Research Grant Summaries
Bulletin Supplement June / July 2005
Research Grants Announced February & March 2005
RA11070
Professor L Foxhall
Archaeology and Ancient History
San Salvatore: ‘Greek’ settlement in upland Calabria
This project covers: 1) the excavation (including post-ex. work) of a spectacular and previously unknown site, San
Salvatore, in the Aspromonte mountains of upland Calabria and 2) a programme of upland survey in the surrounding
area of the Campi di Bova. Upland survey (with test excavation, if possible) will help us to understand the landscape
context, use and importance of this remote area in the past. Both are critical elements in a larger regional project, the
Bova Marina Archaeological Project (BMAP).
With the excavation of the San Salvatore site, BMAP has the potential to revise radically current thinking about Greek
‘colonisation’ by questioning the role of cities and ‘urbanism’ in the colonisation process. Archaeologists have regularly
depended on the 5th and 4th c. BC literary narratives of the foundation of cities to understand the settlement archaeology
of Magna Graecia. However, these later accounts were formulated in the intellectual, conceptual and political
framework of their own times, which was demonstrably quite different from the early archaic period, when cities, as we
know them later, did not exist. Starting from the archaeology of the Calabrian countryside, a completely different
picture emerges. In the BMAP study area, the earliest Greek material found, far distant from any polis site, is datable to
the seventh century, as early as the foundations of Rhegion and Locri 40 km away. It may be that, at least in some parts
of southern Italy, the Greeks inhabited landscapes rather than founded cities, which later grew organically from smaller
settlements.
RA11071
Dr M Pluciennik
Archaeology and Ancient History
Archaeology of the Torcicoda Valley
This is a two-year project looking at long-term histories in rural central Sicily. Recent archaeological survey has
revealed extensive remains from Copper and Bronze Age settlements (around 5,000 to 4,000 years ago), the Iron Age
and Roman periods (around 800 BC to 500 AD), and the later nineteenth century onwards. However there are also many
gaps in the archaeological record. This grant will help us investigate why this should be when the general picture in
Sicily is one of continuous occupation for the past 6,000 years. A combination of archaeological survey, archive
research, small-scale test excavations, and analysis and dating of river and rock-shelter sediments, will help build a
more detailed picture and chronology for settlement and the nature of past land use, and the impact humans and climate
have had on past and present landscapes. The University of Leicester is working with Sicilian archaeologists and the
University of Amsterdam.
RA14008
Dr Marina Spunta
School of Modern Languages
Please note the correct original title:
Between 'spazio di affezione' and postmodern disillusionment - narrating the Po valley after Celati
Following the request of the panel organizer, who wants to have a whole session in Italian, my title has now
changed to: 'Ghirri, Celati e lo spazio di affezione'
Luigi Ghirri is widely recognized as one of the leading Italian photographers, who in the Eighties greatly contributed to
giving a new impetus to his art, and to reshape its reflection on space and landscape, while at the same time establishing
a close dialogue between photography and narrative fiction. His collaboration with Gianni Celati, undoubtedly one of
Italy's main narrators and critics, is a revealing starting point to investigate both the consonance of their poetics of
space, and the changing values associated to space and landscape since the 80s. My project investigates their opening to
a notion of 'space of affection', which is at one and the same time a space of belonging or returning to one's roots, and of
displacement. Their chosen landscape of the Po valley most powerfully renders both sentiments, conveying the
postmodern predicament between nostalgia and disillusionment. My project will result in a series of articles and
conference papers and eventually in a book.
RA15047
Dr Stuart Ball
History
The Anatomy of British Conservatism: The Conservative Party 1918-1945
AHRB Research Leave Scheme
The Conservative Party has been the most successful force in British politics since the 1880s, and the twentieth century
has been described as the ‘Conservative century’. The creation of a democratic franchise in 1918 was followed by one
of the most striking periods of Conservative dominance, and it was the largest party in the House of Commons for
almost 25 years between 1918 and 1945. The study explores Conservative politics in this significant period in a
different way, by taking a thematic rather than a chronological approach. It investigates the nature, functions and
working of every level of the party from the leader to the grass-roots, and integrates this with Conservative ideas,
attitudes and electoral support. A central theme is the relationship between leaders and followers, at all levels: a
particular feature is the investigation of the records of nearly 200 constituencies in England, Scotland and Wales.
RA17032
Dr Sandra Dudley
Department of Museum Studies
Materiality, Space and Time in Karenni Nationalist Exile in Thailand
This innovative project crosscuts anthropology, material culture studies and refugee studies. Including anthropological
field research in Karenni refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border, it broadens out from the author’s earlier work in this
area to develop new theoretical approaches to understanding social, cultural and political identities in the contexts of
nationalism and exile. In particular, it will explore the interlinked roles of material culture, space and time (all key
components in making a new life in exile and simultaneously maintaining real and imagined connections with ‘home’
and the past). This will provide new ways of understanding how people make sense of who they are in relation to both
displacement and the material and temporal worlds around them. The project will result in a monograph that will
challenge existing views in the disciplinary areas concerned, not least by bringing them together in wholly new ways.
RM33093
Professor C Kyriacou
Genetics
The Circadian Proteome
Every physiological function cycles with a 24 h period, and is a consequence of our evolution on a rotating planet with
relentless light/dark cycles. Thus our circadian clocks serve to help us anticipate the oncoming days and nights, and
modify our behaviour accordingly. When circadian rhythms are disrupted, as in the 25% of our population that works
chronic shifts, there are serious long-term damaging effects on health and well-being, which costs this nation billions of
pounds in lost productivity and hospital bills. This collaborative research programme (with Cambridge) will identify
the proteins (the 'proteome') that show daily cycles of expression in key metabolic pathways in two model organisms
(flies and mice). The results will aid in the development of therapeutic interventions that may ameliorate the negative
effects of temporal desynchronisation of the circadian clock, as in shift work/ jet-lag/ seasonal depression etc.
RM36079
Prof N.B. Standen and Dr M. Dickens
Cell Physiology & Phamrmacology
‘Interrelationship between KATP channels, adenosine, and protein kinases in protection of isolated cardiac
myocytes’
British Heart Foundation Grant FS/05/015
Cessation of blood flow to parts of the heart, as in a heart attack, damages heart muscle. Inbuilt protective mechanisms
triggered by brief periods of poor blood flow protect the heart muscle against this damage. Enzymes called protein
kinases, which regulate other target proteins, and energy-sensitive proteins called KATP channels form essential
components in protection. This grant will fund a research student who will use isolated heart cells to investigate how
these two types of protein interact and how this affects cellular responses to stress. The findings may help inform
clinical treatment and have the potential for future therapeutic development.
RM36082
Dr T Herbert
Cell Physiology and Pharmacology
Glucagon like peptide-1 signalling via L-type voltage gated calcium channels in pancreatic b-cells
Glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP1) is a hormone secreted from intestinal L-cells in response to nutrients such as glucose
and which can regulate blood glucose levels via the potentiation of glucose dependent insulin secretion from pancreatic
-cells. Hence, GLP1 is an attractive potential therapeutic agent in the treatment of type-2 diabetes and is currently in
clinical development. Additionally, GLP1 may also prevent type-2 diabetes associated pancreatic b-cell exhaustion and
b-cell death through its ability to stimulate preproinsulin transcription, b-cell growth and survival. These effects of
GLP1 are mediated, at least in part, by L-type voltage gated calcium channel (VGCC) signalling and the activation of
Erk. Therefore, the key aim of this research project is to understand the molecular mechanism by which GLP1 activates
Erk via the influx of Ca++ specifically through L-type VGCC. Understanding the mechanism by which GLP1
stimulates the activation of Erk via L-cell
exhaustion and destruction associated with type-2 diabetes.
RM48084
Dr E Mallon
Biology
Competition and relatedness in the evolution of virulence
Parasites face a tradeoff between damaging their hosts, i.e. their virulence, which destroys their food supply, and the
benefits of rapid growth and transmission. The study of this tradeoff is an important and extensively studied field1.
However, most of the numerous studies on this topic are theoretical. Many of the assumptions and predictions of this
large body of work have never been tested. I am interested in two in particular, both describing how virulence can be
increased depending on the parasite population.
It has been hypothesised on numerous occasions that competition among parasites leads to the evolution of increased
virulence. A parasite, which did not increase its transmission in the presence of another strain, would be excluded from
the host by its competitor. So parasites must try to maximize their transmission rate to survive, as this is related to their
virulence, this competition increases their virulence. The second experiment tests the suggestion that this increased
virulence can be dampened if the competing strains are closely related5, that is kin selection is taking place.
RM48085
Dr S Moller
Biology
Automated fluorescence screening for plastid division mutants
The accumulation and replication of chloroplasts (arc) mutants were identified by visualizing chloroplasts from
individual EMS mutants using standard DIC microscopy. However, this screen has not been saturated due to it’s
extremely time consuming nature.
A novel automated fluorescence microscopy-based screening system will be developed using our fluorescent
microscope together with a computer-interfaced motorised X-Y stage and long-working distance lenses. This screen
will be based on the automated visual identification of plastid division abnormalities using plastid targeted YFP
fluorescence. EMS mutated Arabidopsis seedlings containing plastid localized YFP will be grown in 96-well microtiter
plates using a numbered grid system. After 7-10 days of growth each well in the microtiter plate will be scanned for
changes in YFP fluorescence and the 96 fluorescent images from each plate will be captured and visualized using
Openlab software. We believe that our new system will uncover to-date unidentified plastid division mutants in higher
plants.
Professor C O’Callaghan & Professor P Andrew
Infection, Immunity, Inflammation
Account Code:
RM63048
Title: Adhesion and Invasion by Pneumococci of the Respiratory Epithelium of Children with Primary Ciliary
Dyskinesia
Funding Body:
The Children’s Research Fund
Our group is a national referral centre for the diagnosis of children and adults with primary ciliary dyskinesia. Cilia are
microscopic hairs that line the nose and the respiratory tract and beat at around 14 times per second propelling mucus
continually out of the lungs and nose. In primary ciliary dyskinesia ultrastructural defects to the cilia mean that they are
unable to effectively get rid of mucus from a lung. This results in bacteria growing within the lung and causing
progressive damage. This research project will allow us to study the adhesion and invasion mechanisms of
Streptococcus pneumoniae (Pneumococci) to the ciliated cells, and this is important because pneumococcal infection is
one of the most pathogenic in patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia. The findings from this work will hopefully
improve our chances of developing appropriate therapeutic strategies to treat the lifelong problems of lung infection in
patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia.
RP12109
Investigators: Professor Ian Postlethwaite and Professor Sarah Spurgeon
Engineering
Summer School: Mathematics for Robust and Nonlinear Control Systems
EPSRC grant: £56,386
This grant provides funding to establish a summer school in the area of Mathematics for Robust and Nonlinear Control
Systems. The course will be based at Leicester, centred on the Control Systems Research Group but supported by other
major research groups and companies.
It is recognised that there is a need for control researchers to have a strong working knowledge of mathematics, and in
order to facilitate the use of control principles in other fields there is also a need for this mathematical background to be
conveyed to researchers (potential colleagues) in other disciplines. The summer school will address both of these needs.
The course is targeted at engineering PhD students studying a control related subject or another subject in which the
techniques of control may be useful e.g. communications and signal processing. In addition, the course will be suitable
for some postgraduate researchers working at the interface between science and engineering such as in areas of biology
and medicine. Although primarily aimed at PhD students, the course might also be useful to some post-doctoral research
associates and practising (industrial) engineers wanting to understand the scope and limitations of advanced control
methods.
RP12110
Chris Edwards
Engineering
Sliding mode observers for fault detection, isolation and sensor fault tolerant control in micro/ nanosatellites
Satellites play an important part in 21st century living. Satellites are used for global communication, defence systems,
they underpin modern navigation in terms of GPS, and they are used to study the Earth and Space. Deployment of
satellites is an expensive and risky undertaking. Generally, once in orbit, if a problem develops it is usually
prohibitively expensive to undertake a satellite ‘capture and repair’ mission. Therefore, once deployed, satellites must
operate with a significant degree of autonomy and reliability. Fault detection and isolation (FDI) schemes based on
analytical redundancy methods can be designed to run on the onboard computers/processors that implement the orbit
and attitude control algorithms for the satellite. These FDI schemes compare the outputs of the sensors with
mathematical models of the system to form a so-called output estimation error. This error signal is processed and if
deemed significantly different from zero indicates the presence of a fault. Isolation is concerned with the additional
problem of identifying the underlying cause of the error and pin-pointing the faulty component or damaged sensor. This
project concerns the use of so-called sliding mode observers and the concept of ‘equivalent output error injection’ for
FDI. Earlier work has shown that by appropriate scaling and filtering of this quantity, it is possible to reconstruct an
estimate of the unknown actuator and sensor fault signals based on only measurements of the inputs and outputs of the
system being monitored. These estimates not only indicate the presence of a fault but also can be used to introduce a
fault tolerant control capability. This project seeks to develop and apply this emerging technology to satellites to
increase their autonomy and improve reliability.
RP14073
Investigator:
Professor David Siveter
Co-Investigator:
Dr Sarah Gabbott
Geology
The Preservation and Palaeobiology of Cambrian animals
Funding Body:
The Royal Society
Exceptionally preserved fossils are rare yet crucial to unraveling the history of life. They provide an unparalleled view
of animal palaeobiology and ancient community biodiversity. This project will undertake research chiefly on one of the
world's most important fossil assemblages, the 525 million year old Chengjiang biota of Yunnan Province in southern
China. Information derived from studies of the preservation and morphology of its exceptionally well-preserved, softbodied assemblages will contribute to our understanding of the early evolution of multicellular animal life. The project
also aims to enhance public understanding and awareness of the biota.
RP201023
Principal Investigator: Dr M Tretyakov
Mathematics
Collaborative partner: Prof G.N. Milstein (Ural State University, Russia)
STOCHASTIC NUMERICS AND DYNAMICS
Royal Society International Joint Project - Former Soviet Union (FSU) - 2004/R2-FS
The project deals with three topics (1) effective simulation techniques for Langevin dynamics, which have a widespread
occurrence in models from physics, chemistry and biology; (2) stochastic dynamics mostly concentrated on stochastic
ratchet type models, which have potential practical applications in physics and biophysics; (3) efficient numerical
algorithms for forward-backward stochastic differential equations, which have numerous applications in stochastic
control theory and mathematical finance.
RP201024
Principal Investigator: Dr Robert Marsh
Co-investigator: Dr Joshua Scott
Mathematics
Cluster algebras and applications
Cluster algebras were invented by S. Fomin and A. Zelevinsky in 2001 in order to describe the structure of various
algebras of matrices central to Lie theory and related positivity properties. Since then they have been shown to have a
wide variety of applications throughout mathematics and also in mathematical physics.
The aim of this project is to apply the new theory to understand the structure of the set of different ways of embedding
one space in another (known as the Grassmannian). For example, when a plane is embedded in a larger space, the
cluster structure is described by the collection of all triangulations of a regular polygon. The edges in a triangulation
correspond to functions on the matrix describing the embedding and form a so-called "cluster" of functions. In general
these clusters and their relationships are not well understood. We also plan to consider deformations of the
Grassmannian and applications to character theory and discrete Dirichlet-to-Neumann problems on a disk.
RS141021
Professor A Felstead
Centre for Labour Market Studies
Labour Market and Training Profiles of Selected Sector Skills Councils
This project focuses on the following Sector Skills Councils (SSCs): People 1st; Skillsmart; Asset Skills; Skills for
Care; Construction Skills; and Improve. By analysing the spring 2004 Labour Force Survey by Standard Industrial
Classification (SIC), the project benchmarks each SSC in terms of its labour market and training profile.
RS30013
Professor J Dumbrell
Politics
Issues in American Foreign Policy
The British International Studies Association has awarded a grant of 870 pounds to support a conference on 'Issues in
American Foreign Policy', held at Leicester University on March 23-24,2005. The conference served as the launching
pad for the new Centre for Diplomatic and International Studies in the Department of Politics, University of Leicester.
The conference papers concentrated on contemporary issues, notably the War on Terror, but also contained some
historical papers. The keynote speaker was Professor James McCormick (Iowa State University) who spoke on
contemporary US-European relations. Other American speakers included Professor David Barrett (Villanova University,
Pennsylvania), who gave a paper on Congressional oversight of the CIA; and Professor Judith Yaphe from the National
Defense University, who spoke on current Middle East issues. Other delegates came from Pakistan, France, Poland and
Sweden. The occasion saw lively and original discussion of key issues in International Politics, especially those
involving US-European relations.The conference illustrated the keen current academic interest in US foreign policy.
Plans are being made to make such a conference a regular event on the European academic circuit.
RS30014
Dr T Lynch
Politics
Political Science Association National Conference
Timothy Lynch (lecturer in American foreign policy, Politics Department and Centre for American Studies) has secured
a £400 travel grant from the British Academy to present a paper at the Midwestern Political Science Association
National Conference, Chicago 7-11 April 2005. The paper 'Virtuous Muslims? Neoconservatism and the Greater Middle
East' considers current Bush administration policy towards political Islam.
RS30015
Dr Philip Lynch and Dr Richard Whitaker
Politics
'The Conservatives in the European Parliament: pariahs or poodles of the party leadership?'
British Academy, £3,723.
This project will examine the activities and organisation of the Conservative Party delegation to the European
Parliament (EP). Using interviews and MEPs' voting records, the research will focus on the troubled relationship
between an increasingly Euro-sceptic Conservative Party and the pro-European transnational European People's PartyEuropean Democrats group with which it is allied in the EP. It will also assess the status of Tory MEPs in the
Conservative Party organisation and their input into party policy on European integration. The project will add to our
understanding of party organisation in the increasingly powerful European Parliament and contribute to our knowledge
of Conservative Party politics ahead of the referendum on the EU Constitutional Treaty.