
al-Din’s Ilkhan Treasure Book on
Chinese Science and Techniques’
Dr Wang Yidan (Peking University) and
Dr Vivienne Lo (Wellcome Trust Centre
for the History of Medicine at UCL)
Time / location: 13.00–14.00pm (doors
open at 12.45pm), 183 Euston Road
Registration not required
Further information: www.ucl.ac.uk/
histmed/events
Time / location: Dept of Anatomy and
Cell Biology, Hebrew University of
Jerusalem
Contact: Glenda Young; +44 (0)20
7679 3346
Further information: www.cdb.ucl.
ac.uk/seminars/special.shtml
Credits
Editor:
Fleur Adolphe
Design:
UCL Medical Illustration, ICH/GOSH
gdesign@ich.ucl.ac.uk
Articles for the
SLMS Newsletter:
We welcome articles from members of
SLMS. Please send copy for the next
issue to the Communications Manager
(tel: 020 7679 6944 or email:
slms-editor@ucl.ac.uk) by 5 May 2009
Launch Event of the UCL Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine
Friday, 24 April (10.30 to 15.30) at the JZY Lecture Theatre, Anatomy building, in Gower St.
24
The opening ceremony will include welcome
addresses by:
Edward Byrne, Vice-Provost for Health, Executive
Dean UCL Faculty of Biomedical Sciences
Peter Mobbs, Executive Dean UCL Faculty of
Life Sciences
Ian Jacobs, Dean, Health Sciences Research
UCL & Partners
Claudio Stern, Chair, UCL Centre for Stem
Cells and Regenerative Medicine Steering
Committee, Research Department of Cell and
Developmental Biology, Division of Biosciences
Chairmen:
John Martin, UCL Division of Medicine (recipient of
the 2008 European Society of Cardiology Gold Medal)
Chris Mason, UCL Department of Biochemical
Engineering
Confirmed UCL speakers in alphabetical order:
• Martin Birchall (UCL’s first Professor of
Laryngology, UCL Ear Institute, and winner of
Morgan Stanley/’ ‘Daily Telegraph’ 2008 Great
Britons (Scientific and Innovation category)
• Jeremy Brockes (UCL Department of
Structural and Molecular Biology and MRC
National Institute for Medical Research,
awarded the 2008 AAAS Newcomb Cleveland
Prize to the outstanding publication in Science
uncovering a new molecular cue that promotes
limb regeneration in newts)
• Pete Coffey (UCL Institute of Ophthalmology
and Leader, London Project to Cure Blindness)
UCL SCHOOL OF LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
•P
aul Riley (UCL Institute of Child Health,
recipient of the 2008 European Society of
Cardiology Council on Basic Cardiovascular
Science Outstanding Achievement Award).
Confirmed Invited Keynote Speaker:
Giulio Cossu, Fondazione San Raffaele del
Monte Tabor, Milano (an expert in transplantation
of adult stem cells in Duchenne muscular
dystrophy)
For catering purposes, we kindly request
confirmation of participation by 31st. March
Further information: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/
stemcells/events/launch
ISSUE 3 APRIL 2009