071B0DBF-D15E-4014-8A00-01FA5366F004Investigating the role of interoceptive mechanisms in the development of biobehavioural markers of drug addiction.Closed2274747StudentshipThe role of interoception, the ability to sense the internal state of the body, in adaptive and maladaptive behaviour remains elusive. The purpose of the present research project, is better to understand the role of the peripheral opiate systems in interoception and its role in maladaptive behaviours, such as those observed in compulsivity, a disease model of which is drug addiction. Thus, an under-investigated characteristic of addiction is the dysfunction in interoception and the associated impairment in insight, manifested at several levels of integration of the brain, from sensory processing to emotion regulation and meta-cognition. Drug addicts display deficits in cost-benefit decision making tasks which rely on interoceptive mechanisms and its neural correlate, the insular cortex. Furthermore lesions of the insular cortex in smokers have led to an increased likelihood of cessation of smoking. In preclinical rodent models, cocaine methiodide (an analogue of cocaine that does not reach the brain) has been shown to maintain instrumental responses initially reinforced by cocaine demonstrating that the interoceptive properties of cocaine acquire reinforcing properties in individuals with a history of cocaine self-administration. Despite the compelling evidence showing that interoception and its neural substrate, the insular cortex, contribute to the development of behavioural characteristics of drug addiction, evidence is poor on the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms. The extent to which central versus peripheral (hence interoceptive) opioidergic mechanisms of opiates contribute to the formation of interoceptive cues and development of addiction-related behaviours for opiates remains to be established. The aim of this project is to investigate the role of the peripheral opiate system in interoception and its contribution to the individual vulnerability to develop drug addiction. We will combine rodent models of drug addiction developed and refined in the Belin lab with correlational and causal interrogation of neural networks in behaving rats and post-mortem investigations of molecular correlates at the neural and circuit level. We will initially investigate if rats can discriminate heroin from a vehicle with or without the presence of a peripheral opioid antagonist in a drug discrimination task. This will indicate the role peripheral opioid receptors play in the relaying of interoceptive information of heroin. Subsequently, using a self-administration paradigm, we will test if the blockade of peripheral opioid receptors affects the reinforcing properties of heroin. This will mean pre-treating rats with injections of selective antagonists of peripheral opioid receptors and looking at their effects on acquisition of self-administration and loss of control over heroin intake. Furthermore we will employ more complex self-administration paradigms to look at facets of drug-preparatory behaviour such as compulsive seeking. Next we plan to use fibre photometry to investigate the cellular dynamics in the insular cortex during heroin-seeking behaviour; thus establishing neural correlates complementing the behavioural experiments. Furthermore, we aim to selectively manipulate neural circuits using optogenetics to functionally study the circuits and potentially investigate synaptic mechanisms. This will enable us to identify biobehavioural markers of the vulnerability to the abuse potential of drugs and better understand the role interoception plays in this process.2024-03-3047D1BADC-597A-4B3F-8462-4C3BF3018C12COVID2019-09-30INCOME_ACTUAL022747476CFA1E1F-F25C-4C23-8FE1-C47AE53E333EUnclassified034E8798-03A8-4AFF-9AB2-009D19A2EDBEUniversity of Dundee - Confidence in Concept 2014ClosedMC_PC_14099Partnership and ContributionAbstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.2017-09-29C008C651-F5B0-4859-A334-5F574AB6B57CMRC2015-03-01INCOME_ACTUAL700000MC_PC_140996CFA1E1F-F25C-4C23-8FE1-C47AE53E333EUnclassified07442042-F041-4416-86A3-01B9A875749AStereospecific arylation of organolithiums: synthetic, mechanistic and structural investigationClosedEP/F069103/1Research GrantThe discovery of new small molecules for use as drugs, agrochemicals, fragrances etc. relies on the availability of simple precursors that can be incorporated into more complex target molecules. The research we propose will lead to a simple and efficient way of making some classes of molecule currently considered difficult or even impossible to obtain, a limitation which means that some groups of potential targets are currently unavailable. It seeks to develop a transformation in which an aromatic ring becomes bonded to a lithium-bearing carbon atom in such a way that the shape of the starting material is remembered in the product. The products have the common feature of a highly hindered carbon atom carrying an O, N or S substituent - a feature difficult to construct by existing methods. The proposed reactions proceed by a remarkable mechanism, and by joint investigation involving both synthetic organic and structural inorganic chemists we propose to understand why the reaction works the way it does and to use this understanding to develop further related transformations.2012-06-29798CB33D-C79E-4578-83F2-72606407192CEPSRC2009-01-05INCOME_ACTUAL307704A59C9DD0-1F2E-4D9F-A8C2-53FE4B0588C2Geometry-selective synthesis of E or Z N-vinyl ureas (N-carbamoyl enamines).Organic letters53092b68ca12b903af331fe3c03c7c3cLefranc J2011-01-011523-7052doi_53d01b01bf6823a63774DA85-C8E4-4EE6-A86D-6631FFA76D94Amines bearing tertiary substituents by tandem enantioselective carbolithiation-rearrangement of vinylureas.Organic letters87d0a26c8ad740e63a7f7599d7c0cec0Tait M2013-01-011523-7052doi_55f95c95c94a1301EB6DD861-2778-4DCD-B952-BE8493AF4931Quaternary centres bearing nitrogen (a-tertiary amines) as products of molecular rearrangements.Chemical communications (Cambridge, England)d58d9d7946ebcbf18bb4cbaf0e60ff2dClayden J2011-01-011359-7345doi_53d02d02db8ba8f89282F88F-6180-4698-8768-31A0BDA0D54ELigand effects in the formation of tertiary carbanions from substituted tertiary aromatic amides.Chemistry (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)caff8b2906fca05a928c341c8cf9e748Smith AC2011-01-010947-6539doi_53cfc2fc2f619d3dEP/F069103/117FABAB0-878A-49C2-8D3D-6B8F62B1A2F0100Chemical synthesis062ADC54-54DC-4D30-8D45-E6BCB95D1FF220Asymmetric Chemistry23B3EB33-7332-4E38-81A1-3B934872352620Biological & Medicinal Chem.35D9E755-0524-4F1F-8127-C728E8287E5560Chemical Synthetic Methodology074DC7C2-8D1F-48AA-A994-02229C8D90C4Past, present and future benefits from marine biogenic shellfish reef habitats (4463)Closed2785447StudentshipBiogenic shellfish reefs are complex seafloor habitats created by the presence of species such as oysters and mussels. They promote high biodiversity and provide important benefits to humans including improved water quality, food provision and cultural services such as recreational diving and fishing. These habitats were once highly abundant around the United Kingdom but were subsequently severely depleted. Because of the multiple benefits they provide to humans and marine biodiversity, biogenic reefs are of high conservation and restoration interest. However, we lack an understanding of the scale of past loss, the benefits they once provided and what benefits they could provide in the future if they were to be restored. We also need to understand who will benefit from restoration activities and what trade-offs will have to be made to keep these habitats healthy while coastal habitats continue to be heavily used. To fill these knowledge gaps, this PhD will investigate the past, present and future of ecosystem service provision in biogenic shellfish reefs at a site in the South West of England, the Fal Estuary. A case study approach will allow for in-depth analysis and practical application. It will also develop methodological approaches and generate lessons for wider research and management. This PhD will work closely with stakeholders and adopt natural and social scientific approaches to understand the implications of past loss and future regeneration of these habitats, and how the benefits and trade-offs of restoration action will be distributed across society. Supervised by experts based at the University of Exeter, Plymouth Marine Laboratory and Natural England, the student will develop a deep knowledge of the challenges facing marine managers while generating an interdisciplinary understanding of approaches to tackle these challenges head-on. Recent governmental commitments in the 25 Year Environment Plan & Fisheries Act to an ecosystem approach to management, and commitment to a Net Gain approach to biodiversity, means this project has great potential to inform policy and management for biogenic reefs. The successful student will gain the ability to delve into ecological, historical and social science approaches to gain interdisciplinary research skills that they can build on in their future careers in academia, government or industry.2027-08-308A03ED41-E67D-4F4A-B5DD-AAFB272B6471NERC2023-01-09INCOME_ACTUAL027854476CFA1E1F-F25C-4C23-8FE1-C47AE53E333EUnclassified00082994-6774-4061-A06F-00EC3C928876Quantum Algorithms for Nonlinear Differential Equations - QuANDiEClosedEP/Y004663/2Research GrantAbstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.2025-03-30798CB33D-C79E-4578-83F2-72606407192CEPSRC2024-02-01INCOME_ACTUAL19022Please see responses under previous grant code.Please see responses under previous grant code.87568343-BEF7-4798-AF71-BD9AB469FFCF67c9e1dbcf85a1.21287543Aerospace Defence and MarineEnergyManufacturing including Industrial BiotechologyTransport6C378D32-A6E9-4D4A-A68A-4FF77BDB30A1Quantum algorithm for smoothed particle hydrodynamicsComputer Physics Communications5676fb70bcdf4b7d6324d89f78ad6f9bAu-Yeung R2024-01-0165bb80143a2c87.63162841E744FA78-0843-42B0-95FB-202A26D25FADQuantum smoothed particle hydrodynamics algorithm inspired by quantum walksPhysics of Fluids5676fb70bcdf4b7d6324d89f78ad6f9bAu-Yeung R2025-01-0169a6c464f19472.59804193EP/Y004663/2583F7D29-7A76-48E6-9A9C-82E905D0EB83EP/Y004663/129520.382023-05-312024-01-3100082994-6774-4061-A06F-00EC3C928876EP/Y004663/219022.82024-02-012025-03-306CFA1E1F-F25C-4C23-8FE1-C47AE53E333EUnclassified0355D174-E641-4AEC-A421-00DB6DF1D88BDisruption to the development of maternal sensitivity: the impact of depression and alcohol use during pregnancy on mother-infant interactions.ClosedES/I004823/1Research GrantAbstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.2011-09-294A6A6A2B-EA26-4C59-867B-B531CEFE8374ESRC2010-09-30INCOME_ACTUAL80573Disruption to the development of maternal responsiveness?Participation in an activity, workshop or similarAE7FB033-8B82-46A8-AAA7-074D244936DCPresentation and discussion of findings at Oxford University seminar series, Department of Psychiatry, April 2011r-3963555352.72839982ab347c2falseReduced maternal responsiveness in depressed mothers may explain the negative impact of depression on child development. Antenatal depression is also associated with poor child development, independently of later depression. However, the mechanism to explain this is unclear. One explanation is that antenatal depression leads to poorer child outcomes by disrupting the preparation of maternal responsiveness to infants as it develops during pregnancy. We used longitudinal data from a UK cohort study (ALSPAC), to investigate whether antenatal depression is associated with reduced maternal responsiveness, independently of depression close to the time maternal responsiveness was measured. The study included measurements of antenatal and postnatal depression and an observation of the mother interacting with their infant at 12 months. The complete case sample comprised 875 mother-infant pairs. Women with high depression scores during mid pregnancy, even if they had low scores at the time of the maternal responsiveness measurement, had reduced maternal responsiveness compared to women with consistently low depression. The results suggest that antenatal depression may disrupt the development of maternal responsiveness. Therefore, maternal responsiveness remains impaired in antenatally depressed women even if their depression improved. Due to the importance of maternal responsiveness for child development, we investigated other exposures during mid pregnancy that may disrupt its development. We found that women who drank >=1 glass of alcohol a week during pregnancy showed reduced maternal responsiveness after birth. This study provides evidence that factors during pregnancy can effect later responsiveness of a mother to their infant.Further research into the antenatal development of maternal sensitivity.CB1D6D51-6AE8-4C25-9D40-96A09F9302E9r_4738116383b2f2d75aCommunities and Social Services/PolicyHealthcare11E82523-EC2F-4E69-AB67-B1F29120472FThe association between observed non-verbal maternal responses at 12 months and later infant development at 18 months and IQ at 4 years: a longitudinal study.Infant behavior & developmentf5da9cfdd5d9ce7e846f3e468641c368Pearson RM2011-01-010163-6383pm_53cbfefbfef24b780F9987261-B43B-4E88-8F82-08DA005CF0EEThe impact of alcohol use during pregnancy on maternal responses after birth.Archives of women's mental healthf5da9cfdd5d9ce7e846f3e468641c368Pearson RM2012-01-011434-1816pm_53cc012c012118e1943F62DDC-5E3C-49BA-8800-DC78C6DB15DCDisruption to the development of maternal sensitivity : the impact of depression during pregnancy on mother-infant interactions00b96264b0b32fd80b5a302577788391Rebecca Pearson (Speaker)2011-01-01r_3747621307cb14e778ACBF18CE-2FD7-402A-9340-DAF9CDB2A855Disruption to the development of maternal sensitivity? : the impact of antenatal depression on mother-infant interactions after birth94955bfabda867be00dbc6fa16850345Rebecca Pearson (Author)2011-01-01r_1061726182cb42511896FFD089-3593-4C5B-AE7E-5EE223935714Disruption to the development of maternal responsiveness? The impact of prenatal depression on mother-infant interactions.Infant behavior & developmentf5da9cfdd5d9ce7e846f3e468641c368Pearson RM2012-01-010163-6383pm_53cc013c013a58dd3ES/I004823/157835945-1CF3-4554-A46B-1504261EB208100Psychology57835945-1CF3-4554-A46B-1504261EB208100Psychology035A5424-F902-4927-9457-01FCF86F5E46Development of a modelling and simulation framework to optimize layered bearing architecturesClosed2629596StudentshipPlain half shell journal bearings are used in a wide range of turbomachinery shaft applications, including marine, automotive and power generation applications. These bearings have to be conformable and fatigue resistant under quite complex service loading conditions. Complex layered architectures may offer a tuneable approach to optimizing fatigue performance in terms of controlling initiation behavior and growth behavior (sometimes these two effects may play out in opposing ways). Currently a somewhat empirical approach is employed by manufacturers to identify the number, thickness and type of the different layers in the thin overlay coating. Work at Southampton University has now identified a consistent way in which to track the initiation and early stages of fatigue growth (using thermography techniques) and provided a detailed assessment of crack initiation and growth in the various layered constructions provided to date (using FIB and other advanced microscopy techniques). A follow-on PhD is now planned to apply these newly developed and validated techniques (mechanical testing, strain analysis, thermography and advanced microcopy characterization) to a systematic set of variations in overlay coating architecture (spacing, thickness, separation etc of hard and soft layers). These will be produced by the student via electroplating approaches at the sponsor company's new purpose built laboratory and they will then evaluate this systematic set of parametric explorations in terms of how this controls fatigue behavior. An important component of the PhD will be to develop and validate a materials modeling and simulation framework based on these findings to investigate optimization of the layered architecture for fatigue performance.2020-09-29798CB33D-C79E-4578-83F2-72606407192CEPSRC2017-09-30INCOME_ACTUAL026295966CFA1E1F-F25C-4C23-8FE1-C47AE53E333EUnclassified07828D21-A20E-4368-9D88-015A30686E6FRole of avian dendritic cellsClosedBBS/E/I/00001302Institute ProjectAbstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.The UK poultry industry faces many challenges to remain sustainable, including moves to more extensive rearing systems; withdrawal of antibiotics and other drugs such as anti-coccidials; resistance and residue problems with anti-helminthics. These will all impact on poultry health, but also the potential to impact on human health. Increased incidence of zoonotic pathogens in chickens, such as avian influenza, could lead to an increase in these diseases in man. One approach to these challenges is to develop novel and more effective vaccines. For this to be a realistic and sustainable approach, we need a better understanding of host-pathogen interactions in chickens. This proposal seeks to build on our unique capability to grow dendritic cells (DC) in a non-mammalian species. DC in mammals are professional antigen presenting cells, providing a link between innate and adaptive immune responses, driving the adaptive response to that necessary to clear infection with a particular pathogen. In mammals, antigen presentation takes place primarily in lymph nodes (LN). The chicken, like most non-mammalian vertebrates, lacks LN but antigen presentation still occurs. This proposal forms part of our efforts to understand antigen presentation in a species lacking LN. This proposal aims to understand DC biology in the chicken in more depth. Firstly, we wish to define the phenotype of DC, both immature DC and those matured in vitro under different conditions, in more depth. In mammals and presumably in the chicken, DC travel to the site of infection, and thence to the site of antigen presentation, under the influence of chemokines. We intend to determine which chemokines have functional effects on chicken DC. Preliminary data suggests that DC can be matured to either a Th1 or TH2 phenotype. We will determine if DC can bias T cells to a Th1 or Th2 phenotype in vitro. We then want to characterise ex vivo-isolated DC, and finally begin to analyse chicken DC migration in vivo.unavailable2010-05-13198E4A3D-B2DC-45D4-8351-7CCEC4061876BBSRC2007-05-14INCOME_ACTUAL191535BBS/E/I/000013026CFA1E1F-F25C-4C23-8FE1-C47AE53E333EUnclassified007662E8-5AFF-497A-A1FD-00246571593FProbing the structure and function of a super-rogue photosystem II complex involved in chlorophyll f synthesisClosedBB/V002007/1Research GrantThere is an urgent need to develop new strategies to improve crop yield to feed the ever-growing global population. Crop plants grow because they use the energy of sunlight to drive the conversion of atmospheric carbon dioxide into biomass. This process of photosynthesis is relatively inefficient with much less than 1% of the incident solar energy converted into stored chemical energy. One straightforward way to improve photosynthetic efficiency is to capture more of the sunlight in the first place. Plants rely on chlorophyll pigments (as well as some accessory pigments) to absorb light to drive photosynthesis. The chemical nature of the chlorophyll pigments found in plants necessarily means that photosynthesis is restricted to the visible region of the solar spectrum. In recent years, however, several strains of cyanobacteria, which perform plant-like photosynthesis, have been discovered that make modified forms of chlorophyll that absorb light in the far-red region of the spectrum. If these far-red chlorophylls could be made in plants and assembled correctly in the photosynthetic apparatus, the number of photons of light that could be used to drive photosynthesis could be increased by up to 19%, a considerable increase in efficiency. One of the far-red absorbing chlorophylls is chlorophyll f (Chl f). In order to make Chl f in plants, an important first step is to identify and characterise the cyanobacterial enzyme that synthesises Chl f. In a recent breakthrough, Don Bryant and colleagues in the USA showed that Chl f synthesis was dependent on the ChlF protein subunit which, somewhat surprisingly, was found to be related to one of the proteins present in the well-studied photosystem II complex which catalyses the light-driven oxidation of water to oxygen characteristic of plant photosynthesis. In follow-up work, we have discovered that ChlF does not act alone, as was originally thought, but is part of a new type of PSII complex, which we term the super-rogue PSII complex. The super-rogue PSII complex shows clear similarities to regular PSII but has evolved to make Chl f rather than split water into oxygen. Chl f is made from the Chl a pigment through an oxidation reaction involving molecular oxygen; but the chemistry involved in this process is currently unknown. In this application, we propose to study the structure and mechanism of the newly identified super-rogue PSII complex in unprecedented detail. We aim to investigate whether the super-rogue complex is photochemically active and will test the hypothesis that the super-rogue PSII complex activates molecular oxygen into a reactive form that oxidises a Chl a molecule bound to a specific site in the super-rogue PSII complex. The project involves a team of scientists with skills in microbiology, molecular biology, biochemistry and spectroscopy. Our experimental approaches are diverse and involve working on biochemically pure protein complexes as well studying cyanobacterial mutants expressing Chl f. Ultimately our studies will provide important new knowledge on a new type of photosystem II complex that will underpin future work producing Chl f in crop plants.Synthesis of chlorophyll f (Chl f) in cyanobacteria requires the expression of the ChlF subunit, a paralogue of the D1 subunit of oxygen-evolving photosystem II, but the mechanism remains unclear. In background work we have discovered that ChlF is able to substitute for D1 to form a modified PSII complex with a role in Chl f synthesis rather than water oxidation. We have named this complex the super-rogue PSII complex (or sr-PSII). We have also identified a QD sequence motif in ChlF that is important for Chl f synthesis and possibly the binding of Chl f. To clarify the role of sr-PSII in Chl f synthesis, we propose to: (1) determine the co-factor composition of the sr-PSII complex; (2) use time-resolved absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopies to characterize its photochemical activity; (3) probe the presence of the potential Chl f-binding site by monitoring changes in the optical properties of variant sr-PSII complexes in which the axial His ligand or the QD residues that are predicted to H-bond to the formyl group are mutated; (4) test the possible involvement of reactive oxygen species in Chl f synthesis (5) establish an in vitro system for Chl f synthesis using either the isolated sr-PSII complex or membranes containing sr-PSII to help assess catalytic parameters of the enzyme and (6) test whether heterologous production of Chl f is enhanced by expressing the native 'far-red' PSII subunits of Chroococcidiopsis thermalis which are known to bind Chl f. In parallel we will (7) isolate FLAG-tagged sr-PSII from C.thermalis to assess whether the native system contains additional protein components and then use mutagenesis to confirm the importance of the QD motif in the native system. Overall this work will provide new insights into the synthesis of Chl f which will be important for future work aiming to introduce Chl f into the photosynthetic apparatus of plants as a strategy to enhance photosynthetic efficiency.Understanding the details of Chl f synthesis might in the long-term lead to the development of microalgae and plants with more efficient photosynthesis, especially in far-red enriched environments, such as the lower regions of the canopy, or in dense cultures of algae. In the agricultural sector, beneficiaries could include: companies involved in modifying or selecting plants to maintain and or improve crop yields; farmers who wish to develop new practices for similar reasons; governments and policy-makers interested in developing novel strategies to achieve food security; and the public who will benefit from food security. In the biotechnology sector, beneficiaries include companies who wish to develop microalgae and other related photosynthetic organisms as solar biorefineries for the sustainable production of green chemicals and high-value products. In the bioenergy sector, beneficiaries include: companies wishing to develop alternatives to fossil fuels; governments and policy makers who are interested in new routes to energy security and for new energy sources for developing countries; the military who are looking for alternative fuels for specific and niche uses; environmentalists who need to focus on rational long-term alternatives to fossil fuels. In the environmental and ecological sector, beneficiaries include those wishing to understand more about the role of chl f-producing cyanobacteria in a changing environment. In the education sector, in museums and in the media, there will be benefits from publicising new advances in photosynthesis, one of the most fundamental biological processes and one that has been taught at secondary school and so readily familiar to the general public. Staff hired for the project will obtain training in cutting edge research in world-leading research centres. Peter Nixon and James Murray are members of the Photosynthesis Research Lab at Imperial College which includes world leading experts in Photosynthesis including Bill Rutherford FRS and Jasper van Thor, with expertise ranging from femtosecond spectroscopy to cyanobacterial physiology. The PDRA and technical staff will be in an excellent position to progress their careers. They will have the benefit of the excellent intellectual environment of a leading university with a tradition of close ties with engineers and industry.2025-07-08198E4A3D-B2DC-45D4-8351-7CCEC4061876BBSRC2021-05-31INCOME_ACTUAL594088Photographs and video describing the 'Solar biobattery' were presented by Dr Marin Sawa at the Eco-Vision Plan Exhibition held in the Art Museum of the China Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China.Participation in an activity, workshop or similarInternational76F065F8-8D8B-492F-8A9E-2D7CAF590969The "Eco-Vision Plan-Sheng" exhibition involved 28 artists and designers from 15 countries and regions, including Imperial College London, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Netherlands Museum of Architecture and Design, with 32 pieces of art and design projects of 45 species, in an attempt to explore the changes of "living", "habitat", "ecology" and "survival" through a brandnew perspective, so as to explore the visionary new opportunities behind the ecological crisis from the ecological context and cultural background of China, and to call for an international ecological dialogue across cultures, time and space, and fields.65f17f02c372d7.99989833falsePublic/other audienceshttps://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/W5FzwEHpHT57YQKKUOX-zg20235069750United KingdomGBPUnited Kingdomen_GBLong wavelength oxygenic photosynthesis2030-12-02Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)UKRI2820811C421B-F0C7-423A-B96E-B772EBEB1C6269a71afe26dd61.88535317Public2026-01-01We are studying the role of the newly discovered super-rogue photosystem II (srPSII) complex in the biosynthesis of the far-red absorbing chlorophyll f pigment. Ultimately, fundamental knowledge in this area might lead to the re-engineering of oxygenic photosynthesis so that plants, algae and cyanobacteria are able to improve their photosynthetic efficiency and their growth by harvesting solar radiation in the far-red region of the spectrum . Progress has been excellent. We have been able to improve expression of the srPSII complex in our model system, the cyanobacterium, Synechocystis 6803, so that we can produce up to 8% Chl f/Chl a, a value close to that seen in cyanobacteria that naturally produce Chl f (Qi et al 2025). Using this improved strain we have been able to isolate sufficient amounts of the srPSII complex to determine its structure by cryo-EM to a resolution of 2.46 Angstroms. This has allowed us to identify the binding sites of cofactors and changes in structure that might be linked to its role in Chl f synthesis (Objective 1). In collaboration with the groups of David Bina and Jasper van Thor we have now conducted detailed time-resolved absorption measurements to investigate energy and electron transfer within the complex (Objective 2). We have made mutants in CP43 that specifically affect ligation of a possible Chl f molecule in sr-PSII and have found that Chl f biosynthesis is blocked (Objective 3). Recent experiments have provided evidence that the isolated sr-PSII is able to produce singlet oxygen in the light, and so an excellent candidate for the oxidation of Chl a to Chl f (Objective 4). We have also made excellent progress re-engineering PSII to bind Chl f pigments (Objective 6, Qi et al in preparation) and will continue to collaborate with Dan Canniffe to isolate the srPSII complex from a native organism (Objective 7). Overall, we have achieved 5 out of the 7 objectives originally outlined in the proposal. In addition, during the course of the project we discovered a novel route for the synthesis of the far-red Chl d pigment in PSII (Qi et al, in preparation) and determined several cryo-EM structures of WT and variant srPSII complexes (Zhi et al, in preparation) which were not identified as objectives in the original proposal. Our work on the synthesis of Chl d and Chl f will continue through the award of a 5-year LoLa grant (January 2026- December 2030) to study long wavelength oxygenic photosynthesis.The knowledge gained in this award will provide us with important tools and insights to re-engineer the photosynthetic apparatus of plants and algae to bind Chl f.819C9792-79D8-4300-A874-54A84AD0E0CD65e9e63e75ded6.44979429Agriculture Food and DrinkEnergyEnvironmentManufacturing including Industrial Biotechology71D11936-620E-49ED-95A2-530733796411Enhancing the production of chlorophyll f in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.Physiologia plantarumddee18ca7eee38c7151f3bc96c583608Qi M2025-01-010031-931767e835a202b47515C1BA3-BF93-4D48-A968-5AFD71F7316FChloroplast alchemy: rewriting the chloroplast genome with high precision.Trends in plant science8ddc4f2aa0e381f4865faac43d0c603eAhmad N2025-01-011360-1385678b71eb7c95cE5B46907-EE5D-4FA1-84A4-98F516E9B593Harnessing the potential of chloroplast-derived expression elements for enhanced production of cellulases in Escherichia coli.PeerJde8bbbd2f23d85097d4f688b6e3fb00bSiddiqui A2025-01-012167-8359679f0f1fb036aDF87C782-BE64-4A97-83B3-DE78453A8559The biogenesis and maintenance of PSII: Recent advances and current challenges.The Plant cell682fbc570b4b7004cf4e63d405ec287bKomenda J2024-01-011040-465166776babc1b5f3.81438547F89D70A1-0E93-464F-A1D2-756384F9A375Accumulation of Cyanobacterial Photosystem II Containing the 'Rogue' D1 Subunit Is Controlled by FtsH Protease and Synthesis of the Standard D1 Protein.Plant & cell physiologyf02c021074de23ceff430d6ed7c73adaMasuda T2023-01-010032-078165d273c983a3c4.7150702751E95953-61AC-4DF1-9821-0A53B435B467The Photosynthetic Electron Transport Chain of Oxygenic PhotosynthesisBioelectricityddee18ca7eee38c7151f3bc96c583608Qi M2023-01-01644a963cdd9fd9.04894541BB/V002007/12D9083F0-05FA-4726-9EB2-3FCC293CAAF948Biomolecules & biochemistry4CCA4C04-0C28-41BE-8869-FA6391A7F00524Microbial sciences52C19A61-0A59-4643-A8D3-583E9A7F811A24Plant & crop science6997E843-AD07-4064-B67D-D4A928309DB448Biochemistry & physiology3D51C146-5AFC-42C5-93BB-17CC751DE0DA24Bioenergetics19F550D7-1AE6-4B86-87B9-2C2934306C3424Environmental Physiology07832667-2BC4-4857-A4FF-019CD66E6D4FA CELL ATLAS OF THE DEVELOPING HUMAN SENSORY NERVOUS SYSTEM: INVESTIGATING DEVELOPMENT TO UNDERSTAND DISEASEClosedMR/W000830/1FellowshipContext of the research: Pain is the main reason that diseases of the muscles and joints lead to disability. In particular, for the tens of millions of individuals who suffer from Osteoarthritis (OA) , pain can be debilitating at end stages and be present even at rest, preventing the use of joints in the hand, hip and knees. Around the world, this tremendous societal and monetary burden is set to rise alongside an aging population. Currently, there is no cure for osteoarthritis and end stage disease is treated with joint replacement, a costly and major operation. Importantly, we lack effective pain-relief medications for OA. Until recently, it was thought that wear-and-tear of the protective lining of the joint, and increased bone-to-bone contact is what leads to pain in disease. Interestingly, recent studies from various research groups have shown that new nerves sprout into the joint surface as part of the disease process of OA. These nerves appear to be present in individuals with painful OA, but is absent in those with less painful OA. In adulthood, nerves normally have limited capacity to grow, so this leads us to think that disease nerves are driven by processes similar to those that are active when we our nervous system begins to develop while an embryo in the womb. The objective of this project is therefore to apply cutting edge technology to investigate the development of the human sensory nervous, comparing it to what happens in disease, with the aim of identifying novel ways of interfering with it, in order to treat pain. Aims and objectives: First, we aim to understand how the sensory nervous system forms in the developing human. To achieve this, we will use single-cell sequencing technologies. This will allow us to detect what drives different types of developing nerves, one by one. We aim to form a classification system for these nerves, sorting them by their function, for example, some nerves may sense touch and others may sense pain, and they might be driven by different signals to grow. Secondly, we will map the distribution of these developing nerves in space, using a type of technology known as spatial transcriptomics. This will form an atlas of the nerves throughout the body and allow us to understand how nerves are queued to grow towards their destination during development. Then, we will map nerves in the diseased human osteoarthritic knee joint in adulthood. We will apply innovative technologies to first identify areas where nerves are present, and then sequence the genes activated within these areas. This will allow us to understand whether nerves growing in disease are similar or different to nerves that grow during development.Lastly, we will use computational programs to compare developmental nerves to disease-nerves. This will allow us to decide how to target the disease-nerves. Potential applications and benefits: We will be the first group to perform single-cell sequencing on the developing nervous system in human. This will allow discovery of new cell-types, and create an atlas for them throughout the human body. These findings will further our understanding of all painful conditions. In the case of osteoarthritis, it may allow us to identify targets that can be exploited to allow depletion of the pain-associated nerves described above. We aim to disseminate our findings to allow public access by the research community. This will lead to improved understanding of other diseases, such as in cancer, where nerves can also sprout during the disease process. In the long term, our findings can also be applied to help improve models of nerves grown in the laboratory, and potentially also inform ways of promoting nerves to regenerate in the body.I aim to test the hypothesis that the process of neo-innervation of the adult osteoarthritic joint by pain-associated nerve afferents recapitulates transcriptional profiles that are active in the developing human fetal sensory nervous system, with a view to obtain mechanistic insight, and identify potential therapeutic targets for pain. First, I will create the first human cell atlas (HCA) of the developing sensory nervous system. Secondly, I will identify the transcriptional profiles of adult osteoarthritic joint cartilage that is innervated by pathogenic nociceptive afferents (absent in the osteochondral junction in health). Finally, I will compare the transcriptional profiles in these states to test our hypothesis, and additionally prioritise potential treatment targets. Single-cell RNA sequencing(scRNAseq) will be applied to human dorsal root ganglia samples between the fetal ages of 6 to 20 weeks, with 1-2 sample(s) each gestational week. To create a spatial atlas, single-nuclei RNAseq and Visium RNAseq (10X genomics) will be applied to sequential slices of the same tissue sample at ages of 6-7 weeks and 18 weeks. In adult osteoarthritis tissue, multiplex in situ hybridization will be used to identify regions of interest by neuronal markers followed by the use of Nanostring GeoMx for targeted sequencing. Finally, computational integration will be applied to reveal reciprocal matches in cell states between development and disease. Potential treatment targets will be tested in further projects through in vitro and in vivo experiments. The study will create the first HCA of the developing nervous system and transcriptional profiles of disease, the findings will provide new insights into normal human development as well as disease, with therapeutic implications. The developmental dataset can also be studied to understand nerve regeneration in adulthood, with implications in regenerative medicine, and in generating in vitro models of sensory nerves.2025-01-01C008C651-F5B0-4859-A334-5F574AB6B57CMRC2021-09-30INCOME_ACTUAL170338Human Cell AtlasHuman Developmental Cell Atlas (HDCA)F244D9E6-FC1D-4C1A-97AD-9A72456DD81CForthcoming submission of publication to a major journal.65f041d186ccf6.57492108-1Data generation, intellectual input into the analysisI have undertaken analysis of spatial transcriptomic data generated as part of the "whole embryo" project which involves single-cell multiomic profiling of all regions of human embryos from 5-6PCW. For this analysis, I focused on understanding development of the Dorsal Root Ganglia in the spinal column, and limb/joint developmet, relevant to aims of my funded fellowship.Charity/Non Profit2023-01-01Wellcome Sanger InstituteUnited KingdomHuman Developmental Cell Atlas (HDCA)2AAD1935-9966-4117-AA24-5063C710F9DBCompleted first trimester human fetal brainstem multiomic atlas (single-cell resolution). Completed first trimester human fetal skull multiomic atlas (single-cell resolution).640f3e4e29cd47.76253476-1Following completion and analysis of the human cell atlases i have generated as part of the fellowship, the data will be deposited to the HDCA and made publically available to other researchers.I have collaborated extensively with the HDCA through my current ongoing work in mapping the cells of the 1. Developing fetal brainstem, which contains sensory neurons projecting to the head and neck 2. Developing craniofacial skeleton, which receive neurons projecting from the brainstem (both sensory and motor) I have contributed to these projects (which form part of my PhD thesis), through tissue sample acquisition, processing, data generation and data analysis and interpretation.Charity/Non Profit2021-01-01Patient group workshopA formal working group, expert panel or dialogueNational738DC9F9-B926-4544-9FC7-13C7F7FA931BThrough my research, which is focused on atlasing tissues associated with musculoskeletal disease and pain, I have engaged with other members of the research group in which i am situated, in order to deliver a focus group in liaison with Rare Autoinflammatory Conditions Community (RACC-UK) in order to goal-set for future studies of CRMO (chronic recurrent multi-focal osteomyelitis); a chronic, painful MSK condition in the paediatric population.640f4723a6cd76.35603229falsePatients, carers and/or patient groups20221000United KingdomGBPUnited Kingdomen_GBAcademic clnical fellowship2028-08-01National Institute for Health and Care ResearchDD600E87-1BE7-4F35-9666-6C955976283567ae11ed50c2b1.43579043Public2025-07-31I have applied single-cell atlasing technologies to construct a cell atlas of the human fetal skeletal system in the first trimester. This encompassed use of single-nuclei RNA and ATAC sequencing; as well as 10X visium to generate a comprehensive atlas across > 50 samples. The focus of the dataset is on the major synovial joints and the suture joints of the skull.05AE1CDF-9428-4AE0-81F3-A94382BA1CECthis dataset has revealed the cell states during development of the osteogenic mesenchymal lineages in the human; this has previously evaded our knowledge due to technical challenges and difficulty of tissue acquisition.640f492c747710.27293871falseA single-cell atlas of the first trimester human fetal skeletal systemDatabase/Collection of data2022In the age of single-cell RNA sequencing, several tissues remain under studied due to technical challenges associated with cell-dissociation and extraction. One such tissue, which is of interest in my fellowship project are bone and joint tissues, for which the cell types are embedded in dense collagen matrices and in calcified bone. Through optimisation of existing protocols to isolate single-nuclei suspensions, we have developed a way to isolate fetal synovial joint bone nuclei, and produced good quality datasets using single-cell technologies.4D8F34ED-7382-47EC-835C-D99C8F8EB134We will publish this methodology in a manuscript in an open access journal once the body of related work is completed.640f47e4a9e7a5.50800482falseIsolation of stromal nuclei from fetal tissue samplesBiological samples2021C58EC2C7-DA23-4614-A860-7E8D76CB1337A multi-omic atlas of human embryonic skeletal development.Nature52e13c784cd812c8971c88b9a7d418b5To K2024-01-010028-083667ae0e18c78f98.964313071BED23B9-572B-4D7B-BECA-6148A646331DSingle-cell integration reveals metaplasia in inflammatory gut diseases.Naturebfdba03a9e5f731cd4b941728904275cOliver AJ2024-01-010028-083667ae0e194d1da1.56271164FFEB1531-F593-42BF-BD3F-85F8AE5A0CBCA spatial human thymus cell atlas mapped to a continuous tissue axis.Nature2fa89500e56c76039723276215b8cbabYayon N2024-01-010028-083667ae0e192c8243.9330957018C2CA1F-C4DD-49A6-8890-F784AFC555CFA multiomic atlas of human early skeletal developmentNature (currently under revision after first review)b4fea4d855831a0cd9b6e3c5b07e4204Ken To65f040bfcb1709.44469741MR/W000830/16CFA1E1F-F25C-4C23-8FE1-C47AE53E333EUnclassified0799175D-EB70-4F8A-87FA-0054F2B2D7D5Grey Milk and Lost Kin: Re-sounding, Re-visioning, and Re-membering Trauma in the Scottish Gypsy Traveller ArchivesClosed2775728Studentship"We have no right to any form of writing, that is our curse," proclaimed a 1950s Gypsy Queen (Lecouteux 2016, p.6). This research transforms the curse of "internalised oppression" (Davis 1981) as my ancestors incite an uprising by way of the archives. My practice-based research aims to retrieve and revalue "subjugated knowledge" (Foucault 1980) through critical archival interventions, place-based approaches, experimental filmmaking and literary practices. I will interrogate the absence and rupture of 'knowing' caused by forced assimilation and cultural dispossession, exploring the sociocultural impacts of knowledge suppression and its far reaching mechanisms of denial. Grounded in lived experience, this study adds to urgent scholarly work seeking to transform the cultural ramifications of colonial legacies which actively erase Indigenous and Local knowledge systems, their cultural heritage, and collective identity. My family avoided persecution by keeping our genealogy secret and disavowing our Scottish Gypsy Traveller ancestry.From the mid twentieth century onwards, vast institutional archives were amassed in Scotland of the travelling peoples' oral traditions. Newly accessible online since the pandemic, I will subvert these archives to activate the affective, cultural and experiential injuries of "racial capitalism", drawing out the traumatic traces of invisibility and exclusion (Gordon 2008). I will then reframe and valorise the Gypsy Travellers' knowledge system, building power relations through "re-citation" with other subjugated cosmologies. Finally, I will undertake an intersectional exploration emphasising the feminist and decolonising interventions of re-sounding, re-visioning and re-remembering, mobilising solidarity and liberatory consciousness to counteract "epistemic violence" (Galván-Álvarez 2010).Thus, I will create a body of work, including film, art and audio works, that act as "a counter-archive of knowledge"-underpinned by Indigenous narrative and listening strategies (Horavoka 2017). In this way, my research will contribute to experimental sonic and cinematic techniques and methodologies, whilst generating critical pathways that pluralise knowledge systems more widely.2025-03-301291772D-DFCE-493A-AEE7-24F7EEAFE0E9AHRC2022-09-30INCOME_ACTUAL027757286CFA1E1F-F25C-4C23-8FE1-C47AE53E333EUnclassified07BECE74-80E1-4CA9-9643-012F35B2F636Medical diagnosis through the application of Artificial IntelligenceClosed2642845StudentshipThis project will look at some aspect of medical diagnosis through the application of Artificial Intelligence which will be determined in more detail by the end of year one2025-09-29B71128B2-1767-4204-9D19-EEB1383C2D1EOther NPIF2021-09-30INCOME_ACTUAL026428456CFA1E1F-F25C-4C23-8FE1-C47AE53E333EUnclassified037CCCC0-3B1F-4364-BFE8-021B1C59F637Staging Peace: International Observatory of Peace Media (GCRF Development Award)ClosedAH/T005521/1Research GrantThis Development Award responds to GCRF's call "Preventing Conflict" through the consolidation of an expert team of researchers, and a diverse array of policy and civil society partners across four ODA-listed countries (Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad). The rationale behind this choice of countries is clear. These countries are affected by protracted and aggravated conflict associated with Islamic extremism (Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West Africa Province). The Lake Chad Crisis is a complex and multidimensional conflict, which our research seeks to address. The focus of this observatory are not these four affected countries as a whole, but the regions within these ODA-listed countries most affected by extremist violence-- all currently classed Red Zones. These regions are Diffa in Niger, Borno in Nigeria, Region du Lac in Chad, and the so-called Extreme North region of Cameroon. This award will enhance existing capability for action research in and across these remote regions, laying foundations for a four-year programme that will address an urgent need for multi-regional and multinational peace cooperation. "Staging Peace" can pave the way for sustainable and inclusive peace-building, as prompted by this GCRF call, through the creation of an observatory that will evaluate and monitor reintegration programmes across the four affected regions. In the present context, reintegration is understood within the UN framework of de-radicalisation, demobilisation, and reintegration (DDR). This award will also facilitate partner equitability, South-South knowledge sharing, and trust-building among the academic and non-academic stakeholders involved, in order to set in motion a trajectory of research that will better understand, and in a more nuanced way, how reintegration works in practice for the benefit of local communities. Evaluation of good practice will enable us to inform decision-makers and policy stakeholders, including multinational and national armies, DDR programmes set up by national and local governments, and humanitarian actors. The importance of media arts as chosen tool for reintegration is justified given the central role played by media technology in Boko Haram's radicalisation agenda and propaganda apparatus. This award will enable us to continue building network relations with key media and arts groups involved in the reintegration agenda, particularly radio and television stations, theatre groups, and local community groups (i.e. religious or traditional leaders and opinion makers). Support from AHRC-GCRF will likewise enable the "Staging Peace" team to strengthen the administrative and management capabilities needed for the realisation of a Network Plus programme, not least at the level of post-award capability within the University of Leeds. A number of Network Plus specifics will be addressed throughout this 12-month award, including the shaping of a commissioning strand and devolved budgets, the planning for synthesis of different DDR programmes within a coherent theory of action (Peace Media Theory); the mapping of intersectionality of conflict across gender, social, cultural and ethnic issues; and the thematic interactions emerging across Network Pluses. This development award will also prioritise the articulation of impact and legacy strategies for policy and practice improvement among a range of stakeholders that will be involved in this award's proposed activities. The main policy-related groups we will engage with over the course of this twelve month development award are military, civil society and government actors. The individuals named in this submission are part of the "Staging Peace" team given their strong policy and action research credentials, as well as their track-record of publishing reports and resolutions in the area of Boko Haram reintegration. All members of this research team have experience of living in, or working across, the four affected Red Zones.This award will help strengthen the conceptualisation of Peace Media Theory (PMT), our chosen theory of change. PMT can be described and modelled as the triangulation of media practitioners, humanitarians and community actors. PMT is a framework to better understand community-based media spaces that instigate dialogue, mediation and debate within areas affected by protracted conflict. This theoretical framework provides a high-level model for the implementation of techniques and tools that draw on media communication practices (radio, television, theatre and mediated live arts) in an effort to build sustainable and inclusive peace within conflict-affected communities. The impact plan underpinning this programme is informed by real communication challenges presented to the core team by local communities in the Lake Chad region. There is a need, in this context, for online connectivity, web-based forums, and more extensive radio coverage for existing local broadcasters engaged in peace programming. A media-centred approach will allow us to address the key problem of naming beneficiary groups (e.g. "host communities", "ex-militants", "ex-Boko Haram", "ex-hostages") or the characterisation of Boko Haram itself as "cult" or "terror group". These labels need to be addressed critically to influence opinion within the proposed peace agenda. Careful consideration of the dissemination challenges underpinning reintegration programmes is also vital. Firstly, our work will make use of the same media tools used by Boko Haram as part of their propaganda agenda (video, radio, web-based media and social media). Using the same communication technologies as Boko Haram is critical for dissemination of counter-extremist discourse. Secondly, this programme addresses issues concerning language inclusivity. Crucially, more than 90% of former and current Boko Haram members only speak Hausa or Kanuri (Bukarti 2019). It is therefore essential to disseminate peace messages through platforms that are language inclusive (e.g. Radio Kadaye, Radio Dandal Kura, and News Caster). Our proposed theory of action is also inclusive of religious affiliation, which is why we have reached out to Sunnah TV, and local religious leaders. Our proposed theory of change integrates media technology and live arts, thus promoting change through synthesis of site-specific and mediated action. Thus, our programme will support a rich and varied commissioning strand led by civil society organisations supporting work on the ground. Our proposed pilot project with Radio Kadaye, Yal Hille Theatre, and the Langa Barka group of former militants will serve as proof of concept. The kind of creative practices we seek to support following piloting, include: radio plays, live television, web-based interactive art, and other forms of media art that combine live and mediated action. Our theory of change (PMT) will model the ways in which media arts can be mapped across various formats, and it will provide a qualitative methodological framework to help evaluate and monitor evidence-based pathways to effective reintegration. The commissioning of work in Strand 2 of the proposed large grant will include not only creative practices, but also commissioned projects that seek to achieve meaningful and lasting reintegration through media arts vocational training, training of trainees, community workshops, theme-relevant symposia, international conferences, knowledge exchange across the Lake Chad countries, professional development schemes for communication experts (conflict journalism), and crucially, policy change. Further details on policy-related impact are detailed in the Pathways to Impact attachment. Finally, this award will ensure that impact is embedded from inception stage, and that our shared values reflect the reason why we are committing to this demanding programme: namely, to improve the lives of communities affected by Islamic extremism in Central Africa.2020-06-299652E649-8274-44AC-96EC-EA0531CFBA52GCRF2019-06-30INCOME_ACTUAL52120Artistic workshops were conducted with Association Ndamsena during December 2020, to sensitise the public to Covid-19 pandemic, through street dance and mime. Member of the public watched from their windows as performers illustrated the importance of using hand sanitation and facial masks among some of the most deprived quarters in N'Djamena. Masks were handed out freely during these workshopsCD5AFF1F-4003-464F-AC90-86215ABA5F67The population in the N'Djamena quarter of Chagoua especially benefitted from these workshops, as did the dancers and performers associated with Ndamsena who took part, given the experience of conducting social art work as part of their training with Ndamsena. Over 500 people witnessed these street workshops.604f32749a6a65.33058142Covid-19 street workshops, N'DjamenaPerformance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc)2020Nigerian Armed ForcesNigeriaOperation Safe Corridor (DDR operation in Nigeria)4B4444D9-B97E-40E8-AB2F-FBD7F15F1C94Talk with 280 former associated of Boko Haram5e6a1455142093.98554644-1Gombe centre provided in kind support through spaces for meetings and talk, food and water, as well as free internet connection.We conducted a talk and a series of meetings with former Boko Karam clients and members of staff at Gombe Centre.Public2019-01-01Neem Foundation HQNigeriaNeem Foundation (NGO)8734D4CA-C34A-48D1-9724-FA2BFEDEBB12Focus group meeting5e6a2069d3d7b6.86706768-1Neem have provided information about specific target groups, especially women survivors of the Boko Haram group, whom we will be working with in future projects. Neem have also provided support with regards to networking and community-based liaison.Creation of a consortium for networking and collaboration across Lake Chad nations, and for knowledge exchange across different NGOs in the regionCharity/Non Profit2019-01-01French Institute in ChadChadInstitut Francais (Civil Society Organisation partner)1CA15DA3-5FFB-4022-9668-2A4B2DCABDF2Dance for a Life Festival 2018 Assalam performance5e6a1cb8ac4020.15244869-1IFT has supported our project by paying transport fees for participants involved in the performances and talks, and also by providing performance and rehearsal space, as well as meeting spaces, free of cost.We have facilitated workshops and provided links to operators, social artists and key stakeholders as part of public engagement events held at IFT (conference, performance and talks).Charity/Non Profit2019-01-01University of MarouaCameroonUniversity of MarouaF85969C5-E0E8-4055-A351-0B1666BDAD58Board meetings GCRF interview5e6a182f4c3193.99607637-1University of Maroua has provided profiling datasets, networking and collaboration links with policy stakeholders, and research mentoringFacilitation of board meetings held in N'Djamena in September 2019 as part of this Development Award.Academic/University2019-01-01Center for the Study of the Development and Prevention of Violent ExtremismChadCentre d'études pour le développement et la prévention de l'extrémisme au Sahel14820DF3-6297-4956-B8CE-0E1FD2B7DBE8Fieldwork (interdisciplinary)5e6a1975d536e1.15801002-1CEPDE have provided the team with the best dataset on ex-Boko Haram profiling in the Lac region (Chad), as well as community contacts, gatekeepers, risk mitigation plans, and intelligence.Meetings were held in N'Djamena and logistics for safe transport of mission-based researchers were shared.Charity/Non Profit2019-01-01Bayero University KanoNigeriaBayero University KanoA4A5EAD5-6C7B-40F4-8220-B8EA159696A1Meetings Fieldwork Data sharing Co-authoring (in progress)5e6a1f09ecd430.90968296-1BUK have provided meeting space and internet access during meetings at their Kano Central campus.We have involved a researcher from BUK in this project as a costed member of the team, which has brought financial contributions to this partners. In addition, we have supported this team member through travel and accommodation for fieldwork and conferencing activities.Academic/University2019-01-01University of DiffaNigerUniversity of Diffa (academic partner)E5CD2CF1-159D-4B82-84FF-01AE921EFD31Board Meetings Goudoumaria Centre visit5e6a1549405867.90227024-1University of Diffa provided very useful and extensive research material (in house publications) and data on former Boko Haram in Niger. In addition, they provided us with valuable links with Nigerean government, UN agencies in Niger, and Goudoumaria Centre (DDR programme).Meetings were held in N'Djamena with Vice-Chancellor Ali Mahamane for future collaborations.Academic/University2019-01-01Kadaye FMChadRadio Kadaye (CSO partner)42BA5025-D230-4865-8D67-31F69CAA9A4ALive broadcasting.5e6a0f91560466.95222516-1Radio Kadaye has contributed with meetings spaces, translation costs and equipment (microphones, broadcasting equipment, studio space).Workshop facilitation and capacity building.Private2019-01-01Centre de Recherche en Anthropologie et Sciences HumainesChadCentre de Recherche en Anthropologie et Sciences HumainesD1263752-9C8A-411F-B410-DC1546CBE701Board meetings Collaborative fieldwork in Lake Chad Visit to Goudoumaria centre (Niger)5e6a1b392743c3.71811557-1CRASH have provided invaluable support in event organisation (Network meetings) and logistics for fieldwork, as well as support in risk management and ethical clearance protocols.Our contributions have advanced the internationalisation agenda of CRASH, and have enhanced their community based work in Lake Chad.Charity/Non Profit2019-01-01United Nations (UN)SwitzerlandUnited Nations High Commissioner for RefugeesUNHCR Humanitarian partners79763FE1-F668-4859-ABFD-73ED5CA4BF46Workshops in UNHCR camps of Dar es Salaam, Amboko and Gore.5c45b16ac41cc9.52588196-1UNHCR has provided logistic support (travel intelligence) as well as risk management support and ethics clearance support. They have also facilitates spaces at the N'Djamena Headquarters, at their base in Baga Sola, and in various refugee camps where we have conducted work.Our team has delivered several training programs, workshops and cultural activities.Public2019-01-01Association Ndam Se NAAssociation Ndamsena4B6BC8C8-3BF3-476F-A999-3F922A03B82BTrain the trainee programme (Pas en Avant international) Train the trainee programme (Iyal Hille de Bol) Performance of Assalam Community engagement in 3 refugee camps in Chad Workshops in Coventry University and University of Roehampton Drying Prayers documentary dance and touring production UNHCR policy report UNESCO Art Lab directorate5e6a16a6df4d85.66349713-1Accommodation space, transfers (car), food and water, internet access.Internationalisation, capacity building, asset development.Charity/Non Profit2019-01-01Africa-EU PartnershipMulti-National Joint Task Force (DDR Programme)B9F12D18-CCCD-471C-8AA4-79731B487889Fieldwork5e6a22029bcb73.84250655-1MNJF has provided official travel authorisation, safe conduits and gatekeeping for fieldwork conducted in high-risk areas in Lake Chad.This award has supported knowledge exchange for the development of a new DDR centre in Bol for former combatants of Boko Haram.Private2019-01-01The findings of this report have been used in the global think-tank Tony Blair Institute for Change, to inform their policy work on the Lake Chad Basin, a region of the world where they specialise. This work has also led to capacity building and support for independent research and policy groups in Chad (CRASH, CEPDE); and finally, to the opening of conversations between UK academia and the Nigerian army for future open and transparent collaborations that can lead to further visits to camps for ex-Boko Haram combatants to study the process of de-radicalisation and reintegration. This project has also supported the work creative practitioners working in the field of art and humanitarianism, informing the UNESCO Art Lab Report on this subject, and also connecting Co-I Ahmed with the African Union for further implementation of creative humanitarian missions in other parts of Africa.20206739E893-DA08-44E9-9BAE-CBCE0230616BCulturalSocietal5e6a2ba5384a28.98757857Government, Democracy and JusticeThis network has shown the extent to which peace-building in Centra Africa relies on the effective implementation of frameworks such as Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR). The network has identify key partner needs and priorities and has exposed the need to create partnerships to enhance DDR provision, practice and policy. In particular we have identified a need to focus on reintegration, which is currently less of a priority, or receives less funding, within the DDR agenda in Central West Africa. This award has led to a consortium that has identified the need for tipping point models that can evidence successful reintegration practices. We have also identified need for data sharing, knowledge exchange and capacity building across four main DDR programmes running in this conflict zone. The network has also scoped the main CSO partners working in the area of former Boko Haram reintegration across the four Lake Chad nations, and some work toward sharing, comparing and synthesising practices has begun.Our work led to some conversation with major stakeholders in the DDR context in the Lake Chad for multinational and cross-sector collaboration. The continuation on our findings on how to strengthen international reintegration in the region was dependent on a 2 million Net Plus GCRF grant that was not awarded.D5477505-41BC-4738-95C4-F80E22D079235e6a2b86ec1ae6.18330123Government Democracy and Justicehttps://warontherocks.com/2020/05/the-challenge-of-boko-haram-defectors-in-chad/AH/T005521/124884607-66F5-43AC-B9E7-3F89AAEE505925Drama & theatre studies0609A953-459F-4841-93C9-365A322B22A925Media1E29C62B-F937-485F-A347-819B1D73E89250Pol. sci. & internat. studiesE838420B-600C-45BD-9864-AB34C5F2828625Conflict/War Studies9805CE72-29DB-4698-B7D3-74A3A453C6D925Media & Communication Studies3A148605-FD55-4AAA-AF75-01A80C9C2A6B25Peace Studies8AB113BD-9E57-4568-9AFC-2C9731A41ED225Performance & Live Art12353AF3-3807-48B2-A8EA-015AEB348F25Quantifying the impact of restoration on peatland aquatic organic matter, microbial communities and greenhouse gas emissionsActiveNE/X017923/1FellowshipWe are in a climate emergency. Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases is not enough to reduce global temperatures: we need to use nature to help. Peatlands are an extremely important solution for climate action because they are the most efficient carbon store on land when they are healthy. However, they have been damaged by human activities in the past, and many are now sources of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide. Exploitation of peatlands has converted what should be a carbon store into a large source of global carbon emissions (4% of human land-use emissions). Peatlands cover a small proportion of the Earth's surface (only 3%) but store more carbon than all the world's forests combined. In the UK alone, 10% of the land is covered in peat, but at least 75% of that area has been modified by human activity. Restoring these peatlands to healthy, carbon-storing environments is a central part of the UK's commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement and Net Zero targets. Globally, over 40% of tropical, and 57% of temperate peatlands are degraded by human activities, and several countries have pledged to restore their peatlands as climate change mitigation measures. Restoring damaged and modified peatlands to encourage uptake of carbon dioxide from the air and store it as carbon in plants and soil will impact the whole ecosystem, leading to changes in the plant species and water chemistry, which will in turn impact how peatland ecosystems take up and produce greenhouse gases. Restoration methods often involve blocking drains and re-wetting the soil, creating open water pools. These pools are potential 'hotspots' for carbon transfer between soil, water and air, and could lead to higher greenhouse gas losses from the peatland, but have not been investigated. It is important to understand how these peatland pools impact the greenhouse gas emissions from a peatland. Without a complete picture of the carbon cycle in an ecosystem, it is impossible to quantify the benefits of restoration projects for climate change mitigation, and with the UK aiming to restore 50% of the upland and 25% of the lowland peat by 2050, it is important to know that the restoration methods used are encouraging carbon storage, and lowering the greenhouse gas emissions. I will study the greenhouse gas emissions from peatland pools to discover how restoration changes the carbon transfer between soil, water and air in an ecosystem. I will study pools in near-natural, damaged and restored peatlands, in cold and temperate biomes, to investigate how the creation of peatland pools impacts on the microbes living in the peat and water, and how the greenhouse gas emissions change when degraded peatland sites are restored. This project will result in new knowledge of how peatlands respond to restoration interventions at the microbial and ecosystem levels. It will lead to improved estimates for the greenhouse gas budget of peatlands, and guide future restoration projects. Peatland practitioners and modellers will be able to better predict how restoration will be impacted by changes in climate, and determine the capacity of peatlands to help reduce global greenhouse gas concentrations, and as a nature-based solution to climate change.2030-11-308A03ED41-E67D-4F4A-B5DD-AAFB272B6471NERC2023-12-01INCOME_ACTUAL9147248125United KingdomGBPUnited Kingdomen_GBResearch EDI fund2025-07-01University of LeedsEBF51141-AA98-4985-B8B8-266BFAB235D967d14e400ef9d8.69792739Academic/University2024-06-30WATER FOR CLIMATE MITIGATION: ESTIMATING THE GLOBAL FRESHWATER REQUIREMENTS OF CLIMATE MITIGATION MEASURESMultiple continents/internationalB840F935-9DFA-453F-B714-D1097368F94E67d14c9b0e3089.59674496Participation in a guidance/advisory committeehttps://universitiesforclimate.org/news/water-climate-mitigationFFCAD827-55A0-43B3-A3B5-196A9574B029Hydrology, water chemistry and organic matter in peatland pools and headwater streams307fce8f34d12ffc37f83909eb7fbe6fMoody C2025-01-01667a8677c3cdeNE/X017923/13D749523-4185-40BA-B5DA-CC4B175770D725Climate & Climate Change4CCA4C04-0C28-41BE-8869-FA6391A7F00520Microbial sciencesB0467C75-496C-47DC-8E4E-DA3298D03B3055Terrest. & freshwater environ.B6839A6F-223C-48E0-A93F-BC95BC3CA7B220Biogeochemical Cycles3D749523-4185-40BA-B5DA-CC4B175770D725Climate & Climate ChangeAF3F5E7C-7FB6-4588-9174-6018BA2A231B20Environmental MicrobiologyE6DEF4EE-2C3F-4381-89D0-925B01B9CF2715Soil science71A8EA33-09DF-4E02-85BA-A9545564F72D20Water Quality1245A71A-BF96-4844-92B6-01F0C3CF11E6An in-line monitoring tool for scrap reduction and reuse in the plastics industryClosed100007Feasibility StudiesThis project seeks to address waste minimisation issues within the UK''plastics processing industry. The three major processing methods of injection moulding, extrusion and blow moulding are used to produce the vast majority of plastic products present today on the market. In each of these three processing techniques the issues surrounding the production of scrap and its reuse are essentially the same (though there are differences in scale) therefore the solutions proposed will be applicable across all three sectors. The objectives of the project are three fold:1) To reduce the reject rate during production by directly monitoring the status of raw materials in-line. 2) To encourage the reprocessing of a far greater percentage of scrap in the factory 3) To investigate the use and efficacy of purging agents in response to industry concerns.2011-05-3012E03F45-B517-4D83-A182-3D142D1A471AInnovate UK2008-05-31INCOME_ACTUAL5649961000076CFA1E1F-F25C-4C23-8FE1-C47AE53E333EUnclassified127D6694-51A0-47A1-9726-00C4D7767F75The formation and evolution of AsteroidsClosed1860431StudentshipThe aim of this project is to characterise the mineralogical and chemical properties of the thermally altered CI and CM chondrites. The project will use X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and trace element abundance measurements. Results will be placed in the context of hydration and dynamic heating experiments aimed at understanding the timescales for the mineralogical changes. In addition, the student will measure the infrared signatures associated with altered and un-altered samples under Earth-like and asteroid-like conditions.2020-09-29522546B4-4798-4E89-9B88-39938E261897STFC2016-09-30INCOME_ACTUAL0News article on Hayabusa2 for the Natural History Museum websiteEngagement focused website, blog or social media channelNationalB3200E57-0B91-465A-8182-8E4A33101D23I was interviewed and quoted in a news article about the sample return mission Hayabusa2 for a news article on the Natural History Museum website.5c897ce58c8878.54866909falsePublic/other audiences2018Storytelling at European Researchers Night at the Natural History MuseumA talk or presentationRegional89A637BE-8773-449B-8409-871324FA3113I told a 10 minute 'story' to the general public as part of the European Research Night at the Natural History Museum.5c897b51afff73.16811844falsePublic/other audiences2018Talk at the Observatory Science CentreA talk or presentationNational7BCFFAC4-1E7C-4475-9AF3-3FE48F56D6DDWas invited to give a talk at the Observatory Science Centre as part of their Comets and Curry night. Approximately 60 people attended5e5e3c513eaaa6.14141623falsePublic/other audiences2019Nature Live at the Natural History MuseumA talk or presentationRegional6D7F09A7-3382-4853-B180-AD4928CDF535A talk to the general public at the Natural History Museum entitled 'Water, a gift from space?' I've given the talk a number of times each time to an audience of up to 60 people.5c897a6b1b0cf8.99715331falsePublic/other audiences2016,2017,2018,2019NHM LatesParticipation in an activity, workshop or similarRegionalD70F84F1-B645-41E7-AE99-12DABA19194CThe NHM lates are monthly events held by the Natural History Museum where the general public are allowed into the museum past closing time. Often they have a theme and often they have members of staff giving talks and having stalls describing some of the science that goes on behind the scenes. Numbers of attendees are in the thousands.5e5e3d4bbed845.67761275falsePublic/other audiences2018,2019,202060CEA7A1-712E-4E20-8E91-E0C8BF583889The Yamato-type (CY) carbonaceous chondrite group: Analogues for the surface of asteroid Ryugu?Geochemistry260fa42b858aee5033974fabe5a89dd6King A2019-01-01644b2039afeb45.399038794BC40099-B53B-4D96-963B-AA82EF56FBAFA Spectral Investigation of Aqueously and Thermally Altered CM, CM-An, and CY Chondrites Under Simulated Asteroid Conditions for Comparison With OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2 ObservationsJournal of Geophysical Research: Planetscf9686f2025eee968707dd4a021b35e5Bates H2021-01-0161faad83341f92.195026754D318E1E-83E5-4110-8A93-2EEF4D4F80A5Tracing the earliest stages of hydrothermal alteration on the CM chondrite parent bodyMeteoritics & Planetary Science260fa42b858aee5033974fabe5a89dd6King A2021-01-0161faae2c4e9511.41112788D03205E6-95CA-4697-BDAB-CBA659661E1DLinking mineralogy and spectroscopy of highly aqueously altered CM and CI carbonaceous chondrites in preparation for primitive asteroid sample returnMeteoritics & Planetary Sciencecf9686f2025eee968707dd4a021b35e5Bates H2019-01-015e5e3b782d0bb3.139373437EE68252-E093-4A26-B980-60929CB3449DThe Yamato-type (CY) carbonaceous chondrite group: Analogues for the surface of asteroid Ryugu?6c566d7ccacd81989adef2fb584f7c20King, Ashley J.2019-01-0165e957333ad0a4.6098554218604316CFA1E1F-F25C-4C23-8FE1-C47AE53E333EUnclassified12B11A9F-EEC6-4F42-9D0E-002099A6D5D4C-FORCE: Carbon-Cycle Feedbacks from Response to Carbon EmissionsActiveNE/W009552/1Research GrantThe dominant driver of anthropogenic global warming is the increasing amount of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This is increasing because it is being emitted by the burning of fossil fuel, deforestation and cement making, with only ~45% staying in the atmosphere. The rest is stored in other reservoirs at or near Earth's surface including the ocean, trees, soils, permafrost and methane ice, as well as sediments and rock. Carbon flows naturally between the atmosphere and these reservoirs by processes like photosynthesis, decay, weathering, burial and ocean circulation. Collectively, the exchange of carbon between these reservoirs is termed the carbon cycle. One of the biggest uncertainties about future climate change is how the carbon cycle will respond to (or 'feed back' on) our warming planet. It is possible, for example, that if global warming exceeds a threshold, permafrost and methane ice stored at the seafloor will melt rapidly, adding further greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and accelerating the warming. It is very difficult to predict whether 'tipping point' behaviour like this will occur in the global carbon cycle. C-FORCE will measure how the global carbon cycle responded from start to finish during a past period of global warming that was driven by emissions of carbon-based greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) is the largest natural climate change event of the last 65 million years, and the closest natural comparator to the modern rates of global warming and carbon greenhouse gas emissions. During the PETM, initial global warming of 4-5 degrees Celsius over a few thousand years was partially driven by carbon emissions from an unusually massive episode of volcanism, and the climate then gradually recovered to its pre-existing state over more than 100 thousand years. C-FORCE will use a novel model of the global carbon cycle to compare the carbon supplied by volcanism with the total PETM carbon budget; the difference between these two budgets can be attributed to carbon cycle feedbacks. We will make new high-resolution estimates of the rate at which volcanism supplied carbon to the atmosphere throughout the PETM by measuring the processes that generated the magma. We will calculate the total budget of carbon emissions to the atmosphere that caused the climate change by generating new high-resolution records of ocean acidification. Our carbon cycle modelling will allow the scientists who make these two sets of measurements to interface effectively to solve the net global carbon cycle feedback problem for the first time. Furthermore, because Earth's carbon reservoirs differ in isotopic composition, we can fingerprint which reservoirs most likely acted as carbon sources or sinks over the course of the PETM. Thus C-FORCE will determine how the global carbon cycle evolved throughout the PETM, and show whether or not tipping point behaviour occurred. Understanding how Earth's carbon reservoirs respond to global warming is crucial for predicting atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and climate change long into the future. Ultimately, an improved understanding of the carbon cycle affects future carbon budgets to limit global warming to 1.5 or 2 degrees Celcius and is therefore necessary for shaping mitigation targets and government policy. Beyond delivering a research product, C-FORCE challenges current understanding of the carbon cycle and we see our role as an empowering force in this space. The public discourse on climate change is a mixture of disaffection and anxiety, so C-FORCE will take a different direction to traditional public engagement, by partnering with community organisers and local government to train, mentor and co-develop our public engagement with young people.2027-08-208A03ED41-E67D-4F4A-B5DD-AAFB272B6471NERC2022-08-21INCOME_ACTUAL47557391F44B25-621C-44B9-B92E-D423A29FB688Extending planktic foraminiferal Mg/Ca palaeothermometry into polar temperature ranges: crust- and lamellae specific calibrations and non-thermal controls67112177157a2cfb4c49cf667d6a63a8Westgård A2026-01-0169fca764ad4649.926440681A506F07-735D-4593-BBE1-8DDC7FA68498Reconstruction of Cenozoic d 11 B sw Using a Gaussian ProcessPaleoceanography and Paleoclimatologya6e05f07f068a62121e05872eedff8c0Whiteford R2024-01-0167d0495d5b2f28.217239309E9729B9-7706-41B9-BABE-72071B1BAA97Enhanced petrogenic organic carbon oxidation during the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximumGeochemical Perspectives Letters3ee51310efe1896101dc671b3704ee72Hollingsworth E2024-01-0167aba3d3285198047C58F-1788-462D-A8D2-794DC00D6BF0Laser ablation mass spectrometry blast through detection in Ra82a6a9b6978d4f77940230e91ee768bSearle-Barnes A2023-01-01640f08989f1b1B6E44845-04F2-4403-BC0B-BD7045E6E73AHow Unusual Was the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum?Geophysical Research Letters414d3473d13bc359d54f27028aca4f68Cael B2026-01-016991afef556b8ADE34E63-E4A9-470D-A1CE-25BEFEBC9957Bayesian Errors-in-Variables Estimation of Specific Climate SensitivityPaleoceanography and Paleoclimatology0c6a64408041e359455b34011378b36cHeslop D2024-01-0167d0495d34f752.5893332205F62F83-7FCB-4BE5-8FF3-78E9A8471E69Surface ocean warming and acidification driven by rapid carbon release precedes Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum.Science advancesc39aca087a533adbf9a0d283d87e42c3Babila TL2022-01-012375-254862ffca640139b5755E4B7-66D4-4669-80B2-4BB4984384EBLaser ablation mass spectrometry blast through detection in R.Rapid communications in mass spectrometry : RCMa82a6a9b6978d4f77940230e91ee768bSearle-Barnes A2023-01-010951-419864831d34cb8adAD9E4356-01A3-4ECE-9D52-AF3CE4BE00F6Spatial and Temporal Patterns in Petrogenic Organic Carbon Mobilization During the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal MaximumPaleoceanography and Paleoclimatology3ee51310efe1896101dc671b3704ee72Hollingsworth E2024-01-0165c287d4981dc85842606-1895-409E-A97A-B9C0A87B9160Toward a Cenozoic history of atmospheric CO2.Science (New York, N.Y.)d81e92d0e0125db9a801c9c5a7e1a15bCenozoic CO2 Proxy Integration Project (CenCO2PIP) Consortium*†2023-01-010036-807565a58a9fdb02e4A8D286C-A0A2-4D37-8B5A-9126F03CDF56The Influence of Geochemical Variation Among Globigerinoides ruber Individuals on Paleoceanographic ReconstructionsPaleoceanography and Paleoclimatology7aa7d83fe7c2a85d6859e8729965d88fKearns L2023-01-01640f92e261bffNE/W009552/1346611FD-47F5-46D6-9813-D4707F62253B100GeosciencesC239C4FE-2588-4DAB-8B96-C5338520977060PalaeoenvironmentsF52704F6-1035-4307-9FA9-45BC878F1F1A40Tectonic Processes12EE1746-7F49-4B80-A534-010628E9CB92An investigation of replicated genetic associations from a genome-wide study of sporadic MND.ClosedG0600974/1Research GrantWe are trying to find genes that make people likely to develop motor neuron disease (MND). This is a wasting disease in which an affected person becomes progressively paralysed over months until they are too weak to breathe. We know that a few people with MND carry a genetic mutation. For most people with MND we think that certain common genetic variations might increase the risk in certain situations. MND takes many forms and we do not know if they are really all the same underlying disease or several different conditions that happen to look the same. This makes gene-hunting difficult. Also, even though MND is quite common (about 1 in every 400 people will die from it), life expectancy is very poor and so at any one time there are not many affected people who can help with research. We have successfully found a genetic signal for MND on chromosome 8 but we now need to pinpoint where the signal is coming from. If we can find out exactly what genetic variation in this area is responsible, we will understand more about MND and this will make it easier to develop a treatment.Background: Motor Neuron Disease (MND) is a fatal adult-onset neurological disorder that causes progressive muscle weakness gradually affecting the power of speech, swallowing and limb movement. There is significant disability from the outset and eventually patients are left immobile, unable to communicate or care for themselves. Relentless disease progression engenders feelings of hopelessness so that some people travel abroad seeking euthanasia. The only drug shown to impact on survival, riluzole, has only a modest effect in slowing disease progression and treatment is otherwise largely symptomatic. The mean age of onset is between 50-60 years, cutting short the productive lives of many individuals. Death from respiratory failure usually occurs within 3 years of symptom onset and only 4% of patients survive more than 10 years. Although it is commonly thought of as a rare disease, the lifetime risk is about 1 in 400, with 1 in 380 death certificates carrying this diagnosis in the UK, and since the risk increases with age, it will become more common as the population ages. At present the diagnosis of MND is a death sentence with a miserable disease course, making it one of the most feared illnesses in the developed world. Previous findings: In an MRC-funded study, we have performed a genome-wide association study using 300 case and 300 control samples and 2,336 microsatellite markers. The markers were targeted at both gene-dense regions using a method we developed, and at regions previously shown to be of interest in MND. A DNA pooling strategy was followed by individual genotyping of markers of interest. Of the markers analysed, all showed confirmed association in individuals, and one on chromosome 8 showed replicated association in two other populations, from Belgium and the USA. Objective: To identify the functional variant(s) associated with sporadic motor neuron disease in the region we have identified on chromosome 8 Methods: We will analyse the MND-associated region with an informative set of tag-SNPs in UK samples, and fine-map the disease associated locus. We will identify the association peak and identify the strongest positional candidate genes and their functional variants. We will confirm the mapping in Belgian and US populations. This will allow us to examine functional effects of gene variants identified in the laboratory. In parallel with this, we will perform bioinformatics analysis of relevant DNA and protein sequences and expression studies of genotyped brains for secondary evidence (genomic convergence).2010-03-30C008C651-F5B0-4859-A334-5F574AB6B57CMRC2007-09-30INCOME_ACTUAL350000G0600974/16CFA1E1F-F25C-4C23-8FE1-C47AE53E333EUnclassified12FD8D95-EB12-4393-9337-006441A98FAASensors for Wave scattering: using acoustics waves to measure particulatesClosed2604206StudentshipEarly Mesopotamian people discovered that a mixture of mud and straw creates strong durable buildings, what we call today a composite material. Today these materials have enabled amazing advances in areas including aerospace, automobile, food science, communications technology, biotechnology. This project focuses on using sound to measure particulates materials like powders. The aim is to develop new ways to sense and measure powders by developing the fundamental science underpinning how sound waves interact with powders. The student, will work closely with the acoustics team in Johnson & Matthey, a British multinational who develops sustainable technologies and produce a wide range of powder products. This project will combine mathematical models, computer simulations, and experimental data from Johnson & Matthey to develop new sensing methods that could have a significant impact on the UK economy.2025-09-25798CB33D-C79E-4578-83F2-72606407192CEPSRC2021-09-30INCOME_ACTUAL026042066CFA1E1F-F25C-4C23-8FE1-C47AE53E333EUnclassified132CDD17-EA9F-4C07-90E0-018FDD8324DDStudying the Deformation of Tungsten and its Alloys During Mechanical Testing with analysis being performed using EBSD and HR-DIC MethodsActive2905629StudentshipThis project looks at the materials used in a fusion reactor particularly in the divertor which is designed to withstand extremely high heat fluxes and highly energetic neutron bombardment and as such tungsten is the leading candidate material choice. Research is currently being undertaken to understand tungsten's fundamental mechanical property behaviour as it suffers from acute brittleness and a high brittle-to-ductile transition temperature. Alloying tungsten with elements such as rhenium is often the strategy to improve its ductility; however, rhenium is also a transmutation product that can form precipitates under reactor conditions exacerbating the embrittlement of the alloy. Therefore, other alloying options need to be explored. This project is looking at novel tungsten alloys for fusion reactor divertor application. This is coupled with gaining an understanding at the microstructural level the behaviour under tensile loads and how this is impacted by different alloying elements and microstructures with a potential extension of examining either the impacts of radiation or hydrogen isotope loads. The primary techniques that I am interested in are scanning and transmission electron microscopy, with a particular interest in high resolution digital image correlation to understand the deformation mechanisms of the different alloys at the near atomic scales. This will help link the local microstructure to the mechanical response. Ex-situ testing will also be carried out on pure tungsten to acquire a set of "baseline" values for its mechanical properties. The main objective is to obtain the ideal novel alloy to be used in such applications.2027-03-30798CB33D-C79E-4578-83F2-72606407192CEPSRC2023-09-30INCOME_ACTUAL029056296CFA1E1F-F25C-4C23-8FE1-C47AE53E333EUnclassified133F45E2-45D3-426D-9400-021DBB465978Convergence Clubs in Sovereign Bond Yield Spreads and the Impact on Bank LendingClosed2426108StudentshipThe key connection in the proposed project is between the existence of convergence in government bond markets and the impact of bank domicile on lending behaviour. The innovation is at least two-dimensional. Firstly, the presence of convergence 'clubs' creates additional risks for the banks in countries with less fiscal discipline. Banks may face a higher cost of funding, with the consequent reduction in their valuation and potential for excessive risk-taking to maintain an adequate level of profitability. Secondly, the empirical model of the evolution of the European sovereign bond market will deliver insights on the need to stimulate bank lending to businesses in the context of the expectation of a sustained era of very low and negative bond yields.2024-09-294A6A6A2B-EA26-4C59-867B-B531CEFE8374ESRC2020-09-30INCOME_ACTUAL024261086CFA1E1F-F25C-4C23-8FE1-C47AE53E333EUnclassified1349B1A8-C478-4D39-80E5-01252791A45FAutomated Personalised 4D Heart Modelling for Disease PredictionActive2873398StudentshipGenerative statistical models of cardiac anatomy and function have a wide range of applications such as disease diagnosis, personalised medicine, generation of population and sub-population cohorts for in silico trials, etc. Geometric deep learning methods for cardiac anatomy have shown promising results for reconstructing the 3D biventricular cardiac anatomy shapes conditioned on population characteristics and predicting the 3D shape deformations between heart contraction and relaxation. Until now, research has focused on specific states within the cardiac cycle; however, the whole cardiac motion pattern plays a crucial role in determining the underlying pathologies. To address this significant gap in the current research, our aim is to develop a novel multi-modal model for the complete cardiac motion over the 3D cardiac anatomy from the standard clinical cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), using deep learning-based approaches. In addition to the information captured by cardiac MRI, the proposed model will also incorporate multi-modal information including individual's demography such as age, sex, ethnicity, body mass, etc. and electrophysiology data to accurately model and quantify their relationships. We intend to develop the proposed approach on the large and diverse UK Biobank population, in order to investigate the differences in the different data modalities. The envisaged final 4D model of cardiac anatomy and motion conditioned over population characteristics and electrophysiology would enable several downstream tasks, including but not limited to personalised medicine and in silico trials, as well as contribute to a greater knowledge of the relationship among cardiac anatomy, motion and pathologies. The proposed project would contribute a novel multi-modal geometric deep-learning model for the human heart, which would integrate cardiac geometry with motion and explore their relationship with population demography and electrophysiology. This, in turn, would contribute to the design of in silico trials, which have the potential to improve the efficiency of clinical trials and reduce costs. In silico trials also offer the possibility of simulating the efficacy of interventions in sub-populations underrepresented in the data, which would reduce spurious extrapolations of trial results from other populations to these groups. The model would also contribute towards the field of personalised medicine; by simulating the impact of interventions on a bespoke simulation of a subject's anatomy, personalised risk profiles for different interventions can be evaluated and compared. Finally, investigations into the relationships between cardiac anatomy, motion, demography, electrophysiology, and pathology could yield new insights into the aetiology of cardiovascular diseases. The project fits within both Challenges 1 and 2 of the EPSRC Healthcare Technologies Research Theme strategy. For Challenge 1, the proposed approach will interpret and analyse population to understand both individual and population scale variation in disease phenotypes. The approach would also contribute towards the development of novel prediction tools like digital twins and the discovery of new indicators of susceptibility and risk of disease. For Challenge 2, the project would contribute to the development of novel techniques for optimising patient-specific illness prediction, biomarker identification, decision-support systems, and predicting susceptibility to illness.2026-09-29798CB33D-C79E-4578-83F2-72606407192CEPSRC2022-09-30INCOME_ACTUAL028733986CFA1E1F-F25C-4C23-8FE1-C47AE53E333EUnclassified13800BFE-AF54-4923-8E2F-004CF314EC6BPrediction of Sticking Potential for Continuous Direct CompressionActive2891745StudentshipAn increasing number of drugs in development are hydrophobic and considered as BCS class 2 compounds. In many cases these drugs require aggressive pre-processing to reduce particle size and accelerate the dissolution of these compounds. The reduction in particle size causes even more hydrophobic surfaces of the drug particles which magnifies sticking issues. Sticking occurs more frequently in direct compression as the drug is not embedded within a granulation matrix. Considering that the industry is growing the use of continuous direct compression (CDC), a fundamental understanding of the underlying mechanisms of sticking becomes even more important. Typically, sticking is not observed until later stages of development where any alterations in the formulation or manufacturing route causes a large penalty of change. This project aims to increase the understanding of the underlying sticking mechanisms enabling the early detection of sticking. This will be addressed by using complementary advanced characterisation techniques with a focus on understanding the impact of particle size (drug and diluent) [3] of various hydrophobic compounds and lubrication on sticking propensity. The project will deliver a workflow to identify sticking at an early stage in the development and reduce the risk of sticking in CDC.2027-03-30798CB33D-C79E-4578-83F2-72606407192CEPSRC2023-09-30INCOME_ACTUAL028917456CFA1E1F-F25C-4C23-8FE1-C47AE53E333EUnclassified13B26836-A839-4F14-94BD-00B126EEE86CHolocene Land-Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions on the Eastern Seaboard of North AmericaClosedNE/G020272/1Research GrantPast terrestrial responses to climate-ocean interactions in the North Atlantic region are a critical research priority because they show how changes in key aspects of climate that will be affected by future global warming, such as ice sheet volume & ocean circulation, may be translated into phenomena of socio-economic importance, including the atmospheric water balance & soil moisture availability. Although we are beginning to understand the nature & magnitude of changes in the circulation of the North Atlantic over the last 10,000 years, terrestrial responses to these events are still poorly understood in terms of timing, magnitude & spatial pattern. It is imperative to rectify this deficiency in order to generate & test hypotheses to explain the processes of change, to understand the strength of relationships between oceanic & terrestrial climate change, & to enable future soil conditions & water resources to be predicted using computer models. Plan of work This project will investigate four sites located on a transect along the eastern seaboard of North America, from northern Newfoundland to Maine. This region was highly sensitive to past changes in ice sheet mass balance & ocean circulation. The selected sites are all raised (rain-fed) peat bogs, which provide superb climate archives. Plant & animal (testate amoebae) fossils preserved in well-dated cores extracted from these bogs will be used to reconstruct past changes in Bog Surface Wetness (an index of surface water balance) over the last 8500 years, at a time resolution of 10-100 years. The same core samples will be analysed for stable isotopes of oxygen & hydrogen. The spatial & temporal distribution of the heavy isotopes of these elements in precipitation is related to air temperature, & hence to atmospheric circulation. The isotope signal captured in the cellulose fraction of Sphagnum moss closely tracks that of the precipitation used by the plant for cellulose synthesis. Hence, fossil Sphagnum from raised peat preserves a clear signal of past changes in climate & atmospheric circulation. Modern precipitation along the eastern seaboard of North America is derived mainly from the Atlantic Ocean. A strong temperature contrast exists between the Arctic waters of the Labrador Current, which flows southwards along this coast, & the warm waters of the Gulf Stream further offshore. Past isotopic ratios in precipitation falling over coastal areas will have been strongly influenced by changes in these ocean currents & in the heat transport by the Gulf Stream. By combining the oxygen & hydrogen isotope records, we will estimate the deuterium excess, an index of the conditions prevailing at the sea surface when evaporation occurred, including the extent of sea ice. The stable isotope data will be compared with isotope measurements on ice cores from Greenland & Canadian ice caps, and more cautiously, with estimated isotope values for surface seawater & lakes that have been derived from sediment analyses. Hence, analyses of fossils & stable isotopes from the same core levels will allow us to reconstruct the timing, magnitude & spatial pattern of the terrestrial response, as well as exploring the impact of different causal factors such as meltwater discharges, changes in atmospheric & ocean circulation & solar variability on the climate of the study area. In this way, insight will be gained into the mechanisms that have driven climate change over the last 8500 years. Hypotheses to be tested: 1) Between 8500 & 6800 years ago, the climate of the study area was strongly influenced by repeated discharges of glacial meltwater from the decaying North American Ice Sheet to the north, resulting in cooling & increased bog wetness. 2) After the disappearance of the ice sheet, 6800 years ago, the climate of the study area was indirectly influenced by cyclical variations in sea ice extent, ocean currents & deepwater formation north of Iceland.2013-09-298A03ED41-E67D-4F4A-B5DD-AAFB272B6471NERC2010-03-31INCOME_ACTUAL163590PRECIP Project Research Outcomes Geochronology - A New Tephrostratigraphy Famework The PRECIP project has recently located ultra-distal tephras in four study sites from Newfoundland Nova Scotia and Maine. These tephras have been geochemically characterized and traced to source volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and to Alaska. The fine volcanic ash layers represent the first finds of ultra-distal tephra in terrestrial records from Eastern North America and their identification demonstrates that tephra isochrones can be extended right across the continent. This finding is important because it establishes a high precision chronological framework for the study of the Holocene in eastern North America. The earliest identifiable tephra is the Mazama ash, which dates to 7650 cal. BP. Details of the full tephrostratigraphy from eastern Newfoundland have been published in: PRECIP publication - Pyne-O'Donnell, S. D. F., Hughes, P. D. M., Froese, D. G., Jensen, B. J. L., Kuehn, S. C., Mallon, G., Amesbury, M. J., Charman, D. J., Daley, T. J., Loader, N. J., Mauquoy, D., Street-Perrott, F. A., Woodman-Ralph, J. (2012) High-precision ultra-distal Holocene tephrochronology in North America. Quaternary Science Reviews 52, 6 - 11. Peat-based reconstructions of hydrological change inferred from Holocene bog surface wetness records (BSW): Over the last two years the PRECIP project has developed the most detailed and longest records of Holocene water table change in ombrotrophic bogs yet produced from Atlantic Canada and Maine. In the north of the study transect the records span the period 7500 cal. BP to present and the longest records from Nova Scotia cover the whole Holocene. The past water table reconstructions have been completed for all of the main study sites and they show significant down-core variability that will allow us to assess regional patterns of hydrological change in relation to the hypotheses being tested. The records will be pinned together using high quality age-depth models based on the ultra-distal tephras and AMS radiocarbon dates. Past water table records were reconstructed using a combination of plant macrofossil and testate amoebae sub-fossil identifications. Testate amoebae surface samples from the four main study sites, and a wide range of further sites from across the study region, were used to establish a transfer function for the reconstruction of past water table variations. The transfer function has been published in: PRECIP publication - Amesbury, M. J., Mallon, G., Charman, D. J., Hughes, P. D. M., Booth, R. K., Daley, T. J. and Garneau, M. (2012) Statistical testing of a new testate amoeba-based transfer function for water-table depth reconstruction on ombrotrophic peatlands in north-eastern Canada and Maine, United States. Journal of Quaternary Science. doi: 10.1002/jqs.2584. This study benefitted from additional data collected as part of a collaboration with the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). Development of Stable Carbon and Water Isotopes as Palaeoclimate Proxies: Results from the array of modern samples of bog and leaf waters reveal that the different bogs fall along different evaporative lines. This is a noteworthy finding because it assists in interpretation of isotopic variability down-core and importantly, between sites. The spatial patterns of different isotope parameters exhibit the expected large-scale gradients polewards and into the interior of the continent, but also suggest that the Gulf of St. Lawrence plays a significant role as a local moisture source in summer. Both carbon and oxygen isotopes in modern cellulose show an isotopic fractionation as one moves further from the water table. This trend has not been identified previously and would indicate that the Sphagnum isotope signal can integrate several signals within it. Initial tests using the measures of distance to water table provided by the testate amoebae to "correct" the isotopes for this enrichment effect indicate that its impact on the overall trend in the isotopic data is small when viewed over centennial to millennial time scales. Further work is on going and hydrogen isotopes will shortly be added to the dataset. Analysis of modern inter-plant variability indicates the range of uncertainty observed in the isotopic data. These findings suggest that approximately 10-15 plants sampled from a single level will provide a robust mean signal and a workable oxygen-isotopic uncertainty range (95%) roughly equivalent to machine uncertainty (ca. ±0.3 per mille). PRECIP publication - Woodley, Ewan J.; Loader, Neil J.; McCarroll, Danny; et al. (2012) High-temperature pyrolysis/gas chromatography/isotope ratio mass spectrometry: simultaneous measurement of the stable isotopes of oxygen and carbon in cellulose. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry. 26, 109 - 114. DOI: 10.1002/rcm.5302 Published: JAN 30 2012.See lead RO entry179896DE-F9CB-4D15-B473-EFF220D237A7r_7397165665779cfc0eEducationEnvironmentC0217259-45AA-4CC4-8C88-BB564FB50840Drivers of Holocene peatland carbon accumulation across a climate gradient in northeastern North AmericaQuaternary Science Reviews2b4f4b460f75152add42801cf83bd100Charman D2015-01-0165030dbfdec0e790D6A29-0666-4B04-9A13-F11B6B38C0A7A database and synthesis of northern peatland soil properties and Holocene carbon and nitrogen accumulationThe Holocenef6a94139a7bb77bed13867a484be132fLoisel J2014-01-015459ec2d27a761.5926646217A4C311-D6FD-45CA-84BD-CD69DB48C8BEThe 852/3 CE Mount Churchill eruption: examining the potential climatic and societal impacts and the timing of the Medieval Climate Anomaly in the North Atlantic regionClimate of the Paste91c35fb3c8557f473ea2153c5f7f74aMackay H2022-01-0162f88c418cfef6.371394980E4C430B-7ED4-4521-85C9-4C8DB54AF77BTransatlantic distribution of the Alaskan White River AshGeologyf991124df864e3d9a48da6b1b9ccf917Jensen B2014-01-015459ec2d5162c1.6587469286E1B234-8B0B-401C-9366-FE240EC202BESpatial variation of hydroclimate in north-eastern North America during the last millenniumQuaternary Science Reviewse91c35fb3c8557f473ea2153c5f7f74aMackay H2021-01-01644a8fc96381c1.37937423C4912592-0197-4076-B94B-0873D7A96CEBTowards a Holarctic synthesis of peatland testate amoeba ecology: Development of a new continental-scale palaeohydrological transfer function for North America and comparison to European dataQuaternary Science Reviews78e18c5c53193af1515814ea08c8231dAmesbury M2018-01-015c4759c7191ed2.024647872C4739EB-3A4B-4267-9E3E-B6AEA6FDDB48The 852/3 CE Mount Churchill eruption: examining the potential climatic and societal impacts and the timing of the Medieval Climate Anomaly in the North Atlantic Regione91c35fb3c8557f473ea2153c5f7f74aMackay H2021-01-0161f983727954b7.97555285DC5D2BD3-1C27-4796-9A9C-204253F2391FIncreasing Tephra Deposition in Northeastern North America Points to Atmospheric Circulation Changes at the Early Mid Holocene TransitionJournal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres1f8c77580a034e0516ff8b64ad897fc1Monteath A2025-01-0121698996 2169897X67ce1735b939f1.24012590F16C3C7D-DD14-4BE6-A8B5-95ADDB48E548Statistical testing of a new testate amoeba-based transfer function for water-table depth reconstruction on ombrotrophic peatlands in north-eastern Canada and Maine, United StatesJournal of Quaternary Science78e18c5c53193af1515814ea08c8231dAmesbury M2012-01-01doi_53cfc7fc72513ac180ED3762-31E3-4ECE-8CC9-88BB4741533EThe 8.2-ka BP event in north-eastern North America: first combined oxygen and hydrogen isotopic data from peat in NewfoundlandJournal of Quaternary Science38c0306ad96d0a7957881de3d869b125Daley T2016-01-01585d77e7aeb193.16976798871A49F4-B369-4DF2-8909-2321663384DAThe 852/3 CE Mount Churchill eruption: examining the potential climatic and societal impacts and the timing of the Medieval Climate Anomaly in the North Atlantic regione91c35fb3c8557f473ea2153c5f7f74aMackay H2022-01-0165e8eaaf72a119.23868216F024322F-0EFC-4A35-A707-46278C7CE105Measurements of hydrogen, oxygen and carbon isotope variability in Sphagnum moss along a micro-topographical gradient in a southern Patagonian peatlandJournal of Quaternary Science40ed1986105ce9c5b10bd600f0e1a37cLoader N2016-01-010267-817958c3bdaa7443a0.187394159D49F37A-121C-4D13-A628-39D4FCF0546AA mid to late Holocene cryptotephra framework from eastern North AmericaQuaternary Science Reviewse91c35fb3c8557f473ea2153c5f7f74aMackay H2016-01-01585d46749cba24.1621215858ABED74-951B-4B88-8E35-D03FD9EAB4A4High-precision ultra-distal Holocene tephrochronology in North AmericaQuaternary Science Reviewsdb060c5b347e291d84714badc29dd79cPyne-O'Donnell S2012-01-01doi_53d008008183e595NE/G020272/1864667FA-73D7-49AC-BA03-673A1DCCA6A225Atmospheric phys. & chemistry346611FD-47F5-46D6-9813-D4707F62253B25GeosciencesA65FD3A1-4060-4633-B898-A9BE66B54CF250Marine environments5C78E96A-AFE4-483A-9A61-7334E3D1A81B25Land - Atmosphere Interactions803D219E-7469-4D6C-89A2-C19426F48BFD25Land - Ocean Interactions8443F120-DA53-4913-88FA-6D44BA2F30A825Ocean - Atmosphere Interact.C239C4FE-2588-4DAB-8B96-C5338520977025Palaeoenvironments13D7C04A-A7F2-4916-839D-003985589FB7Engineering Sulfatases for Biomedical ApplicationsClosed2104970StudentshipHeparin, which is obtained from pig tissue, has been used as an anti-coagulant for a century. However, a contamination scare in 2008, which caused fatalities worldwide, has amplified the need for homogenous synthetic heparins. Given the difficulties often associated with chemical synthesis of large polysaccharides, enzymatic approaches are much more tractable. Ultra low molecular weight heparins (ULMWHs) have been demonstrated to work effectively as anti-coagulants. However, ULMWHs have one drawback as they can't be neutralized by protamine sulfate, meaning there is no antidote if a patient is given an overdose of anti-coagulant. The aim of this project is to develop a robust assay to measure G6S activity, using novel synthetic substrates that will be synthesized as part of this project. This, in addition to the structural information already obtained, will be used as the basis for engineering G6S, using rational site directed mutagenesis, in order to obtain an enzyme that will work at higher pH. Such an engineered enzyme could then be explored for use therapeutically as an antidote to anti-coagulant overdose, and scale-up of protein expression for an industrial application will be addressed.Catalysis is an inherently transformative field and the single most powerful method to reduce cost, energy demand and ensure sustainable fine and commodity chemical manufacture. On a grander scale, we will advance the UK economy, security and health through the development and understanding of catalysis. Through an intensive training programme we will ensure optimal use and recovery of our critical resources, exploit new long-term sustainable resources and feedstocks and will make chemical manufacture fit for future generations. Above all we will develop technologies offering a step-change in resource management and utilization. Specific impacts include: Industry: The UK is an emerging leader in chemical sustainability. Critical Resource Catalysis is thus inherent to the growth of a technology-driven UK economy. In 2007, the growing chemical industry supported 6 million jobs and 21% of the UK GDP. World-class academic researchers, a broadly educated PhD cohort, inherent industrial collaboration and a holistic training environment will deliver unique individuals and scientific outputs for the chemical industry and beyond. Over 95% of our PhD students have continued their scientific efforts, sharing expertise in postdoctoral and industry positions: we produce exceptionally valued workers. The enhanced training provision provided by this CDT ensures even greater demand. Our training is intrinsically linked to industry and private sector parties, delivering core scientific knowledge and translational skills. With expertise in delivering critical innovations to industry, CRITICAT will become the hub for business and industry collaboration, consultation and discovery in the UK and beyond. Policymakers: Global governments are recognising how important resources are to quality of life. The UK is committed to policies that demand the development of new technologies to facilitate a sustainable lifestyle, including the decarbonisation of energy supplies and the recycling of products, in particular those which contain a critical resource. With a cohort versed in the scientific and sociological arguments surrounding these issues further equipped to tackle future scientific challenges we will supports and strengthens the policies set out by the UK government and will serve as a champion for clear policy direction in the future. Public: Educating not only our cohort but the general public about the importance of Critical Resource Catalysis is essential. We will engage with beneficiaries, from general audiences to UK HEIs, on our finite resources, their economic impacts and the societal benefits of a sustainable chemical industry. Public science demonstrations, focusing on the chemistry and engineering of critical resources, their uses in today's leading technologies, and the exploitation of the catalytic chemical sciences in a sustainable lifestyle will be led by the cohort to provide the public with a balanced and reasoned view of our contributions. With extensive expertise in public engagement, our team of educators and leaders will drive engagement activities forward and train our cohorts to develop as broad-skilled champions of chemistry and catalysis. Dynamic researchers: This CDT will deliver at least 80 newly qualified PhD scientists and engineers who are trained in catalysis, the key driver behind sustainable chemical technologies. The students will undertake an exceptionally broad training regime enhanced well beyond a traditional PhD programme. Combined with state-of-the-art research projects, the collaborative interactions intrinsic throughout the CDT will yield great foundational and transferable skills for both researchers and institutions. They will learn business, managerial and communication skills from bespoke training, collaborative science and industry placements. Long-term impact will be ensured through our cohorts' entry into the global workforce and our universities commitment to improved collaboration and pedagogy.2023-06-2947D1BADC-597A-4B3F-8462-4C3BF3018C12COVID2018-09-26INCOME_ACTUAL021049706CFA1E1F-F25C-4C23-8FE1-C47AE53E333EUnclassified