Impact magazine issue 7

Impact
Research and Innovation at the University of Leeds
Issue 7
MAKING A SPLASH:
The University celebrates the Games with
some very special guests
ON TIME AND ON TRACK:
the success story that is Leeds’ spin-out Tracsis
CANCER DETECTIVES:
Leeds research boosts the fight against bowel cancer
Impact
Research and Innovation at the University of Leeds
Issue 7
MAKING A SPLASH
testing the fabric of the fastest
swimsuits around
ON TIME AND ON TRACK:
the success story that is Leeds’ spin-out Tracsis
CANCER DETECTIVES:
Leeds research boosts the fight against bowel
cancer
A spotlight on Research and Innovation
at the University of Leeds
© University of Leeds 2012
Steering Group:
Professor David Hogg
Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research & Innovation
Martin Holmes
Marketing Director
Kathy Brownridge
Director,
Research & Innovation Services
Paul Barrett
Strategic Marketing Manager
Sue Underwood
Head of Communications Production
Communications and Press Office
Written by:
campuspr Ltd, Paul Barrett and
Communications and Press Office
Designed by:
Leigh Marklew, Communications and Press
Office
Selected Photography:
Simon and Simon Photography
Edited by:
Paul Barrett
Visit the Impact website at
www.leeds.ac.uk/impact
This publication is available in other formats.
Please contact Paul Barrett
email: [email protected]
Printed on recycled paper.
2
Impact 7
University of Leeds
CONTENTS
04
CANCER DETECTIVES
How photographic records of bowel cancer
tumours can help Leeds researchers to improve
survival rates.
17
PROCESS PERFECT
How the Institute of Process Research and
Development (iPRD) helped one start up
company bring their product to market.
28
07
ON TIME AND ON TRACK
How software developed by Leeds’ spin-out
company Tracsis is helping to keep the UK’s rail
network moving.
SECURING OUR FUTURE
As the world’s population approaches 7 billion,
the issues surrounding the global availability of
food are becoming increasingly urgent.
20
MAKING A SPLASH
How a Leeds research team helped Speedo
develop it’s latest and quickest swimsuit.
31
10
MATERIAL GAINS
From blood filters to tea bags, Leeds’ spin-out
NIRI Ltd provides world-leading expertise in
nonwoven fabric innovations.
ON THE VOYAGE OF DRUG DISCOVERY
The University of Leeds is pioneering innovative
approaches to developing safe new medicines,
faster.
22
CELEBRATING THE GAMES
The University’s Olympic programme can help
showcase the city to a global audience.
35
14
26
38
DESIGNING A BETTER FUTURE
The University’s partnership with design
consultancy Arup can deliver strategic
collaborations in research, innovation and
education.
FILLING WITHOUT DRILLING
Technology developed by University of Leeds
researchers could help many people visit their
dentist without fear.
AND FOR THAT REASON...
...I’m in. Inspiring enterprising individuals,
creating entrepreneurs, the Leeds way.
SEEING THE BIG PICTURE
Imaging techniques developed at the University
of Leeds offer unprecedented insights into how
our bodies work.
3
Impact 7
University of Leeds
r At Leeds an extensive photographic
record of bowel cancer tumours help
researchers carry out a vital form of detective
work; assessing whether the way surgery is
conducted makes a difference to survival rates.
CANCER
DETECTIVES
A photographic record of bowel cancer tumours, dating back over twenty
years, is helping Leeds researchers to improve survival rates for the UK’s
second most common cause of cancer death.
There are 40,000 new cases of bowel cancer
diagnosed in the UK each year and numbers
are on the increase. The main treatment for
this disease, the third most common cancer in
the UK, is an operation to remove the tumour.
But, as Leeds researchers have found, not all
surgeons operate in the same manner.
Following an operation, pathologists step
in to do the detective work, dissecting and
analysing the tissue removed to determine the
cancer’s characteristics and stage of spread,
key information to help decide on what further
treatment needs to follow.
But before this work can begin, a picture is
taken of the whole specimen. Although it’s
now common practice to retain these pictures,
that hasn’t always been the case. At Leeds,
however, images of tissue removed during
bowel cancer surgery have been retained since
the early 1980s, creating a large resource
unrivalled anywhere in the world.
Researchers from the Leeds Institute of
Molecular Medicine (LIMM), part of the
University’s School of Medicine, have been able
to use this material for a new kind of detective
work: assessing whether the way bowel cancer
surgery is conducted can make a difference to
a patient’s likelihood of survival.
The work was first begun by Professor Phil
Quirke, who looked at how surgeons removed
tumours when bowel cancer was located in
the rectum, which at the time had a worse
prognosis than cancer in the colon.
4
Working with the archive and then with
surgeons around the world who used different
techniques, he identified ways to improve
treatment using changes to surgical practice
alongside pre-operative scanning and
radiotherapy. His work led to a new UK-wide
training programme for rectal cancer surgery in
the 1990s.
While survival rates for both types of bowel
cancer are improving, colon cancer now has
the worst prognosis. So the team from LIMM
wanted to see if they could mirror Professor
Quirke’s success with rectal cancer to identify
which surgical techniques for colon cancer
would impact on survival.
“Two thirds of bowel cancer patients have
tumours in their colon, which is around
25,000 new cases each year in the UK,” says
Dr Nick West, who led the research. “So any
improvement in survival rates will affect a lot
of lives. However, we can’t simply transfer
the lessons learned in rectal cancer to colon
cancer because their treatment and surgery is
different. We had to start again, by going back
to the archive to look at the different surgical
techniques being used.”
Dr West first looked at specimens removed in
Leeds between 1997 and 2002, comparing
types of surgery in relation to five year survival
rates amongst patients. He then compared
more recent surgery at Leeds to a hospital in
Germany, where patients had a survival rate 20
per cent higher than in the UK.
Cancer detectives
‘‘
It was remarkable, the specimens
changed overnight. We still need to
wait another three years before we
can do a full comparison using five
year survival rates, but it’s clear that
surgical practice for bowel cancer can
be altered through training.”
Doctor Nick West
5
Impact 7
He found that the factors which appeared to
make the greatest difference were the neatness
of the surgery – ensuring that the cancer didn’t
spread to other areas – and taking out all of the
blood vessels which supported the tumour.
He classified bowel cancer surgery into three
types: intact surgery, where the sample was
neatly removed; samples with some defects;
and poor. His research showed that patients on
whom the surgery was ‘intact’ had a 15 percent
greater chance of survival than those for whom
the specimens removed were ‘poor’.
“Although the evidence from the pathology
specimens is compelling, we knew it wasn’t
enough on its own to justify the major
undertaking that would be needed to retrain
all bowel cancer surgeons in the UK,” says Dr
West. “First, we needed to prove that surgeons
could be effectively retrained to carry out
operations which would produce the ‘intact’
specimens which we’d linked to improved
survival. Then we needed to follow through
these patients to see whether survival rates did
improve.”
Dr West’s initial findings hadn’t gone unnoticed
in Denmark, which has the highest incidence
rate of bowel cancer for women in the EU and
the highest mortality rate for the disease in
Western Europe. The Danish health authorities
decided to implement a complete retraining
of all surgeons, pathologists, radiologists and
radio/chemotherapists involved in bowel cancer
treatment, based substantially on Dr West and
Professor Quirke’s findings.
Cancer detectives
Dr West worked with the Danish authorities,
analysing pathology specimens from
surgery before and after the training. “It
was remarkable,” he says. “The specimens
changed overnight. We still need to wait
another three years before we can do a full
comparison using five year survival rates, but
it’s clear that surgical practice for bowel cancer
can be altered through training.”
A similar programme is now set to begin in
Yorkshire, which – by coincidence – has a
similar population to Denmark at around 5.5
million. The first stage in West Yorkshire is
being funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research
and will involve all surgeons, pathologists and
other clinicians involved in bowel cancer care.
“There’s still a long way to go, but we hope
that in a few years’ time we’ll be able to take
conclusive data from Denmark and Yorkshire
to the UK government, showing the impact that
surgical retraining can have on survival rates for
this disease,” says Dr West.
In the meantime, his work is gaining him
accolades, including the British Oncological
Association’s Young Investigator Award, The
Royal College of Pathologists Histopathology
Research Medal and the University’s own
Postgraduate Researcher of the Year Award.
Such progress has convinced him to continue
an academic career alongside his clinical work
as a pathologist.
r Dr Nick West was named Postgraduate
Researcher of the Year at the Leeds PGR
Conference. Find out about this year’s conference
at www.leeds.ac.uk/rtd/pgrconference
6
“Clinical work can help to inform the academic
side, ensuring that you keep up to date with
which questions need answering through
research,” he says. “Unfortunately most
pathologists now choose to focus purely on
clinical work, but for me, studies like ours show
the vital contribution research in pathology can
make to improve the way we treat diseases like
bowel cancer.”
40,000
3rd
2nd
new cases of bowel cancer in the UK each year
most common cancer in the UK each year
most common cause of cancer death in the UK
each year.
figures from Cancer Research UK
Impact 7
Securing our future
As the world’s population continues
to expand, we are going to have to
find smarter ways to make sure we
can provide nutritious and affordable
food, using less land and causing less
damage to the environment. To be
successful, we need to broaden our
approach and be more proactive in
the way we bring researchers together
with potential partners.
‘‘
Adam Getliff – Innovation Manager,
The Food Security, Nutrition and
Sustainable Agriculture Hub
SECURING
OUR FUTURE
As the world’s population approaches the 7 billion mark, the issues
surrounding the global availability of food are becoming ever more
pressing.
7
Impact 7
The University of Leeds has an established
track record in this area so it’s unsurprising
that food security is the focus of one of the
University’s new Sector Hubs. TheSector Hub
model enables a more focused and strategic
approach to working with industry and other
external partners by developing meaningful
partnerships, maximising the impact of
research and fostering research excellence.
A wide range of disciplines have been brought
together under the food security umbrella.
Six University faculties and schools make up
the Food Security, Nutrition and Sustainable
Agriculture Hub, including Biological
Sciences, Medicine and Health, Engineering,
Mathematics, Earth and Environment and
Education, Social Sciences and Law.
Issues which will be addressed under the Hub
vary equally widely, from how to grow crops
that are resistant to drought, or can grow in
hostile conditions, how to make crops work
harder, with higher yields and higher nutritional
content, to how to look after crops post-harvest,
ensuring they are stored and transported with
minimal damage.
Securing our future
Commercial partners include grass seed
company Euro Grass and Norddeutsche
Pflanzenzucht Hans-Georg Lembke KG, a plant
breeding company based in Germany.
Adam Getliff, Innovation Manager for the Hub
explains: “As the world’s population continues
to expand, we are going to have to find smarter
ways to make sure we can provide nutritious
and affordable food, using less land and
causing less damage to the environment. To be
successful, we need to broaden our approach
and be more proactive in the way we bring
researchers together with potential partners.”
Mr Getliff’s role is to raise the profile of the
Hub among academics and persuade them
to consider end uses and possible routes
to market for the technologies they are
developing.
“Lots of the projects we are working on involve
the developing world and people might expect
that these technologies would be given away, or
delivered by charities,” he explains. “The reality
is, however, that we need to work with industry
in order for many of these projects to have
a meaningful and timely impact. The whole
funding environment has changed in recent
years, and we have got to respond to that; it
will be private industries that have the capacity,
expertise and networks to get our research out
of the laboratory.”
“We hope that by starting these conversations
in an informal way, we can provide a catalyst
for some fruitful partnerships to grow,” says
Mr Getliff. “By holding events like these on a
regular basis, we aim to promote a healthy flow
of ideas between our researchers and private
companies.”
The Hub’s activities will also extend to
partnerships with public sector and charitable
organisations, with grant applications already
underway for projects that will address specific
issues raised by the agricultural sector.
Of course, food security is a global challenge,
that requires global approaches to solutions.
Although initially theSector Hub’s focus will
be on working with UK industry, some of
the companies involved will also operate
internationally. The University’s own
international links will also play a significant
role: as the Hub establishes itself, it is expected
that strong partnerships will be developed with
other global projects with an interest in food
security.
One obvious link would see theSector Hub
engaging with the Worldwide University
The Hub will not solely concern itself with
Network (WUN), a global network of 19
issues in the developing world either: food
research institutions, with a focus on
security is increasingly a topic of concern to
addressing some of the world’s most significant
more developed countries. Reducing waste
challenges. Leeds is one of WUN’s founding
in supermarket supply chains, investigating
partners, and is engaged in a number of
more environmentally friendly ways of heating
broad research areas, such as a collaboration
greenhouses, and avoiding the use of toxic
The approach is one that is being increasingly
involving five universities looking at critical
chemicals to tackle disease in crops are all
adopted by development organisations
global poverty. Equally significant will be the
subjects for investigation.
worldwide. Bill Gates, the philanthropist and
Africa College project, an international research
entrepreneur, for example, frequently advocates partnership set up by the University of Leeds
Hub director, Professor Christine Foyer, in the
increased partnership with the private sector
in 2008, which works to improve lives in subFaculty of Biology’s Centre for Plant Sciences,
to drive forward technological benefits in the
Saharan Africa.
for example, is currently working on a project as developing world.
part of the EU-funded Crop Life Initial Training
The Food Security, Nutrition and Sustainable
Network. Professor Foyer is leading a research
One activity planned for later this year is an
Agriculture Hub, therefore, is set to play a key
programme into plant productivity and lifespan, industry day: this will be an opportunity for
part within an important network of national
a topic of increasing importance for Europe’s
researchers to meet potential industry partners and international organisations all working
agricultural economics and environmental
to exchange ideas and find common ground for to address the varied and complex issues of
policies.
solving problems.
securing our planet’s food supply for many
years into the future.
www.foodsecurity.leeds.ac.uk
IMPROVING CROP EFFICIENCY
One project that is already underway within the hub is a study called IMPACT, or Improved
Millets for Phosphate Acquisition and Transport, which is being undertaken by Professor Alison
Baker in the University’s Faculty of Biological Sciences and Dr A. Ceasar Stanislaus, a European
Union-funded International Incoming Fellow from Loyola College, in Chennai, India.
Millets, which are cereal crops, are food staples in much of Asia and Africa. They grow well
in dry conditions and are likely to become increasingly important in Southern Europe as the
climate gets warmer and drier. This three year research project aims to identify genes and
proteins involved in phosphate uptake in foxtail millet, with the ultimate goal of being able to
identify and breed millets that can thrive on phosphate poor soils without need for additional
fertiliser.
Plants need phosphorus for growth, but fertiliser is expensive and overuse causes
environmental problems.
8
r The Hub is working across a range of
issues, from drought resistant crops to
making crops work harder, with higher
yields and higher nutritional content.
9
Impact 7
ON THE VOYAGE
OF DRUG
DISCOVERY
10
University of Leeds
On the voyage of drug discovery
Pharmaceutical companies
face tremendous challenges
in their quest to develop
innovative new drugs.
Despite unprecedented
investment in research and
development, the rate of drug
discovery has remained at
a similar level for the past
60 years1. The University of
Leeds is pioneering innovative
approaches to help the
sector to discover safe new
medicines faster.
£1BN
the estimated cost of bringing a new drug to
market, and the process is frustratingly slow.
11
Impact 7
The process of bringing a new drug to market
is slow, and costs over £1 billion2 (including
the costs of failed campaigns). Because of this,
there’s a pressing need to develop innovative
new tools and approaches that allow resources
to be focused on developing the most
promising drug candidates. This challenge
is at the core of activity at the University’s
Pharmaceutical and Biopharmaceutical Sector
Hub.
Hub director, Professor Adam Nelson,
explains: “Despite huge investment and
changes in practices over the years, the
rate of drug discovery has not increased.
There is a growing recognition that increased
partnership with academia is a key mechanism
to increase innovation in drug discovery.
The Pharmaceutical and Biopharmaceutical
Sector Hub exists to address these issues, by
supporting drug discovery within these industry
sectors.”
Leeds already has a strong track record in this
sort of interdisciplinary activity. The Astbury
Centre for Molecular Biology, for example,
brings together more than 250 researchers
at the interface between the physical and
biological sciences, while the Biomedical
and Health Research Centre brings together
scientists and clinicians with other healthrelevant disciplines to help translate research
from the laboratory to the clinic.
The new sector hub will help focus and
intensify these activities. The hub’s priorities
have been set following consultation with
research leaders from the pharmaceutical and
biopharmaceutical industries and they are
aligned closely with areas of research where
the University has an internationally-leading
track record. The aim is to find ways of directly
marrying university expertise with industry
needs to solve some of the real and pressing
problems that slow the progress of getting new
drugs to market.
On the voyage of drug discovery
The hub is focusing on a small number
of themes to drive engagement with the
pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical
sectors. A recent workshop brought together
30 potential partners to develop two of these
themes: preventing protein aggregation; and
targeting the delivery of therapeutic agents.
A third theme focuses on the inhibition of
protein-protein interactions – challenging
targets for drug discovery that, nonetheless,
are intimately involved in many disease
mechanisms. This third theme is currently
being developed through a research councilfunded network3, PPI-Net – led by Leeds and
Imperial College – that involves academics and
companies from across the UK.
Clearly it is early days for these partnerships,
but Professor Nelson believes the hub has the
potential to make a big impact in the areas
it is addressing. In five to ten years time it is
expected that this approach will result in the
realisation of new tools that streamline the drug
discovery process.
“What is vital in all these areas is being
able to identify and exploit the research
capabilities relevant to the pharmaceutical
and biopharmaceutical sectors, irrespective of
where they are found in the university,” says
Professor Nelson. “Traditionally, much research
is carried out within university faculties: what
we need to do is organise that research in ways
that are meaningful to our external partners, to
find the best ways available of addressing the
most pressing issues in drug discovery.”
Funded by a £533,000 grant from the
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research
Council (EPSRC), the project, on which GSK
is a named partner, will look at developing
new methods for preparing diverse leadlike molecules. These molecules have the
properties that would represent good starting
points for drug discovery programmes.
“Close engagement with GSK has allowed
us to design a project that will address a
specific problem facing large pharmaceutical
companies,” says Professor Nelson.
12
Professor Adam Nelson
1. B Munos, Nature reviews. Drug discovery, 2009, 8, 959-68.
2. S M Paul, D S Mytelka, C T Dunwiddie, C C Persinger, B H Munos, S R Lindborg, and A L Schacht,
Nature reviews. Drug discovery, 2010, 9, 203-14.
3. Funded by Engineering and Physcial Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Biotechnology and Biological
Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), and the Medical Research Council (MRC).
THE PHARMACEUTICAL AND BIOPHARMACEUTICAL SECTOR HUB IN ACTION
The kinds of relationships that the hub is
designed to foster can be seen in a current
collaboration set up between the University
and the pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline
(GSK).
‘‘
Traditionally, much research is
carried out within university faculties:
what we need to do is organise that
research in ways that are meaningful
to our external partners, to find the
best ways available of addressing the
most pressing issues in drug discovery.
“It really allowed us to develop a strong
case to obtain the resources necessary to
undertake the project. For their part, GSK will
be contributing specialist expertise, for example
in computational chemistry, that will allow us to
deliver.”
Ian Churcher, leader of the GSK screening
collection enhancement chemistry group,
stresses the importance of the work and the
partnership with the University: “It is extremely
difficult to identify and acquire large numbers
of quality, lead-like molecules from current
sources. Worryingly, GSK’s comprehensive
analyses of recent synthetic chemistry papers
shows that few contemporary synthetic
methods can yield a wide range of these leadlike molecules so valued as starting points for
drug research.
However, Professor Nelson has developed a
range of novel approaches with real potential to
address this problem and deliver benefits to the
entire drug discovery process.”
Impact 7
University of Leeds
RESEARCH INNOVATION
ENTERPRISE NEWS
UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS SIGNS £3M
RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP WITH SINOCHEM
GROUP
The University of Leeds has signed a £3m
collaborative research agreement with
Sinochem Group.
The money will be used to fund six new
research projects in colour science,
semiconductor research, polymer development
and plant science covering transgenic
technology, new materials and anti-counterfeit
technologies. The research will be carried out
in the Faculty of Mathematics and Physical
Sciences and the Faculty of Biological
Sciences.
Sinochem’s core businesses span over energy,
agriculture, chemical, real estate and financial
services. It is one of China’s four state oil
companies, the country’s biggest agricultural
input company (fertilizer, seed and pesticide)
and the leading chemical service company.
Professor Mike Wilson, Dean of the Faculty of
Mathematics and Physical Sciences, where
five of the research projects will be based,
said: “This is a significant commitment to
collaborative research and personnel training
in science and technology from a state-backed
Chinese company to a British higher education
institution. We are honoured that science at
Leeds is held in such high regard.”
‘‘
We are honoured that science at
Leeds is held in such high regard.
Sinochem were represented at the signing
by a team of delegates led by Vice President
Professor Li Bin. Professor Li commented: “I
believe that through the concerted efforts of
both Sinochem and Leeds, we will be able to
achieve our objectives of the development of
advanced, commercialisable technologies.
At the same time, through the Sinochem-Leeds
collaboration platform, we will also be able to
establish a team of leading scientists as well as
a team of strong researchers.”
The University were represented by ViceChancellor Professor Michael Arthur, Professor
Mike Wilson and Deputy Vice-Chancellor
Professor John Fisher.
Professor Fisher said: “This deal demonstrates
just how much Leeds is seen around the world
as an institution with significant research
capability and significant research relevance.
At Leeds we are proud to work proactively with
businesses and governments, these long-term
collaborations are of tremendous benefit to our
staff and students.”
Long Lin, Professor of Colour and Polymer
Science at Leeds, who has helped foster the
relationship since its inception, said: “This
deal will also help create closer relationships
with highly-respected colleagues in Chinese
research institutes such as the Sinochem
Shenyang Research Institute of Chemical
Industry and Sinochem Zhejiang Research
Institute of Chemical Industry.”
ENERGY BUILDING OFFICIALLY OPENS
The new £12.5m Energy Building has been
officially opened. The launch was attended
by industry and regional government
representatives, alumni, sponsors and
University staff.
The Energy Building brings together under one
roof the re-branded Energy Research Institute,
the new Centre for Integrated Energy Research,
the Energy Technology and Innovation Initiative
and the Doctoral Training Centre in Low Carbon
Technologies. It will serve as a physical hub for
collaboration in energy research and innovation
extending beyond the campus.
The Building houses 150 staff and students
from the Faculty of Engineering and provides
a space for collaboration between the Schools
of Engineering, Earth and Environment, the
Institute for Transport Studies, and other
schools.
SPECIALIST FUNDS LAUNCHED TO
SUPPORT NOVEL REGENERATIVE
THERAPIES
Exclusive funding for regenerative medicine
projects with academic and industry
collaborators launched at a special conference
in June 2012.
The scheme aims to encourage Expressions
of Interest (EoI) in hard and soft tissue
applications, particularly in the specialist
fields of Cardiovascular and Musculoskeletal
medicine.
The funding is being provided by the
Medical Technologies IKC, supported by
the Engineering and Physical Sciences
Research Council (EPSRC), the Biotechnology
and Biological Sciences Research Council
(BBSRC), and the Technology Strategy Board
to accelerate innovation between academic
and industry collaborators in key projects that
demonstrate significant commercial potential.
Speaking at the launch, Iain Gray, Chief
Executive of the Technology Strategy Board
commented: “This funding is a fine example
of the way in which Regener8, the Medical
Technologies IKC and the N8 Research
Partnership work together to foster innovation
and encourage vital collaboration between
industry and leading research-intensive
universities here in the North of England.
Regenerative medicine is a key focus of our
extensive programme of activity to support
innovation in the UK’s healthcare sector and we
are delighted to support this initiative.”
John Fisher, Executive Director of Regener8
and Director of the Institute for Medical and
Biological Engineering at the University of
Leeds commented: “By providing this funding
we hope to encourage collaboration between
the world leading research strengths of the N8
universities and the outstanding regenerative
medicine companies in the North of England
and in the UK in general. We have a wealth of
expertise in regenerative technologies at our
fingertips, and this new scheme will further
encourage these experts to work together in
order to create commercially viable therapies.”
The N8 PoC Funding call opened on 20
June 2012. There is no closing date but early
application is advised as funds will be allocated
up to a maximum of 5 PoC projects. For further
information please visit
www.regener8.ac.uk
The event, organised by Regener8 and
the Medical Technologies Innovation and
Knowledge Centre (IKC) at the University of
Leeds, launched a call for five Proof of Concept
(PoC) awards of up to £100K each.
13
Impact 7
100
More than 100 University of Leeds alumni
work at Arup.
14
University of Leeds
t The Sydney Opera House, one of Arup’s
most iconic projects.
DESIGNING
A BETTER
FUTURE
A long-running partnership between
the University of Leeds and design
consultancy Arup has been formalised
this year, paving the way for increased
strategic collaborations in research,
innovation and education.
The University’s relationship with Arup
goes back several decades and has grown
organically over the years. The company, which
is responsible for some of the most iconic
structures in the world, including the Sydney
Opera House and the Centre Pompidou in
Paris, has long standing relationships with
academics across the University of Leeds
campus. The recent signing of a Memorandum
of Understanding will enable a more strategic
approach to the partnership between the two
organisations.
“Over the years, Arup has built relationships
with academics in a number of our faculties,”
explains the University’s Strategic Partnerships
Manager, Richard Keegan. “The Memorandum
of Understanding will enable us to map all
these relationships and then start working
together in a more strategic sense, aligning
projects so they meet both organisations’
objectives.”
The agreement means that as well as
increasing research collaborations, the two
organisations will increase information sharing
and will proactively seek opportunities to
work jointly with businesses and public sector
organisations in the UK and internationally,
both on research projects and in developing
knowledge transfer opportunities, drawing on
intellectual property (IP) created by Arup and
the University.
For both parties, having a more formal
relationship will deliver significant benefits.
Professor Denise Bower is the academic lead
for the partnership within the University. She
says: “Through this new relationship, we’ll
benefit from greater access to knowledge and
innovation within Arup, which in turn helps to
develop our staff, informs our teaching and
enables us to be much more proactive at policy
level.”
It will also have a direct impact on individuals.
The areas of the agreement dealing with
collaborations with business and education
provide a commitment to developing talent,
leadership and vision, plus the development
of curricula and courses at postgraduate and
post-experience levels.
People have formed the backbone of the
growing relationship between Arup and the
University. More than 100 University of Leeds
alumni work at Arup, further strengthening that
relationship. Rachel Sandham, who works in
the Rivers & Coastal team at Arup, is herself
an alumnus and, along with colleague Nigel
Foster, is a key facilitator of the relationship
between the company and the University. She
has extensive experience of working with the
University following her Masters degree and
says: “The University is seen as a pool of talent,
both for accessing expertise and for recruiting
the right people.
As an organisation we allow people to grow and
develop their own career, which is not dissimilar
to how universities work.”
The projects that the two organisations work
on together span a whole range of disciplines,
with Arup tapping into energy, water,
engineering, design and business expertise
across the campus. Increasingly, research and
development projects are multidisciplinary in
nature, and both parties are keen to see these
addressing crucial issues facing the world
today.
Professor Bower explains: “We have shared
interests in issues such as energy supply and
resilient infrastructure, in innovative transport
and asset management systems and have
worked together on numerous projects in these
areas.”
In fact, Arup and the University – through the
School of Civil Engineering and the SocioTechnical Centre based at Leeds University
Business School – are currently working on a
project which takes a holistic approach to asset
management. The project is investigating and
defining intelligent asset management, and
devising a new approach which brings together
the management of physical resources, with
the management of people, organisational
culture and business processes.
15
Impact 7
Both parties also have an equally keen interest
in the resilience of infrastructures and urban
systems. Migration to our cities from rural
areas is increasing on an ongoing basis,
putting pressure on our transport systems, the
supply of utilities and on the built environment.
Through working together, specifically with the
University’s Institute for Resilient Infrastructure
which is based in Civil Engineering,
opportunities to develop tangible solutions to
these issues provides a significant opportunity
to develop projects that have long term impact,
both in the UK and internationally.
“Another area of mutual interest is the recovery
of resources, including energy, from waste
water,” says Professor Bower. “For example, if
we can develop methods of promoting growth,
extracting and treating algae economically from
waste water flows we can produce biodiesels,
fertilizers and other high value chemicals.”
y Professor Denise Bower meets with
Rachel Sandham, Associate, and Jody Harris,
Senior Consultant at Arup
16
16
What really lies at the heart of the strategic
alliance is the desire of both organisations to
make a strong and lasting impact externally,
and there’s recognition that the sum of the two
organisations working together will be much
greater than its individual parts working in
isolation.
Rachel Sandham says: “Strategic alliances
such as this one are really important to Arup.
As a company, we’re known as being at the
cutting edge of design and construction and
it’s important that we work with organisations
that are at the forefront of discovery and
innovation.”
‘‘
Designing a better future
The University is seen as a pool of
talent, both for accessing expertise
and for recruiting the right people.
As an organisation we allow people
to grow and develop their own
career, which is not dissimilar to how
universities work.
Rachel Sandham, Arup
Impact 7
Process perfect
PROCESS
PERFECT
When start-up company JooMo®
wanted to turn their new
formulation for a natural face wash
into a marketable product, Leeds’
Institute of Process Research and
Development (iPRD) had the exact
mix of expertise, industry nous and
enthusiasm they were looking for. r
17
17
Impact 7
Although many research institutes claim to
bridge the gap between academia and industry,
the iPRD really makes it happen. Its focus is
clear: improving manufacturing processes in
chemical-based industries, to increase quality
and productivity and reduce cost, waste and
energy usage.
University of Leeds
But 50 litres is still a considerable investment
in raw materials and so there was plenty of
preparatory work that had to be done with
JooMo® before manufacture could begin.
The iPRD’s Professor Frans Muller and
the iPRD team sat down with JooMo®
and completed a scale-up risk evaluation,
As soon as entrepreneur Nick Wallen called the identifying potential problems that could arise
from scaling up the formulation process by
iPRD and spoke to Professor John Blacker, he
a factor of 100. They then agreed a process
knew he’d come to the right place. He and his
development plan, laying out the steps they
business partner, Linda Russell, had worked
would follow and points where they could call
with universities before, so it was natural for
a halt if required, to minimise the risk involved.
them to turn to academia for help in getting
their latest venture, the first 100 percent natural The team devised experiments to iron out
production issues and to help determine the
face wash, into the marketplace.
exact process required for a robust, efficient
“Commercial producers are so often set in their and consistent manufacture.
ways, so we wanted to work with academic
researchers who were willing to try something
new” says Nick. “We got exactly the reaction
we wanted from Professor Blacker. He was
enthusiastic and understood straight away
what we needed. The iPRD clearly had the
necessary technical expertise, but what made
the difference was their go-ahead attitude.”
JooMo® needed help to create a sufficient
quantity of their product for market testing. In
the process, the iPRD helped them to generate
a scalable manufacturing procedure, which
would set them up for the product’s official
launch.
“The iPRD were really methodical, anticipating
Some of the support was provided under
potential problems in advance and working
a £4.85 million project funded through the
them through with us,” says Nick. “We couldn’t
European Regional Development Fund and
have asked for more.”
Yorkshire Forward. This enables the iPRD
to offer two days’ free consultancy to small
The development phase lasted three months,
companies in the region, carrying out small
during which time the company were able
projects at cost, to help solve problems or try
to get other parts of the launch underway,
out new ideas. Essentially, this means the iPRD such as design and production of the product
can act as the company’s own R&D facility.
packaging. Within six months of the first
contact, the two pilot batches of new JooMo®
The iPRD has also used the funding to create a face wash were ready. This allowed the
company to test the product with their target
lab with full scale up facilities.
market – teenagers – and the media.
“Most university labs have one litre, or at most,
In addition, the iPRD gave JooMo® a new
five litre reactors, but our facilities are at the
‘recipe’ for their product, detailing the
same scale you’ll find in a typical industrial
manufacturing specification and procedures,
R&D lab facility,” says the iPRD’s Professor
ready to take to a commercial company for
Steve Marsden. “If a process can be scaled
large scale production. The face wash was
up to 20 litres, it can be made to work at
due to be officially launched as Impact went to
commercial manufacturing scale. This means
our facilities are ideal for piloting test batches in print.
preparation for full commercial production, but
also for final manufacture where 20 litres may
be all that’s required.”
Although the work with JooMo® is a great
example of how the institute can practically
help small businesses, it’s only part of the
picture. iPRD members are equally at home
working with major corporations, carrying
out fundamental or applied research, doing
individual consultancy or leading major
European industrial and academic consortia.
Funding is as likely to come from the public
sector – including the EU, the Technology
Strategy Board or UK research councils – as it
is from the private.
Set up in 2008, the institute was the brainchild
of Professor Blacker, who, during his many
years in the pharmaceutical industry, had been
frustrated by the amount of commerciallyfunded research that never made it out of
academia. His vision was for a research
institute which would bridge the gap between
academic proof of concept and a practical
application in the commercial world.
Although the iPRD assumed most of its work
would be with the pharmaceutical industry,
it has in fact been far broader. Projects
have covered recycled building materials,
photovoltaics, personal care products like the
JooMo® facewash and mineral processing.
In addition to batch processes, the iPRD is also
developing expertise in continous processing,
which is still fairly new in the chemical
industries. As it involves small reaction
volumes, continuous processing can reduce
potential hazards and offer more control,
dramatically reducing the impact of something
going wrong.
‘‘
‘‘
The iPRD were really methodical,
anticipating potential problems in
advance and working them through
with us. We couldn’t have asked for
more.
Nick Wallen, JooMo
18
The expertise we have at the iPRD
can provide the precompetitive
innovation which otherwise these
industries would struggle to finance.
We can provide the extra space
to allow companies to ask that
important question: ‘what if?’.
Professor Steve Marsden, iPRD
Process perfect
“In continuous processing mixing and
temperature are much better controlled,
allowing one to safely run processes that cannot
be run in batch equipment.” explains Professor
Muller. “We’ve also been looking at how to
integrate the ‘work up’ phase, where products
are purified and turned into the required form,
into the continuous process.”
Innovations like these are becoming
increasingly important, according to Professor
Marsden. The pharmaceutical, agrochemical
and fine chemical industries are one of the
UK’s remaining manufacturing success stories,
but if they are to continue to thrive, they need
to adapt and change.
“These industries are under continuing
pressure to reduce their environmental
footprint and adhere to new regulations and
this means looking at new ways to process and
manufacture their products,” he says. “But
in the current financial climate, they are also
retrenching R&D facilitites to focus only on
getting new products through to market. The
expertise we have at the iPRD can provide the
precompetitive innovation which otherwise
these industries would struggle to finance.
We can provide the extra space to allow
companies to ask that important question:
‘what if’?”
For more information on iPRD visit
www.iprd.leeds.ac.uk
For more information on JooMo® Ltd visit
www.JooMo.coop
EXPERTISE WITHIN THE iPRD
INCLUDES:
• Chemical synthesis
• Catalysis
• Particle science and processing at
different scales
• Reaction and reactor engineering, micro
fluidics and multi-phase systems, design
and testing of reactors and separation
• Formulation
• Multi-scale modelling
• On-line measurement and process
control
• Process integration & optimisation
40
Since 2008, the iPRD has worked with
over 40 companies on more than 30
projects including:
• Agrochemicals
• Construction
• Dyes & pigments (inkjet applications)
• Personal care
• Mineral processing
• Fine and speciality chemicals
• Pharmaceuticals
• Waste treatment
• Solar energy
• Renewable/sustainable materials
• Scientific instrumentation
t iPRD facilities and expertise have been
applied to a range of collaborative projects,
from facewash to photovoltaics.
19
Impact 7
A team led by University of Leeds
sedimentologist Professor Jeff Peakall were
commissioned by Speedo’s global research
and development facility, Aqualab, to develop
a methodology using lasers and flume tanks
contained in a giant black box to accurately
measure the speed of fabric through water.
Professor Peakall and colleagues Professor
Dan Parsons (now at the University of Hull),
Dr Gareth Keevil and Russ Dixon, spent 18
months testing levels of “fabric drag” - the
measure of how efficiently fabric moves through
water, in order to develop the suit, which is part
of Speedo’s Fastskin® Racing System collection
of products.
The project saw Professor Peakall and
Professor Parsons work in conjunction with
Aqualab, with elite level athletes and coaches,
sports scientists, global hydrodynamics experts
and optical engineers around the world also
contributing to engineer a world first for the
sport of swimming which sees caps, goggles
and suits work together to form one cohesive
Racing System.
Professor Peakall said: “We’re really excited
because I think we’ve found out that some
of the materials are appreciably faster than
anything we’ve seen before, and I’m absolutely
confident that this is going to be of great benefit
to competitive swimmers.”
The scientists used a powerful recirculating
flume to move a large body of water through
about 50 fabric samples to simulate the speed
of an internationally competitive swimmer.
At the same time, they operated a laser
machine - similar to a police speed trap - to
measure hundreds of velocity points around
each piece of fabric, to detect how the water
flow changed over the material.
ABOUT SPEEDO®
The world’s leading swimwear brand,
Speedo® is passionate about life in and
around the water, creating revolutionary
new technologies, designs and innovations
and supporting swimming from grassroots through to elite level, including the
phenomenal Michael Phelps. In the 1920s
Speedo® made history with the Racerback:
the world’s first non-wool suit. In 2008
Speedo® redefined swimwear again with
Fastskin® LZR RACER® - the fastest and
most technologically advanced swimsuit ever
created. 2011 saw Speedo® unveil another
world first with the Fastskin Racing System®
- a cap, goggle and suit designed to work
together as one.
20
Uni
Professor Peakall said: “The interaction of
water with a material is surprisingly complex
and ideally you want water to move over it
as smoothly as possible, rather than in a
chaotic manner where the water is mixing and
generating lots of swirls in the flow.”
Computer Generated Imagery (CGI), the same
3D scanning technology used in Hollywood
films, was then used by Speedo to test how the
fabrics behaved when worn by people.
The scientists also examined how fabric
changes over time in order to identify a material
that has low fabric drag even after a long period
in the water - key for longer distance swimmers.
The team tested the fabric at the University of
Leeds’ Sorby Environmental Fluid Dynamics
Laboratory, the national centre for research into
environmental fluid dynamics.
Professor Jeff Peakall is a Reader in Process
Sedimentology at the School of Earth and
Environment. He specialises in research
into fluids and particles in the deep sea with
relevance to oil companies and nuclear waste
management. He recently won an Institute of
Chemical Engineering award for his work with
Sellafield Ltd.
The School of Earth and Environment (SEE)
was ranked second nationally in terms of
research power in earth and environmental
sciences in the 2008 Research Assessment
Exercise. The school is at the forefront in
tackling global issues such as climate change,
energy, water and sustainable development. Its
research is organised across four institutes and
two national research centres.
www.see.leeds.ac.uk
Speedo® is owned by Speedo Holdings B.V and
distributed in over 170 countries around the
world; to find out more visit
www.speedo.com
SPEEDO, the ARROW device, FASTSKIN,
AQUALAB and LZR RACER are registered
trademarks of Speedo Holdings B.V. Racing
System is a trademark of Speedo Holdings B.V.
The LZR RACER suit has worldwide design
rights and patents. The FASTSKIN3 cap, goggle
and suit has worldwide design rights and
patents pending.
Flumes and lasers test elite sportswear
FLUMES
AND LASERS
TEST ELITE
SPORTWEAR
Fabric used to make the pioneering Speedo® Fastskin3 Super Elite
Swimsuit was tested by Leeds researchers who simulated conditions close
to those experienced by elite swimmers.
21
21
Impact 7
University of Leeds
r University of Leeds Alumni and
Team GB Triathlon medal hopes
Alistair and Jonny Brownlee.
CELEBRATING
THE GAMES
As excitement continues to build, final preparations are underway for
the greatest sporting event in the world. Thirteen of the University’s
alumni and current students will be competing across a variety of events
including Athletics, Rowing, Water Polo, Weightlifting and Hockey.
Medal hopes include Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee, both taking part in
the Triathlon and swimmer Claire Cashmore.
At Leeds, our activities provide support to potential Olympians as well as opportunities for staff
and students to get involved. The University’s Olympic Programme brings together partners in
the city and region to maximise opportunities related to London hosting the 2012 Olympic &
Paralympic Games. The University is also using the Games to help establish and strengthen
sustainable international relationships with world class partners.
13
65
of the University’s alumni and current students
will be competing across a variety of events.
University of Leeds students volunteers are
being recruited by Leeds City Council to
help Chinese athletes and officials during the
training camp. The majority of those will be
either native Mandarin speakers or Chinese
Studies students with excellent Mandarin
speaking skills.
22
Celebrating the Games
The University has put together a comprehensive
programme of events celebrating the Games, as well
as students and alumni who are competing and the
Chinese and Canadian training camps based in Leeds:
The BBC’s Chinese Service filmed a bilingual
show China in Leeds at the University’s
Refectory in February, celebrating Chinese New
Year and China’s training camp. The show was
co-hosted by third year Chinese Studies student
Marie Tulloch and watched by a live audience
of 500 people (including former Olympic diver
Li Na – a graduate of the University and
supporter of the training camp) and streamed
to millions of online viewers.
From January-March 2012 the University held
a series of Olympic-themed lectures, hosted by
such sporting stars as Kriss Akabusi and Leeds
Alumnus and Paralympic swimmer, Claire
Cashmore.
University of Leeds students designed an
Olympic Countdown Clock, which resides in
The Edge Sports Centre. The design of the
clock is based on the Olympic logo and the
Union Jack flag. Once the Olympic countdown
has finished, the clock will revert back to real
time and will stand as a permanent memento of
the University’s involvement in the Games.
One hundred and fifty volunteers are being
recruited by Leeds City Council to help Chinese
athletes and officials during the training camp
– of which, 65 will be University of Leeds
students. The majority of those will be either
native Mandarin speakers or Chinese Studies
students with excellent Mandarin speaking
skills. They will be involved in many aspects of
the camp, including acting as team attachés
and training camp hosts.
The University’s Leeds for Life Foundation is
part-funding several students chosen by UK
Olympic and Paralympic officials to have official
“Gamesmakers” volunteer roles in London,
including assisting athletes and performing at
the opening and closing ceremonies.
The University set up a pop-up ‘Olympics’
athletics track outside Leeds University
Union for the community. Vice Chancellor
Professor Michael Arthur took part, racing
on the temporary 75m track alongside local
schoolchildren, as did two of the University’s
designated Olympic torchbearers. Pupils were
also given the chance to try out other events
including volleyball and long jump. Staff and
students at the University were invited to join
in during the afternoon ‘Give-it-a-go’ session as
part of Healthy Week.
23
Impact 7
CHINA COMES TO LEEDS
Leading Chinese athletes from eight sports will
be based in Leeds in July and August to train
for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Working
in partnership with Leeds City Council, the
University is taking a leading role in hosting
these very special guests.
Approximately 220 athletes, coaches and
support staff will stay in the University’s Storm
Jameson Court accommodation from early
July, as the China teams complete their final
preparations before competing in London.
Teams staying in Leeds are table tennis;
taekwondo; fencing; swimming; track and field;
boxing; and women’s field hockey. Three teams
will train on campus at The Edge: table tennis,
taekwondo and fencing, and the remaining
teams will train in the wider Leeds city region.
The University has created a training
environment which replicates the Olympic
experience as closely as possible; all equipment
is the same brand or nearly identical to that
used during the Olympics. In addition, the
University has worked closely with the Chinese
Olympic Committee to develop menus to suit all
athletes, provide the correct nutritional mix and
help them acclimatise to life in the UK.
The most highprofile among the Chinese
athletes coming to the University will be
their table tennis stars, who enjoy near-total
dominance over the rest of the world. Such
is their stranglehold at the top of the sport
that China currently boasts the leading five
players in both the men’s and women’s world
rankings, while they have also swept the board
by winning every available title at the individual
World Table Tennis Championships since 2003.
24
University of Leeds
CHINESE CONNECTIONS
Department of East Asian Studies:
Chinese Studies
Chinese Studies is home to world-class
research. When it was established in 1963 it
was the UK’s first, and for many years only,
university department to focus on modern
China. Since then it has gone from strength
to strength, maintaining a dynamic scholarly
community.
Brotherton Library Special Collections:
The University of Leeds’s Special Collections
holds one of the UK’s most outstanding
collections of rare books and manuscripts. The
Chinese collection in the Brotherton Library
includes books and periodicals dating from
1677 through to the present day. The collection
covers many aspects of Chinese language
and culture, and the works are principally in
Chinese. Earlier books deal with such subjects
as Chinese philosophy and ethics.
Global Community at the University of Leeds
The Global Community organises events
celebrating the University’s cultural diversity.
There are thousands of international students
from all over the world on campus, including a
large and active Chinese community of around
1,000 Chinese students and 100 Chinese staff.
220
Approximately 220 athletes, coaches and
support staff will stay in the University’s
Storm Jameson Court accommodation from
early July, as the China teams complete
their final preparations before competing in
London.
1,000
There are thousands of international students
from all over the world on campus, including
a large and active Chinese community of
around 1000 Chinese students and 100
Chinese staff.
‘‘
Celebrating the Games
CANADIAN WHEELCHAIR RUGBY TEAM
In August the University will again welcome the
Canadian
Wheelchairis
Rugby
teamexample
for their preThis
partnership
a great
of
Parlaympic
Games training
camp. with the
what
we wanted
to achieve
Pre-Games Training Camp process.
The 17-strong team, including members of
China
will have use of some fantastic
the side made famous in Academy Award
facilities
in turn Leeds
has the
nominated and
film Murderball,
is amongst
honour
of
hosting
one
of
the
world’s
the frontrunners to win gold at this year’s
best
sporting
nations.
Paralympic
Games.
The team were in Leeds for
a six day stay in April, involving high-intensity
Sebastian
Coe, Chair
of the London
training sessions,
regulated
recoveryOrganising
periods
Committee
the Olympic
Games
(LOCOG)
and strictly of
controlled
meals
to prepare
the
team for tournament competition.
The returning team will hold an identical
training camp before the serious business of
London 2012 begins. Having taken bronze at
Beijing 2008, losing to Australia by just one
point in a gripping semi-final, the squad are
hungrier than ever to claim gold.
1
Andy Van Neutegem, Canadian High
Performance Director, said: “This is an
important time for our athletes to prime
themselves for the intensity of competition in
September, and the University of Leeds has
provided us with the perfect atmosphere to
make our team as successful as it can be.
We look forward to returning for our final
preparations for London 2012.”
2
5
3
6
4
7
To find out more about the University’s Olympic
programme please visit:
www.leeds.ac.uk/celebratingthegames
1. World number 1 and current holder of the singles
World Cup and World Championship titles Zhang
Jike in training at The Edge, the University’s sports
complex. This is his first Olympic Games and
expectations are high.
2. The Chinese Olympic Committee met with
Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Arthur and
representatives from Leeds City Council and Leeds
Metropolitan University to cement the relationship
between Leeds and the COC.
3. Triple Olympic medalist Kriss Akabusi MBE gave
a lecture at the University about his life and career
as part of the Celebrating the Games free lecture
series.
4. Former world champion and Olympic medalist
Steve Cram was another popular guest speaker at
the University.
5. Canada’s wheelchair rugby team have held two
training camps at the University and they will return
in August ahead of the start of the Paralympic
Games.
6. University of Leeds Gamesmakers pictured with
double Olympic champion Lord Sebastian Coe.
Lord Coe was also Chairman of the London 2012
bid company.
7. Student Gamesmakers from the University
of Leeds and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Student
Education Professor Viv Jones. Pictured on campus
at The Edge, in front of the Olympics Countdown
clock - designed by students from the School of
Mechanical Engineering.
25
Impact 7
FILLING
Many people put off the
recommended twice-yearly dental
inspection in case it reveals a
problem requiring injections and
fillings. But this attitude could be
set to change, thanks to technology
developed by researchers at the
University of Leeds.
WITHOUT
DRILLING
26
University of Leeds
Filling without drilling
Dubbed ‘filling without drilling’, this new
regenerative therapy for treatment of early
enamel decay has developed out of multidisciplinary research. It will enable dentists to
heal the dental tissue at the first signs of caries
(decay) by painting on a peptide solution,
eliminating the need to drill and fill the tooth.
Professor Jennifer Kirkham, Professor of
Oral Biology, Leeds Dental Institute, and Dr
Amalia Aggeli, Senior Lecturer, Department
of Chemistry, are behind the new technology.
Over several years, the pair collaborated using
knowledge about the way in which mineralised
tissues form, combined with an understanding
of the drivers behind peptide self-assembly,
to address clinical challenges in mineralised
tissue repair and regeneration.
Dental decay is one of the most common of all
diseases, affecting one in ten of the population
of the western world, yet the principles of
treatment for dental decay have remained
unchanged for almost a century. When the
earliest sign of tooth decay – known as the
‘white spot’ lesion – is found on the tooth
surface, the conventional treatment process is
to first monitor the progress of the lesion then,
if necessary, excavate by drilling the area to
create a cavity to accommodate a restorative
filling.
“It’s the drilling process – the noise, sensation,
pain and recovery time – that’s feared by
some patients, deterring them from visiting
the dentist and reducing the chance of early
decay diagnosis and treatment,” says Professor
Kirkham.
The technology provides a simple and costeffective alternative to current treatments. It
also allows the dentist to ‘heal’ rather than
‘repair’ dental decay, meaning that the patient
receives a pain-free treatment that regenerates
the natural tooth tissue. The application of
the self-assembling peptides is an aqueous
solution that is painted onto the tooth surface.
The solution infiltrates the lesion’s micropores,
where the local environment within the lesion
triggers the peptide self-assembly mechanism.
This leads to the formation of a bioactive
scaffold which encourages natural repair and
recapitulates the normal enamel development
process.
In order to make this idea a reality, the ‘filling
without drilling’ technology was licensed to
Swiss spin-out company, credentis ag, in
2010. The company’s CEO, Dr Dominik Lysek,
is a chemist by training and has a PhD in
Biophysics. He was working in clinical research
for a biomaterials company in Switzerland
when he first came across Professor Kirkham’s
research. “I immediately saw the potential
for its application in dentistry,” he says. “The
concept had so many possibilities that I got in
touch with Jennifer to discuss how we could
work together to bring this research to market.”
credentis ag was formed in 2010 specifically
to commercialise the Leeds technology and
was recognised as being among the top Swiss
spin-outs in the ‘Die Besten Schweizer Spinouts
2011 Top 100’ ranking. The company now
employs four people and has recently opened
an office in Leeds, reflecting the continuing
close collaboration with the University.
Securing a 2.5 CHF million investment
(approximately £1.75m) in early 2011 enabled
the continued development of the technology
and meant that Dr Lysek could devote his
time solely to credentis ag and advancing the
product.
A more recent boost to the company has
come in the form of a further substantial
investment which will push the technology on
to the next stage. In May 2012, the EPSRCsupported Medical Technologies Innovation
and Knowledge Centre (IKC) at the
University of Leeds secured £1m
to support the project. Medical
Technologies IKC will assign a
Technology Innovation Manager to
ensure that development milestones
are met for the market delivery of
the commercial application for the
technology.
“Half of the investment comes from credentis
ag in terms of providing personnel to manage
the project and clinical trial materials to make
sure that the product, now called Curodont™,
can be brought to market,” says Dr Lysek. “We
plan to launch the product in Switzerland in
2013 and globally in 2014. Before that can
happen, we will consult with opinion leaders
in the dental health industry and carry out
more clinical trials to prove the efficacy of
Curodont™. The investment will permit us to
broaden the product range for the company
and expand the potential applications of the
technology.”
credentis ag is well aware of the importance
of managing the public perception of
Curodont™’s potential. “The technology does
not mean that people will visit their dentist less
often if Curodont™ is made readily available,”
explains Dr Lysek. “In fact, they need to make
sure that regular visits are maintained as the
early detection of caries is essential to the
effectiveness of the treatment. Teeth can be
regenerated by its use, but that is dependent
on timely screening. By removing the main
obstacle to dentist visits – fear of the drill –
more people will be encouraged to attend
their routine inspections and that’s a win-win
situation.”
Professor Kirkham, who has a self-confessed
fear of the dentist despite being an oral
biologist, agrees. “This research is a step
change in the treatment of early enamel
caries,” she says. “The initial ‘first in man’
trials have been completed successfully and
Curodont™ has received a CE-label for use by
clinicians in Europe. The new funding enables
us – the University of Leeds and credentis
ag – to develop more products, with potential
applications in the treatment of root caries,
dental erosion and hypersensitivity.”
£1M
In May 2012, the EPSRC-supported Medical
Technologies Innovation and Knowledge
Centre (IKC) at the University of Leeds
secured £1m to support the project.
t Leeds researchers Dr Amalia Aggeli (left)
and Professor Jennifer Kirkham (right)
are behind the new technology.
27
27
Impact 7
University of Leeds
r Exciting times: Professor Raymond Kwan
of the School of Computing at the University
of Leeds and Tracsis.
Leeds spin-out company Tracsis has been profitable since it was set up
in 2004 and now, just eight years on, has a projected turnover of £7m.
The key to its success? – having the solution to an otherwise intractable
problem in its target sector and, of course, excellent timing. r
ON TIME AND
ON TRACK
28
29
Impact 7
Timing is central to Tracsis. Spun out from
research in the University’s School of
Computing, the company went to market with
a software package that could enable train
operating companies to plan work schedules
for their crews and drivers, ensuring (as far as
possible) they and their trains would be at the
right place at the right time.
It sounds a straightforward problem – but it
isn’t. Crew scheduling needs to take account
of multiple issues, such as working hours,
allotted breaks, health and safety issues, union
agreements – to name but a few.
The UK has one of the densest rail networks
in the world and one of the busiest in Europe.
If a crew isn’t on hand to start their shift or a
driver has no time to get across platforms and
start the train’s engine before departure time,
the knock on delays across the network can be
devastating.
Train crew scheduling has traditionally been
done manually – it still is called ‘diagramming’,
based on its history as, literally, a diagram on a
sheet of paper. The result has generally been
inefficient schedules with staff costs up to 10
percent higher when companies got it wrong
and were forced to bring in extra people to
cover the gaps.
Researchers at the University’s School of
Computing had long been working on software
to schedule crews efficiently – but mainly
for bus operators where travel distances are
shorter, working practices simpler and skill sets
required on crews less stringent. Applying this
to the train network was incredibly difficult, but
seen as critical to ensuring an efficient and
cost-effective UK rail service.
With funding from the Engineering and
Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC),
Dr Raymond Kwan and his colleagues in
Computing had been working on a number
of research projects since the 1990s, looking
specifically at train crew scheduling. One of the
major steps forward came when heuristics was
combined with the traditional mathematical
approach that worked for simpler schedules.
“Maths can solve problems up to a certain size,
but the crew scheduling for trains was just too
large,” explains Dr Kwan. “Heuristics allows you
to derive a set of compacted instances from the
problem, which the maths can then handle so
you can get a result.”
The addition of heuristics made the algorithms
developed to date viable for use with the train
network. Again, the timing was excellent. As
Dr Kwan was developing the software into a
marketable product with the support of the
University’s technology transfer company,
Techtran, the UK rail network was privatised
and rail travel had begun the expansion which
continues today, creating a stronger and more
diverse market for the technology.
Tracsis was spun out in 2004 after the
software – now called TrainTRACS – gained its
first customer, ScotRail. Because the system
worked so well, the company was soon able to
sign up other rail operators, as Chief Executive
John McArthur, who joined Tracsis from
Techtran in 2005, recalls:
“The train operators were initially sceptical,
partly because there had been earlier
technology trialled in the industry that hadn’t
worked,” he says. “ But we would take away
their data, run it through the TrainTRACS
software and then come back in a few weeks
with a solution. People were soon convinced.
The challenge then was to turn that into sales.”
Tracsis have proved themselves successful at
that side of the business as well: the software
is now used by 14 of the 20 train operating
companies. It has also been used overseas,
for example to plan train timetables and
scheduling around the Rugby Union World
Cup in New Zealand. A growing market is
with companies bidding for the UK operating
franchises and the majority of these are due to
come up for re-tender in the next few years.
Dr Raymond Kwan: “Companies use our
software to demonstrate to the Department for
Transport that they have carefully thought about
the resources they need and that the promises
they make are realistic.
“To submit crew schedules at the bid stage
is optional, but many do the calculations for
their own purposes anyway and include it to
demonstrate robustness. What we’ve found
in the past is that if the winner has used
TrainTRACS to put together the bid, they’ll most
likely continue to use it if they win the contract.”
45
Tracsis now has 45 full-time staff and three
offices, two in Derby and one still in Leeds.
30
‘‘
On time and on track
Maths can solve problems up to a
certain size, but the crew scheduling
for trains was just too large,
heuristics allows you to derive a set
of compacted instances from the
problem, which the maths can then
handle so you can get a result.
Dr Raymond Kwan, School of Computing
Although the TrainTRACS software is still core
to the business, the company has come a long
way from its early start-up days. Its portfolio
also includes crew rostering software, and in
the last four years Tracsis has acquired four
more companies to help broaden the services
it offers. These now include consultancy,
passenger counting and diagnostics,
performance management tools and hardware
for remote monitoring of the tracks.
Dr Kwan continues as Tracsis’ Chief Technical
Officer, while retaining an academic role at
the University and is currently developing new
methods for optimising the use of rolling stock.
“When we first came to market eight years
ago, we were really a one-trick pony,” says
John McArthur. “Although we are now a fully
fledged and well balanced PLC, we still stay
true to our initial ethos. The work we do is very
much focused on real needs, identified by the
customer, and we only develop new products
on that basis.”
Tracsis now has 45 full-time staff and three
offices, two in Derby and one still in Leeds. And
for John McArthur, despite the distance Tracsis
has travelled, those roots are very important.
“We’ll always be a spin-out company, it’s our
history, it’s where we came from and we’re
very proud of that,” he says. “Lots of spin-outs,
once they grow beyond a certain size, lose their
links to their founding university, but for us the
connection is still very real, with the University
remaining a key shareholder. We’re proud to be
a Leeds success story and hope that one day, if
the University chooses to sell those shares, our
success will give them a good reward.”
70%
The software is now used by 14 of the 20
train operating companies. It has also been
used overseas, for example to plan train
timetables and scheduling around the Rugby
Union World Cup in New Zealand.
Impact 7
Material gains
x Research at NIRI is helping to shape the
agenda in nonwoven fabric engineering.
MATERIAL
GAINS
From blood filters to tea bags, University of Leeds spin-out company,
NIRI Ltd provides world-leading expertise in nonwoven fabric innovations
to companies and organisations across the globe. The company has
grown year on year since its formation in 2005, and there are exciting
times ahead.
The NIRI story begins with Professor Stephen
Russell, who, after joining the University in
the mid-1990s, looked to shape the research
agenda in nonwoven fabric engineering around
the needs of industry with a view to addressing
the key issues, questions and requirements
of the sector. It was at this time that greater
attention was focused on nonwovens and
engineered textile fabrics as an alternative to
more traditional woven and knitted textiles.
“The sector was growing, as increasingly
different industry sectors were calling for more
innovative, functional fabrics with which to
work,” says Professor Russell. “We worked
extremely hard to ensure our research was
directly relevant to a range of industry sectors
that require continual innovation – whether
that’s for improving product performance or to
improve quality, environmental sustainability or
cost-effectiveness.”
The range of sectors to which Professor Russell
refers is wide ranging. Nonwoven materials
are widely used in healthcare, for dressings
and incontinence products, as well as in
medical applications such as blood filters and
tissue scaffolds. On the other hand, they’re
also important to consumer and industrial
engineering markets including the automotive,
construction, cosmetics and filtration sectors.
It’s because of the breadth of these sectors,
and the opportunities they provided, that
Professor Russell believed there was a
commercial opportunity.
“We began forming collaborations with industry
partners, we were building up a strong portfolio
of intellectual property and a number of
companies were asking for our help to develop
new products,” explains Professor Russell.
“It was clear that companies really valued
our input, and we realised there would be an
opportunity for a spin-out company which
could combine specialist technical expertise
with commercial nous.”
And so the idea for NIRI (Nonwovens
Innovation & Research Institute) Ltd was born.
Professor Russell was clear from the outset
that the company needed strong commercial
leadership. “I felt it was important to work with
people who understood industrial product
development across different market sectors
and who had proven business and financial
acumen,” he says.
31
Impact 7
Having presented to the Yorkshire Association
of Business Angels, an organisation that
represents private investors in Yorkshire,
Professor Russell was put in touch with NIRI’s
now-MD, Chris Fowler, who ticked all the
boxes. With a background in working with
large global organisations such as Smith &
Nephew and Baxter Healthcare, Mr Fowler
was looking for a new challenge closer to his
home in York. “When I met Steve (Professor
Russell), I could see the potential of the
company he was proposing to set up,” says Mr
Fowler. “In addition, and equally importantly
we interacted very well personally and have
great complimentary skills.” Mr Fowler and
another business angel, Mike Rogers, who has
subsequently become NIRI’s Financial Director,
invested in the business during its start-up
phase.
The rest, as they say, is history. Since the
company was formed in 2005, it has gone from
strength to strength, and now employs 20 staff
and its latest financial year has seen turnover
of around £1m. Company profits are reinvested
each year to fund its growth and impressively,
more than 75 per cent of its business is repeat
business or recommendations from satisfied
customers.
NIRI has three main models of working.
The first is technical consultancy, where a
commercial partner requires an effective
solution to an issue or needs help in new
product development. At any one time, NIRI is
working on around 20 consultancy projects and
even provides an ‘embedded scientist’ service,
where a member of staff from NIRI will become
part of an organisation’s product development
team.
Joint ventures are now providing the company
with some exciting opportunities. “We identify
new product concepts with commercial
partners such as manufacturing companies
and work together to finance and develop the
idea subject to a joint development agreement,”
says Professor Russell.
32
University of Leeds
These ventures, which are jointly funded, have
the potential to eventually become separate
companies, vehicles that will be used to exploit
the jointly created intellectual property. “Longer
term, we’re looking to license this IP to large
global organisations that have the commercial
sector experience and infrastructure to apply
our novel technologies to different products
and gain rapid market penetration,” says Chris
Fowler.
For example, one such joint venture with
Edinburgh-based XeroShield has resulted in an
insecticide-free mosquito net which is effective
against chemical-resistant mosquitoes. Another
has resulted in a compression activated
liquid delivery composite material called
SurfaceSkinsTM, developed with Zelo Creative
to tackle the transmission of hospital acquired
infections. Integrated into door-plates, door
handles and to cover bedrails, SurfaceSkinsTM
delivers an antibacterial or viricidal liquid,
ensuring that the surface to which it is attached
is self-cleaning. Having already received the
thumbs up, in terms of demonstrating Proof of
Concept tested within a NHS lab, NIRI is now
consulting with commercialisation partners to
take these technologies to market.
Whilst these joint ventures provide their own
opportunities, so too does the IP generated
solely by the company. Probably the strongest
example of this is HydrospaceTM technology,
an economical method of adding additional
functionality to fabrics. HydrospaceTM fabrics
contain internal cavities injected with powders,
granules, waxes or gels that can be configured
to either store or deliver the contents in a
controlled manner. The patented technology is
already being commercially developed in blood
filters and protective body armour and NIRI
are now seeking licensees in the cosmetics,
femcare and baby product markets to name
but a few.
“Our HydrospaceTM technology could be
used in a broad range of sectors: from the
industrial sector through to healthcare and
onto the consumer goods sector,” says Chris
Fowler. “Hydrospace is ideal for many product
applications where increased functionality
would be beneficial. For example, delivering
pharmaceuticals within a wound dressing, or
increasing the thermal and acoustic properties
of building materials.”
‘‘
Further down the commercialisation pipeline is
RollastopTM a thin and flexible slash-proof fabric
being evaluated by retailers such as Co-op
and Superdrug to protect goods and property
without the need for metal shutters.
“Our core remit is to develop novel or
enhanced products and technologies which
have a positive impact and are commercially
viable.” says Chris Fowler. “ By working with
a commercial partner through a joint venture
or with our own IP we ensure that there is
important knowledge exchange throughout the
development process, which results in a more
market-ready product”.
Our HydrospaceTM technology could
be used in a broad range of sectors:
from the industrial sector through to
healthcare and onto the consumer
goods sector,” says Chris Fowler.
“Hydrospace is ideal for many
product applications where increased
functionality would be beneficial. For
example, delivering pharmaceuticals
within a wound dressing, or
increasing the thermal and acoustic
properties of building materials.
Chris Fowler, Managing Director, NIRI Ltd
Whilst clearly the technical development and
commercial health of NIRI is strong, what is
it that Chris Fowler and Professor Russell feel
makes it so? “Fundamentally, the company
blends strong scientific, marketing and financial
expertise in a highly specialised industrial
field. We’ve always been prepared to adapt
our strategy to accommodate the needs of the
industry.” says Professor Russell.
Additionally, being based at a University with
strong research in the fields of engineering,
chemistry, regenerative medicine, materials
science and biological science provides NIRI
with a pool of expertise it can draw on where
necessary. NIRI’s own team of technical and
project managers are selected carefully. “Many
of our staff have undertaken PhDs and then
worked in industry for several years, so they
have both the scientific knowledge, but also
a commercial perspective. That’s incredibly
valuable to us and to the companies we work
with,” says Professor Russell.
It’s clear from the outset that Professor Russell
and Chris Fowler are extremely enthusiastic
about NIRI and the work they do. “It’s always
been really important to me that my research
work addresses real-world problems and NIRI
provides the opportunity to make that happen
in a variety of different ways,” says Professor
Russell.
www.nonwovens-innovation.com
x Some of the real world technologies and
applications to emerge from NIRI’s work
include Rollastop and SurfaceSkins.
‘‘
Material gains
Our core remit is to develop novel or
enhanced products and technologies
which have a positive impact and
are commercially viable. By working
with a commercial partner through
a joint venture or with our own IP
we ensure that there is important
knowledge exchange throughout the
development process, which results in
a more market ready product.
Chris Fowler, Managing Director, NIRI Ltd
More than this, there’s a valuable element
of trust between NIRI and its clients.
“Confidentiality is of paramount importance
to us,” says Mr Fowler. “It’s important to us
that our clients know that the work we do for
them – which is often commercially sensitive
– remains confidential and we ensure that it
does. We believe that this has led to a high level
of trust between us and our partners and that’s
something we’re very careful to preserve.”
The next stage for the company is launching its
own products to market. In the pipeline are new
materials for food preservation – a fabric that
when incorporated within packaging prolongs
the life of salads and other perishables, and a
water-activated skin cleansing wipe based on
NIRI’s HydrospaceTM technology.
33
Impact 7
x Working in partnership:
L-R: Professor Nigel Lockett, Ayelet Melman,
Matthew Stanford and Kairen Skelley.
Image location (Admiral House, Rose Wharf,
Leeds) by kind permission of Jim Dyson, Caddick
Development Ltd. and Sanderson Weatherall LLP,
Managing Agent.
34
34
University of Leeds
Inspiring enterprising individuals, creating entrepreneurs
AND FOR THAT
REASON...I’M IN
Inspiring enterprising individuals, creating entrepreneurs
Ever since the first series of Dragon’s Den, interest in starting a business
has been visibly on the increase across the UK. The student population is
no different. Where once graduates expected to find work with a suitable
employer, today a greater number than ever before are thinking about
going it alone.
35
35
Impact 7
Inspiring enterprising individuals, creating entrepreneurs
This increase in interest in self-employment
and business start-up was recognised by the
University of Leeds a number of years ago,
prompting the growth of a well developed and
highly respected business start-up service,
SPARK, which is the first port of call for aspiring
entrepreneurs at the University.
“The advice we received after the 2011
Business Plan Competition was so
encouraging,” says third year Medicine
undergraduate Ayelet Melman, one of the four
students behind the company. “It was clear the
University believed we had an idea that could
become a reality.”
These student entrepreneurs come from
all over the University – no one faculty or
department stands out. Business start-up
expert and head of SPARK, Kairen Skelley,
says: “We see students and graduates from
all sorts of academic backgrounds – it’s
not just business studies students as many
people assume. Their business ideas are also
incredibly varied.”
The next step for the group was to apply for
one of the University’s pioneering Enterprise
Scholarships, which were first introduced in
2008. Funded by University of Leeds alumni,
these scholarships provide both financial and
practical support to students who are looking to
start their own businesses.
SPARK provides students and graduates with
a place where they can bring their ideas,
discuss them and gain valuable business
knowledge and skills. The service provides
one-to-one advice, a range of workshops and
assistance in business planning. “I may one
day be speaking to a student with the seed of
an idea and the next discussing a full business
plan,” says Kairen Skelley. “We can help at
every stage. Many students don’t have the
practical business knowledge – or enough of
it – to really drive their idea forward. Through
our workshops and one-to-one sessions we
can work with a student or graduate to really
develop the idea and the business plan, so they
can start their business with confidence.”
One such business is Wireless Medical Ltd,
winners of this year’s SPARK Business Plan
Competition, which provides £2000 to the
winning company for business development.
The Wireless Medical Ltd story starts back
in 2010, when four medical students were
put into a group to develop a business idea
to solve an unmet need in the NHS, through
a taught enterprise module called Social
Entrepreneurs in Medicine; Making Changes,
Being Enterprising. The quartet came up with
an idea for a wireless heart monitor and in
2011, entered the Business Plan Competition.
Although they came fourth, the experience
proved the catalyst for them to try and realise
the potential of their idea.
The Wireless Medical Ltd team, Scott
Murgatroyd, Matthew Stanford and Helen
Whitwood, along with Ayelet Melman, is now
working on a prototype of their device.
The team aims, once the prototype is fully
developed in the Summer of 2012, to look for
a licensee to carry out the necessary testing,
clinical trials and manufacture of the device.
“We hope that, within the next few years, our
device will be improving patient experience in
the NHS,” says Ayelet.
‘‘
Over the past four years we’ve seen
Part of the Scholarships programme of support a year on year increase in students
is a week-long business boot camp. The
and graduates coming to SPARK for
specialist support from individuals drawn from
assistance,” she says. “This has been
the professional services community, plus
matched by an increase in calls to find
inspiring talks from past students who’d ‘been
out more about our business start-up
there and done that’, provided the group with
enough knowledge and confidence to enter
facilities before prospective students
– and win – the 2012 Spark Business Plan
even apply to Leeds.
competition. “Kairen Skelley has given us so
much advice and we know that the professional Kairen Skelley, Business start-up expert and
services contacts that she’s put us in touch
head of SPARK
with can be trusted. If there’s any problem or
anything we need guidance on, the SPARK
team there to help – they’re friendly and the
The support provided by Leeds through its
resources they have access to are great,” says
Enterprise Scholarships, SPARK and the Leeds
Ayelet.
Enterprise Centre, which is a focal point for
enterprise education on campus, are providing
Dr Sarah Underwood, Director of Student
an additional draw to the University. Kairen
Education for the Leeds Enterprise Centre, who Skelley says the number of enquiries from
facilitates the module says: “The module we
individuals considering Leeds as their university
do for the second and third year medics is a
destination is on the increase at much the same
really good illustration of how entrepreneurship rate as the number of students on campus
can start in unexpected places. Ayelet and the
considering starting a business. “Over the past
Wireless Medical team are a great example of
four years we’ve seen a year on year increase in
students developing enterprise skills and using students and graduates coming to SPARK for
these to address real issues.”
assistance,” she says. “This has been matched
by an increase in calls to find out more about
Kairen Skelley and her team at SPARK have an our business start-up facilities before
extensive network of professionals from outside prospective students even apply to Leeds.”
http://www.careerweb.leeds.ac.uk
the University. “We believe it’s important for
students to learn from – and have exposure
to – people who are already in business,” says
Kairen. “And we also draw on our network to
provide specialist sessions in areas such as
finance, the law and marketing.”
LEEDS IS PROVIDING ENTERPRISE EDUCATION TO ALL ITS STUDENTS, FROM ENGINEERS THROUGH TO FINE ARTISTS…
The Leeds Enterprise Centre provides students
from all disciplines with the opportunity to
undertake taught modules aimed at raising
awareness of enterprise and developing
transferable skills.
“We’ve added five additional modules this
year,” says Professor Nigel Lockett, Chair of
Enterprise and Director of Leeds Enterprise
Centre. “Demand is rising for these modules
year on year. Whilst in part this is due to an
increased awareness of what the LEC offers, it
can also be attributed to a growing recognition
36
within our student community as to their value,
particularly in the current economic climate.”
enterprise, the role of enterprise in society and
volunteering.
All modules offered at the Leeds Enterprise
Centre provide credits towards an
undergraduate degree and their subjects are
wide ranging: from laying the foundations of
knowledge around social enterprise, innovation,
entrepreneurship and leadership through to
more practical modules which address social
networking, finance and corporate social
responsibility. There’s also a well-defined
provision of modules that address social
For some disciplines, the Leeds Enterprise
Centre provide shorter, more intensive
enterprise modules. A key example of this is the
two-week elective enterprise module for second
year medical students in which the founders of
Wireless Medical Ltd participated.
Impact 7
University of Leeds
RESEARCH INNOVATION
ENTERPRISE NEWS
UNIVERSITIES OFFER FREE ‘TECH CHECK’
TO BOOST LOCAL BUSINESS
PROFESSOR JOHN FISHER APPOINTED TO
BOARD OF MARKETING LEEDS
The aim of the ‘Tech Check’ scheme is to
provide a boost to small and medium sized
companies and the Yorkshire economy.
It is part of a major move to refocus and
provide strategic leadership to Marketing
Leeds as it moves forward with a broader role
to attract inward investment and tourism.
Nanofactory, a consortium of Yorkshire’s
leading universities, is offering local companies
free access to their expertise to help develop
new products or improve processes.
Nanofactory brings together scientists and
engineers from the universities of Leeds,
Bradford, Huddersfield, Sheffield, Sheffield
Hallam and York. Companies with technical
challenges are being offered Tech Checks to
give their products an edge through introducing
new technologies, such as nanotechnology.
New product development
Nanofactory Director Professor Simon Biggs,
who is based at the University of Leeds,
commented: “In the current economic climate,
many companies are looking to introduce new
products to remain competitive, especially
compared with foreign firms. We really want to
work in partnership with our local companies to
develop new R&D and to get new technologies
out of the region’s universities and into
production in our local companies.”
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor John Fisher
has been appointed a Non-Executive Director
of Marketing Leeds.
Professor Fisher is a world-leading researcher
in Medical Engineering. He is a Fellow of the
Royal Academy of Engineering and received
a CBE for services to Biomedical Engineering
in 2011. He leads the Institute for Medical
and Biological Engineering (iMBE), which was
recently awarded the Queen’s Anniversary
Prize.
LEEDS LAUNCHES ONLINE SOFTWARE
REPOSITORY
The University of Leeds Digital Technologies
Innovation Hub has launched an innovative
online software repository in a bid to maximise
the impact of the stream of innovative software
developed by the University’s researchers.
One of 14 new industry facing Hubs at the
University, the Digital Technologies Hub
encompasses leading research groups
working across several disciplines, all of whom
are involved in developing hardware and
software, either as products themselves, or as
enabling digital and electronic technologies for
other products or services. One of theHub’s
primary aims is to get research code out of the
laboratory and into companies or other end
users, to maximise impact.
A total of nine Non-Executive Directors have
been appointed, including Nigel Foster,
Director of Arup and University Council
member.
Hub researchers are constantly developing
new software applications and demonstrators.
Much of this software has now been made
available at no charge for non-commercial use
via the repository. In addition the repository
hosts demos of potentially commercial
They will join Chairman Andy Clarke, Deputy
software, which should appeal to potential
Chairman Roger Marsh and Chief Executive
partners looking to develop some of these
Lurene Joseph.
ideas for a particular market. The initial
The Board will oversee a series of programmes range of software online includes a novel
visualisation package for interacting with large
and initiatives as Marketing Leeds widens its
“In the last three years more than 60,000
focus to drive economic growth in the city and datasets, tools for viewing and processing
manufacturing jobs have been lost in
3D digital pathology slides and a simulation
Yorkshire”, continues Professor Biggs.“We want ensure Leeds achieves its ambition to be the
package for crystallisation processes.
to help companies develop new opportunities to best city in the UK.
www.marketingleeds.com
help rebuild the local economy.”
Lee Mason,Hub Manager said: “The software
repository is a fully browseable, searchable
About Nanofactory
The Nanofactory project is part-funded by a
store of both free and commercial software
£2.5m investment from the European Regional
which will help us achieve our aim of taking
Development Fund as part of the Yorkshire
research from laboratory to companies
and Humber ERDF Programme that is
and other end users in the most efficient
making substantial investments over the next
manner possible. We’ve already seen several
3 years to create jobs and increase business
successful collaborations, with companies
competitiveness in the region.
such as Perkin Elmer and Prozone, as well as
the NHS, and we’re confident that with critical
Find out more
mass of content the repository can encourage
Companies interested in taking a Tech Check
many more”.
should contact Sean Kelly at
[email protected]
Visit the software repository at
0113 343 2402
www.digital.leeds.ac.uk/software
www.nanofactory.org.uk
37
Impact 7
Fantastically detailed images of
human tissue samples produced
using techniques developed at
the University of Leeds are giving
researchers unprecedented insight
into how our bodies work.
The system, which has been called a “3D
microscope”, combines high resolution virtual
slide images and software designed at the
University of Leeds to produce high resolution,
3D images of samples. The images are multicoloured, and can be rotated and viewed from
any angle.
This new technology marks a step change in
the quality of imaging techniques available in
the field of histopathology – the study of tissue
in relation to disease. Although the field has
become increasingly digitised in recent years,
the images available until now have been low
resolution, 2D images, which are extremely
time consuming to prepare.
Developed by a cross-disciplinary team
involving experts in pathology and computer
graphics, the new technique will enable
researchers to understand more about the 3D
microscopic structure of diseases, such as
cancer, in the human body.
It could have applications in many different
areas of medicine, for example, it could show
a biologist the structure of developing organs,
or a liver specialist the damage caused by
hepatitis C, or a cancer researcher the vascular
structure of a tumour.
University of Leeds
To do a 3D analysis, users would have to
photograph hundreds of different 2D sections –
a time-consuming and expensive process.
Already researchers at the University of
Leeds and elsewhere are starting to put the
technology to the test in a range of different
research projects. Dr Ruth Wilcox, a Reader in
Bioengineering, and Dr. Nagitha Wijayathunga
in Leeds’ School of Mechanical Engineering,
have a particular interest in computational
modelling of the spine and using computational
methods to develop and analyse new clinical
treatments. They are using the technique
to study particular problems with spinal
discs. Using the 3D microscope they are
able to reconstruct sections of discs to better
understand the causes and possible treatments
of back pain.
“The software we have developed allows
batches of these slides to be scanned via
an automated system using our virtual slide
scanners. The images are then aligned
digitally to create virtual 3D blocks of tissue for
researchers to examine.”
Dr Derek Magee, from the University of Leeds’
School of Computing, developed the software.
“Having a 3D view can often make a real
difference,” he says. “For instance, if you
want to understand how a system of blood
vessels supplying a tumour connects up, you
really need to see that in 3D, not as a series of
separate 2D sections.”
A second collaborative project involves
Professor Neil Shephard, Consultant
Histopathologist at Gloucestershire Royal
Hospital, who is using the 3D pathology system
to study pre-cancerous polyps of the colon.
A key advantage of the system is the speed
at which samples can be scanned. Whereas,
previously, it could take many weeks to image
and reconstruct a series of several hundred
slides from a tissue sample, using the 3D
scanning technology this can be achieved in
just a couple of days, most of which time is
taken up by the computer aligning the huge
images.
This ability to scan samples in such high
resolution also gives the technique an
advantage over other types of scanning that
produce images in 3D, such as MRI or PET
scans. These techniques can show details such
as the position and spread of disease, but can’t
show the particular shape and structure of cells
at high resolution.
“As people start to use the system, more and
more research uses for it are emerging,” says
Dr Treanor. “We hope to continue to build
on this and we’re also investigating how the
software we have developed can be adapted
for use on a specialised high performance
computer, which will allow us to view these
images at much higher resolution. Additionally,
we’re looking at looking at whether the system
can be commercialised, to make it even more
widely available to researchers.”
‘‘
Developed by the team over more than four
years, the staff and equipment on the project
Having a 3D view can often make a
Lead researcher Darren Treanor, a consultant
have been funded by a number of bodies,
real difference. For instance, if you
pathologist based at Leeds Teaching Hospitals
including the National Cancer Research
want to understand how a system
Trust and Leeds Institute of Molecular
Institute Informatics Initiative, Leeds Teaching
of blood vessels supplying a tumour
Medicine, explains: “Understanding tissue in
Hospital Trust Research and Development
connects up, you really need to see
3D is valuable to many researchers, but the
Department, National Institute for Health
process of preparing pathological specimens
Research, West Yorkshire Comprehensive Local that in 3D, not as a series of separate
for 3D study is traditionally a laborious one:
Research Network, UK Department of Health,
2D sections.
tissue samples must be mounted onto slides for and was partially funded through WELMEC, a
photography with a microscope one at a time.
Centre of Excellence in Medical Engineering
Dr Derek Magee, School of Computing
funded by the Wellcome Trust and EPSRC.
t 3D Images include:
L: Mouse embryo segmentation
R: Colorectal carcinoma
38
r The new technique will enable researchers
to understand more about the 3D microscopic
structure of diseases.
SEEINGTHE
BIGPICTURE
University of Leeds
Leeds, United Kingdom
LS2 9JT
Tel. 0113 243 1751
www.leeds.ac.uk/impact