NEYNL Locality
Clinical Lecturer in General Surgery
Hull York Medical School (HYMS), University of Hull,
and Health Education Yorkshire and the Humber
Post:
Clinical Lecturer in General Surgery – Hull York Medical School (HYMS)
Reporting to:
Professor Ian Chetter, Professor of Surgery, Hull York Medical School.
Job Description
The Post
Applications are now invited for an Academic Clinical Lecturer in General Surgery within the Academic Training
Programme. This new post has been created as part of the National Co-ordinating Centre for Research Capacity
(NIHRTCC) programme of Integrated Academic Training and offers candidates a comprehensive experience of
clinical academic medicine working alongside internationally renowned clinicians and researchers.
It is anticipated that this post will be based at the Academic Vascular Surgical Unit (AVSU), Hull Royal Infirmary. The
AVSU was established 10 years ago and investigates all aspects of vascular disease & associated therapies, and
collaborates with some of the strongest departments within the University of Hull including: Clinical Biosciences
Institute; Centre for Medical Engineering & Technology; Department of Biological Sciences; Department of Sport,
Health and Exercise Science. It has close links with the Hull-York Medical School, Department of Health Sciences,
University of York, Clinical Departments in the NHS and to industry. The AVSU has become the hub of a multidisciplinary approach to understanding and managing all aspects of arterial and venous disease. Staff include; 5
consultant vascular surgeons; 6 consultant interventional radiologists; 4 Specialist Registrars; 1 core surgical trainee;
4 FY1 doctors; 3 vascular technicians / sonographers; 5 specialist / research nurses; 7 research fellows. Facilities
include fully equipped vascular laboratory (4 ultrasound scanners, plethysmography equipment; treadmills;
cardiopulmonary exercise testing); access to CT, MRa, combined procedures and interventional radiology suites. The
AVSU has a proven track record in peer review publication, successful grant applications, and supervision of
successful MD, MSc, BSc & PGCert students. For trainees in other surgical specialties, suitable research
opportunities will be offered. Please contact Professor Ian Chetter for details (email: ian.chetter@hyms.ac.uk)
We are seeking highly motivated, enthusiastic individuals wishing to excel in both their clinical and academic training
and who have the ambition to be the next generation of world-leading academic clinicians.
Research
The successful candidate will have a proven track record in initiating and undertaking original research, as indicated
by excellent publications record in a field related to surgery. A major criterion in making this appointment will be the
research potential of the individual as well as the area of research activity. The Lecturer will be expected to develop
his/her own research programme within the divisional research directions, and to obtain research funding support
for research projects.
Research activities and opportunities in the area of vascular surgery include;
a) Lower limb peripheral vascular disease (PVD); The AVSU has a 15 year history in this field. In particular,
the impact of PVD on sufferers quality of life and the clinical and cost effectiveness of intervention. More
recently the focus has shifted to analyse the association between PVD and physical function, balance and falls
b)
c)
d)
e)
risk. In addition, specific areas of interest include; the ischaemia reperfusion insult associated with exercise in
patients PVD and the impact of tissue factor on disease progression / response to intervention
Lower limb venous disease; there has been a revolution in the management of varicose veins over the last
decade with minimally invasive therapies (Endovenous thermal & chemical ablation) The AVSU was at the
forefront of this development with the publication of several seminal papers. Currently one of the 7 co
investigating centres in the NIHR funded CLASS trial.
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) disease; using finite element analysis of CT scans this programme of
research has analysed the impact of peak wall stress on AAA expansion, rupture and AAA wall MMPs &
TIMPS. Currently one of the 18 co investigating centres in the NIHR funded IMPROVE trial. More recently
investigating the clinical and cost effectiveness of supervised exercise prior to AAA repair.
Dialysis access arteriovenous fistulae; currently investigating the value of preoperative arteriovenous
duplex & post-operative surveillance in the context of a RCT, and the influence of circulating prothombotic
complexes and vein histology on fistula patency.
Surgical Wounds Healing by Secondary Intention; funded by an NIHR Programme Grant the AVSU in
collaboration with collgues from York and Leeds are investigating the aetiology, impact and management of
these wounds
For other surgical specialties, please contact Professor Ian Chetter (email: ian.chetter@hyms.ac.uk)
Teaching
The appointee will be involved in teaching HYMS medical students (phase 1 & 3) and will be required to assist and
co-supervise BMedSci, MSc and MD students undertaking research projects in the unit.
Clinical Training
The Lecturer will continue clinical training at 50% whole time equivalent rate within the Yorkshire and Humber
Deanery.
The award of a NTN(A) will be made to the appointee, who will undertake the ST3 - 5 training programme in the
School of Surgery in the Yorkshire and the Humber Deanery. As training in surgery 5+ years, an additional period of
dedicated clinical training either before or after the Clinical Lectureship may be required.
The successful applicant will work with the Training Programme Director and Academic Lead to develop a
configuration of research to clinical training conducive to both progression and academic output.
Educational Supervision
The Lecturer will be appointed with a clinical and academic educational supervisor with appraisal at 3 monthly
intervals, and will be subject to Deanery Annual Review of Competence Progression.
Further information for clinical training can be provided by the Training Director (Professor Una Macleod) or the
Yorkshire & Humber Training Programme Director (Vascular) (Professor Ian Chetter)
The above job duties and responsibilities are intended to describe the general nature of the role. The duties and
responsibilities and the balance between the elements of the role may change or vary over time depending on the
specific needs at a specific point in time or due to changing needs in the department.
Additionally the post holder will be required to:
Undertake all duties in line with the University Health and Safety Policy
Show a commitment to diversity, equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practices.
Person Specification
Please refer to the MMC website for details specific to this specialty:
http://www.mmc.nhs.uk/specialty_training_2013/specialty_training_2013/recruitment_process/stage_2__choosing_your_specia/person_spec_2013.aspx
Supplementary Person specification details:
ESSENTIAL
ELIGIBILITY
 Evidence of achievement of
Foundation competences or
equivalent.
 Higher degree (MD, PhD or
equivalent) in a relevant
subject area.
DESIRABLE
 Evidence of commitment to
specialty
WHEN EVALUATED
Application form
 Intercalated honours degree
and/or additional
qualifications e.g. MSc etc
 Evidence of good progress in
clinical training and that
completion of specialty
training may be
accommodated either during
or after the 4 year period of
the NIHR CL award.
 Candidate must be at ST3 or
above.
KNOWLEDGE &
ACHIEVEMENTS
 Demonstration of acquisition
of the level of knowledge and
skills necessary for the
achievement of Foundation
and clinical (matched to the
entry level) competencies or
equivalent
 Demonstration of
understanding of, and
commitment to, an academic
career
 Demonstration of the potential
for scientific independence and
the ability to lead a research
team
 Knowledge of the centre
hosting the research and
how this is best placed to
support the research,
education and training needs
Application Form and
selection centre
 Prizes or distinctions
 Presentation of work at a
national or international
meeting
 Significant publications in
peer reviewed journals
 Potential to become a leader in
chosen field
EDUCATIONAL &
PERSONAL ASPECTS
 Demonstration of
understanding and
commitment to academic
career
Application Form
 Indication of medium and longterm career goals
 Demonstration of educational
reasons for applying for Clinical
Lectureship Programme
PROFESSIONAL
SKILLS
 Evidence of team working skills
 Evidence of leadership
potential
Application Form and
selection centre
Commencement date and duration of appointment
The post is available with immediate effect and the candidate must be available to take up employment by 31st March
2014. The duration of the post is four years fixed term or until CCT is reached, whichever is sooner. A lecturer
appointed at ST4 level would be expected to have progressed to CCT level by the end of the period of appointment.
Administrative support
Office accommodation and administrative support will be provided, as will a PC with email and Internet access.
Because of the nature of the work for which you are applying this post is exempted from the provisions of Section 4
(2) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 by virtue of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions)
Order 1975.
Applicants are therefore not entitled to withhold information about convictions, which for other purposed are
‘spent’ under the provisions of the Act and in the event of employment any failure to disclose such convictions could
result in dismissal or disciplinary action by the University. Any information given will be strictly confidential and will
be considered.
Informal enquiries may be addressed to:
Professor Ian Chetter, E: ian.chetter@hyms.ac.uk
Academic Vascular Surgical Unit, Hull Royal Infirmary, Anlaby Road, Hull. HU3 2JZ
Telephone: +44 1482 675784 / 07952274595
Appendix 1: Further particulars – HYMS Medical Education and Research
The Hull York Medical School
The Hull York Medical School (HYMS) was founded in September 2003 as a partnership between the University of
Hull, the University of York and the NHS in North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire. Its first cohort of
students graduated in 2008. The development and ethos of HYMS reflects innovative thinking about the kind of
medical education required in the 21st century and a collaborative model of research development.
HYMS provides a focus for improving the quality and equity of local health care and population health, the continuing
professional development of staff at all levels in the NHS, and assisting the NHS to retain newly qualified doctors. It
is also the engine for the development of excellent medical and health research in the region.
One of the distinctive features of HYMS is the strong relationship between the Universities and the NHS. The
principal bodies for NHS involvement are the NHS Partnership Group and the 3 Locality Steering groups.
HYMS is overseen by a Joint Board comprising representatives of the partners and academic governance is overseen
by the HYMS Joint Senate Committee (HJSC) with the powers delegated by and reporting to the Senates of both
Universities. These minimise the requirement to report to each University separately.
The emerging structure is for HYMS to coalesce around a small number of Academic Centres which contain its
academic staff. Some of these are internal to HYMS, most are joint ventures with other academic departments at the
Universities of Hull or York. They are accountable for undergraduate, postgraduate, research and other academic or
“outreach” activities, through their Heads, to the Dean and the HYMS Management Board. HYMS “commissions”
teaching and other academic activity from the Academic Centres and beyond and therefore can source a wide range
expertise in the two universities and the NHS.
HYMS seeks to train modern medical practitioners who will provide high quality, safe and cost effective care; access
and use research evidence in clinical decision making; work effectively in multi-professional teams; communicate
clearly with patients and across professional interfaces and understand the population aspects of health and illness. It
does this through an innovative undergraduate medical curriculum using an integrated, spiral, problem and system
based programme with a distinctive mix of themes and a strong emphasis on learning in community settings including
primary care.
HYMS admits approximately 140 students (including 10 overseas students) each year, split evenly between Hull and
York. HYMS wishes to expand the range of undergraduate courses it offers - in particular a biomedical/human
sciences undergraduate programme. A number of specific initiatives to promote wider participation have been
developed including an e-mentoring project which pairs HYMS students with year 10 pupils in local schools to inspire
engagement with health care issues and Aim Higher Healthcare which seeks to support students with the potential
for HE but who lack personal confidence or self esteem.
More recently joint postgraduate awards and short courses with a clinical focus have been offered. Our vision is to
develop an integrated portfolio of postgraduate provision combining research and modular taught elements in a way
which maximizes both efficiency of delivery and student choice.
Both Universities offer strong track records in medical and health-related research and HYMS has been able to
capitalise on these achievements by developing an innovative, flexible and cost-effective, research model based on
collaboration with a range of University departments. In Hull, collaborations include Health and Social Care,
Sociology, Biological Sciences, Computer Science, Engineering Education and Sports & Exercise Science. In York,
collaborating departments include Health Sciences, Biology, Chemistry, Centre for Reviews and Dissemination,
Archaeology and Psychology. The Yorkshire and Humber Public Health Observatory is based at the University of
York Science Park.
HYMS has University campus bases in Hull and York. In Hull, HYMS occupies two refurbished and extended
buildings next to each other. In York, activities are housed in a single building constructed for the purpose. There
are dedicated facilities at each campus which include: video lecture theatres (linking Hull and York); problem based
learning suites offering 24 hour access; multifunctional laboratories including a dedicated dry laboratory; licensed
anatomy facilities including a modern embalming and dissecting facility in Hull and bespoke consultation suites.
HYMS staff and students use an independent IT network accessible in all HYMS buildings and at other locations on
each University campus and within the NHS. All university and NHS staff and students have access to a single VLE.
The Local Health Environment
The area covered by the HYMS NHS partnership comprises Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire, York and North
Yorkshire, and Northern Lincolnshire, which together have a population of around 1.8 million. 17 NHS organisations
make up the HYMS NHS partnership, within which there are over 600 consultants and 900 general practitioners.
Encompassing both rural and urban populations, the region contains a variety of environments in which health
services are delivered. There are areas of considerable deprivation, not only in urban centres, but also in patches
across the rural hinterlands. Heart disease and teenage pregnancy rates are severe problems in Hull. Measures of
overall health in North Lincolnshire are poorer than the country as a whole. However, in most of the region, rates
for infant mortality and most disease-specific death are well below national averages, the prevalence of smoking and
drug use are low, and the uptake of screening is high in many areas.
East Yorkshire with its homogenous and stable population of 600,000 is an ideal centre for prospective observational
and interventional clinical research: the central urban area of Kingston Upon Hull has a population of 350,000. The
NHS clinical facilities are well developed and virtually comprehensive across the medical and surgical disciplines; only
certain transplantation and cardiac neonatal surgical procedures require distant referral. Hence there exists a wealth
of clinical material available for approved educational and research purposes.
Research at HYMS
Since its inception, HYMS has sought to recruit the best teachers and researchers available. The HYMS
undergraduate programme is now established and has earned an enviable reputation. HYMS’ mission to promote and
further develop its world class research activity now assumes equal importance. Increasingly, HYMS provides a focus
for internationally competitive high quality biomedical and health services research working in collaboration with the
Universities of Hull and York and the NHS in North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire. Activity is
targeted on specific important clinically relevant areas reflecting health and biomedical priorities, and existing
strengths in the collaborative partners, to enhance opportunities for translational medicine and so impact on patient
care and population health.
The six research centres within HYMS are the Centre for Health and Population Studies (working in collaboration
with the Department of Health Sciences at York); the Centre for Neurosciences (developing in collaboration with
the Department of Psychology and the York Neuroimaging Centre at York); the Centre for Cardiovascular and
Metabolic Research (collaborating with the Department of Biological Sciences at Hull); the Centre for Immunology
and Infection (a collaboration with the Department of Biology at York); the Centre for Anatomical and Human
Sciences (which collaborates with the Centre for Medical Engineering Technology in Hull, and the Department of
Archaeology at York), and the Centre for Cancer Sciences, a collaboration with Biological Sciences at Hull. The
Deputy Dean (Research) is Professor Paul Kaye, Head of the Centre for Immunology and Infection.
The Research Environment
Within the Universities, research development in HYMS has been based on a distributed model, in which academic
staff may have a research base in a cognate academic department of the University of Hull and/or York, providing
scientific integration, critical mass and technology platforms with which to work. In relation to clinically orientated
research there is a Clinical Research Facility (the Daisy Building) in Hull at Castle Hill Hospital and an Experimental
Medicine Unit at York Hospital, to facilitate translational research. HYMS also plays a role in establishing and
facilitating research networking between NHS partners in the region through topic based regional meetings.
The University of Hull
In addition to the Clinical Research Facility and associated biomedical laboratories at the Daisy building, laboratory
facilities at Hull include flow cytometry, laser capture micro-dissection and gene-sequencing; and a 500Mhz widebore NMR spectrometer (89mm) 11.75 TESLA enhancing the ability to analyse a wide range of biological systems.
Strategic research infrastructure funding from HEFCE of around £7.5 million has also allowed completion of the Hull
Immersive Visualization Environment (HIVE), a biomechanical test and analysis laboratory, a motion capture and
analysis facility, and, along with Yorkshire Cancer research (YCR) has allowed installation of a 3 Tesla MRI at Hull
Royal Infirmary. Currently a PET CT clinical research facility is being developed. These facilities in Hull benefit from
collocation with tertiary services and clinical facilities as well as a population with high morbidity.
The University of York
The University of York has enjoyed considerable success in recent years, coming near the top of the various UK
league tables for research and teaching. The strong growth in student applications and research funding has resulted
in expansion of existing departments and the development of new departments and centres, together with a major
investment in an extension to the campus. The University of York has won a national accolade, the Athena SWAN
bronze award from the Royal Society, for its commitment to women in science.
HYMS Research Centres
HYMS Centre for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research
The Centre for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research collaborates with the Department of Biological Sciences at
the University of Hull. The Centre carries out translational research in cardiovascular disorders, in particular to
develop more refined, efficacious and safer approaches to combat thrombotic disease. The Centre uses research
laboratories at the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals Trust Medical Research and Training (“Daisy”) Building at
Castle Hill Hospital, allowing biomedical research to be performed in a clinical research environment. Technical and
experimental support is provided to five post-doctoral fellows, six MD and eight PhD students, in the application of
state of the art equipment (cell sorting, proteomics, imaging) to clinical and translational research.
A completely new line of research has been developed exploring the mechanisms underlying the increased
thrombotic risk associated with obesity and insulin resistance. These projects, led by Professors Khalid Naseem and
Steve Atkin, focus on understanding the link between insulin resistance, increased thrombotic risk and platelet
function. Current projects include research into the influence of elevated free fatty acids on insulin resistance and
platelet function in normal subjects and those with polycystic ovary syndrome, and the effects of hypoglycaemia on
platelet function and inflammatory markers in people with type 2 diabetes.
Research into obesity and nutrition is also carried out by Professor Atkin’s team as part of the Humber Obesity
Nutrition Education and Innovation (HONEI) project at the Michael White Centre, Hull Royal Infirmary. A significant
amount of the research undertaken within the HONEI project is funded by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and
focuses on the health benefits of foods and the safety of functional foods and supplements.
The Academic Vascular Surgical Unit (AVSU) in Hull was established 10 years ago and investigates all aspects of
vascular disease & associated therapies, and collaborates with some of the strongest departments within the
University of Hull including the Clinical Biosciences Institute; the Centre for Medical Engineering & Technology; the
Department of Biological Sciences; and the Department of Sport, Health and Exercise Science. It has close links with
the Department of Health Sciences, University of York, Clinical Departments in the NHS, and Industry. The AVSU
has become the hub of a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding and managing all aspects of arterial and venous
disease. Staff include; 5 consultant vascular surgeons; 6 consultant interventional radiologists; 4 Specialist Registrars;
1 core surgical trainee; 4 FY1 doctors; 3 vascular technicians / sonographers; 2 specialist / research nurses; 7
research fellows. Facilities include fully equipped vascular laboratory (4 ultrasound scanners, plethysmography
equipment; treadmills; cardiopulmonary exercise testing; FMD & PWV equipment); access to CT, MRa, combined
procedures and interventional radiology suites. The AVSU has a proven track record in peer review publication,
successful grant applications, and supervision of successful MD, MSc, BSc & PGCert students.
Respiratory Medicine was created in June 1998 by the formation of a Foundation Chair in Respiratory Medicine
(post-holder Professor A H Morice). The section is located at Castle Hill Hospital and is provided with both clinical
and basic research facilities on site. Outpatient and inpatient clinical work is performed at Castle Hill Hospital and
outpatient work at Hull Royal Infirmary. Research is supported by tenured support and technical staff. The main
interests are cough, airflow inflammation, interstitial lung disease, and the pulmonary vasculature. Clinical research is
directed to management of chronic cough and other chronic chest disease such as chronic obstructive airways
disease and cystic fibrosis. The section has a high reputation for clinical trials work and the Clinical Trials Unit based
at Castle Hill Hospital performs studies both for grant bodies and the pharmaceutical industry to Good Clinical
Practice standards. The human volunteer cough model is widely regarded as the most accurate in current use and
forms the basis of numerous studies on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of antitussive medications.
Basic research facilities include a well equipped molecular pharmacology laboratory with six basic scientists working
on respiratory disease in the new Daisy building at Castle Hill Hospital.
The Daisy facility at the Castle Hill Hospital also includes a clinical trials unit and is currently supporting several
NIHR HTA funded clinical trials in heart failure and telemonitoring, led by the PGMI’s Professor John Cleland.
Underpinning this activity is one of the world’s largest epidemiological programmes on heart failure, with more than
30,000 patient-years of follow-up of patients from the local population (about 600,000 people). This database, rich in
clinical information, data on quality of life, biomarkers and cardiac imaging, is of huge importance and has already
produced some highly cited research.
The Centre for Immunology and Infection
The Centre for Immunology and Infection (CII) is an Interdepartmental Research Centre created by the Hull York
Medical School and the Department of Biology at the University of York. It is housed in a brand new building next
to the Department of Biology, which is one of the largest and strongest departments in the UK, and includes groups
working in cancer biology as well as infection and immunity, offering an innovative programme of research training in
laboratory science. The CII, under the direction of Professor Paul Kaye, Deputy Dean (Research) for HYMS,
conducts research into the pathogenesis of chronic infectious and non-infectious disease, integrating the study of
immunology, microbiology and parasitology. The aim is to develop a greater understanding of the processes
underlying chronic infectious and non-infectious disease, and thus to develop new approaches to prevention and
treatment. The Department of Biology, is one of the largest and strongest in the UK, includes groups working in
cancer biology, infection and immunity, and biomedical tissue research, and offers an innovative programme of
research training in laboratory science. The Biology Technology Facility offers access to a wide range of equipment
and services to both internal and external (academic and commercial) researchers, including Imaging and Cytometry,
Proteomics and Analytical Biochemistry, Genomics, a Molecular Interactions Laboratory, Protein Production, and
Bioinformatics. Further information is available at: www.york.ac.uk/res/cii.
HYMS Centre for Health and Population Studies
The Centre is a joint centre with the Health Sciences Department in York (www.york.ac.uk/healthsciences) and also
includes colleagues based at the University of Hull. Research in the University of Hull is based in The Supportive
care, Early Diagnosis and Advanced disease research group (headed by Professor Miriam Johnson and Professor Una
Macleod). The overall aim of the research group is to apply rigorous health service research methods to
understanding issues related to cancer diagnosis, supportive care, advanced disease and end of life issues. Miriam
Johnson is particularly interested in advanced heart failure, breathlessness and venous thromo-emobolism in
advanced disease, and Una Macleod in cancer and primary care and health inequalities. The Department of Health
Sciences at York is a large multidisciplinary health research and teaching department, offering a broad range of
educational programmes in the health and social care field. Its core philosophy is that its teaching and research
programmes should improve health and health care through the application of evidence-based practice. Its
associated research centres have an international reputation in many areas including health services research,
epidemiology, systematic reviews and evidence synthesis (the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination), clinical trials
(the York Clinical Trials Unit), social policy (the Social Policy Research Unit), and health economics (the Centre for
Health Economics). The Yorkshire and the Humber Public Health Observatory is also adjacent. These centres are
co-located with the medical school building on the Heslington campus north.
HYMS Centre for Neurosciences
The Centre for Neurosciences is developing in collaboration with the internationally excellent Department of
Psychology at York, and the York Neuroimaging Centre (YNiC), established within Psychology and equipped with
state of the art 3-T whole-body Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanning, magneto- and electroencephalography,
and transcranial magnetic stimulation. The facilities are used collaboratively to undertake basic and clinically related
patient based research.
The Department of Psychology is one of the strongest in the UK with excellent standing in the RAE. The emphasis
of the Department’s research is experimental psychology and much of the work in this area is related to human
health with neuropsychology being a particular strength. Senior researchers have established track records in the
neuropsychological research of perception, communication, memory and dementia. Also of note, is the great
strength in the research of developmental disorders of communication, perception and memory. Over recent years
the Department has also invested in neuroimaging research to provide the appropriate facilities and expertise to
support research in the area of cognitive neuroscience. While much of this work is undertaken on healthy
participants, there are also many research projects on patients with neurological and psychiatric conditions, which
necessarily involve collaborations between staff at HYMS and in the Department of Psychology.
The York Neuro-Imaging Centre (YNiC) was established in 2005 and is hosted by the Psychology Department. It
houses state-of-the-art equipment for MRI, with a 3 tesla GE scanner. Along with MRI, YNiC also provides MEG
making it one of the very few institutions to be able to offer both imaging modalities. EEG is also available at YNiC.
To complement the imaging facilities there are also exceptional facilities and support for stimulus delivery and
experimental design for researchers.
The University of York has been awarded a grant of more than £4M by the Wellcome Trust and Welcome
Foundation, to investigate novel hyperpolarisation techniques to enhance signals in MRI. MRI has revolutionized
modern healthcare, providing a fast and non-invasive method for diagnosing disease, guiding medical interventions,
and monitoring brain function. Its value, however, is greatly limited by its low sensitivity. As nuclear magnetic
resonance (NMR), this technology is also used heavily in chemistry. Within the University of York, Professors Simon
Duckett and Gary Green have discovered that it is possible to transfer magnetisation from parahydrogen to
molecules without the need for a formal chemical reaction. The potential increases in sensitivity of the MR signals
are astonishing - over 200,000 times when compared with a typical clinical system.
Diseases of the nervous system, of infectious and non-infectious origin, have a global impact on human health and are
associated with neuroinflammation. Approximately 0.5M people in the UK are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease
and recent research shows that this, and other classical neurological diseases, may also be affected by systemic
inflammation. Infectious diseases may directly cause severe neurological disease (e.g. human African trypanosomiasis),
or indirectly affect cognitive performance (e.g. schistosomiasis). A greater understanding of the molecular,
biochemical and cellular processes underlying neuroinflammation, and the development of tools to translate this
research into new diagnostic approaches, or therapies, would thus have major impacts on human health. Through
collaboration between the Centre for Neurosciences and the Centre for Infection and Immunity, we will seek to use
the proposed facilities in the new Centre for Hyperpolarisation to:
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
develop and validate new methodologies for hyperpolarised-MRI (with broader implications for medical
imaging);
gain new understanding of key processes in neuroinflammation associated with systemic and local
microbial infection;
reveal links between systemic inflammation and neuroinflammation in the aged and diseased brain;
train a new generation of interdisciplinary post-doctoral researchers; and produce an internationally
recognised hub facilitating worldwide uptake of these methods.
This will be achieved by developing and implementing a technology that has applications spanning molecular and
cellular, tissue and organ, system and whole-organism responses.
The new Centre, which will be located next to YNiC (http://ynic.york.ac.uk), will house 5 NMR machines ranging
from 400-500MHz, DNP, low field imaging facilities, an extensive chemistry laboratory with both synthetic and
analytical capabilities. A purpose built preclinical laboratory will house a 7T horizontal bore MRI machine as well as
access to a well found laboratory for developing preclinical models of disease. Research within the Centre for
Hyperpolarisation in MRI will be supported by dedicated NMR and MRI technologists, and will provide an excellent
basis for a scientist who wishes to further their career in the field of Neuroscience, where hyperpolarisation
technologies can be exploited.
HYMS Centre for Anatomical and Human Sciences
The Centre for Anatomical and Human Sciences (CAHS) collaborates with the Centre for Medical Engineering and
Technology in Hull, and the Department of Archaeology at York. CAHS concerns itself with human biological
organisation principally at the organismal level. It delivers Anatomy teaching using human cadavers at undergraduate
and postgraduate levels and conducts research in human variation, functional morphology, evolution and ecology.
CAHS is working with the Departments of Archaeology and Chemistry in York on the development of a Centre for
Human Palaeoecology and Evolutionary Origins (PALAEO) that builds on shared research success. PALAEO will
likely also include members of other York Departments including History, Biology, Environment, Psychology,
Philosophy and Language and Linguistics. In Hull researchers in the CAHS engage in cutting edge research in
musculoskeletal biomechanics with collaborators in the Centre for Medical Engineering Technology.
The Centre for Cancer Sciences
This is a collaboration between HYMS and the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Hull. This
centre, newly created since the merger of PGMI and HYMS, focuses on bench to bedside translation activity and
clinical trials.
A new Clinical Research Facility based at the Queen’s Centre, Castle Hill Hospital, was opened in 2008, providing a
focus for clinical cancer research and complementing the new Allam Biomedical Research Facility on the University
site. Research programmes there focus on Cancer Medicine and Biology. Equipment available includes flow
cytometry, laser capture micro-dissection and gene-sequencing; and a 500Mhz wide-bore NMR spectrometer
(89mm) 11.75 TESLA enhancing the ability to analyse a wide range of biological systems. The development of both
PET CT and a cyclotron facility (at Castle Hill) and micro PET (at the University site) are underway.
Strategic research infrastructure funding from HEFCE of around £7.5 million is also allowing completion of the Hull
Immersive Visualization Environment (HIVE), a biomechanical test and analysis laboratory, a motion capture and
analysis facility, and, along with Yorkshire Cancer Research (YCR) has allowed installation of a 3 Tesla MRI at Hull
Royal Infirmary.
More
information
about
all
HYMS
http://www.hyms.ac.uk/research/overview.aspx
research
can
be
found
on
our
web-site