Impact UK Location: Abingdon

REF impact found 10 Case Studies

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CS1 - Innovative chemistry reduces the environmental impact of mining and pharmaceutical manufacture

Summary of the impact

The technology in this impact study is based on organofunctionalised silica materials that can address market needs for high purity in compounds that underpin many areas of the pharma, electronic and medical sectors as well as the recovery of limited resources such as precious metals that are used in diverse industries. Since the launch of the product portfolio in 2006, the materials have become embedded in purification or recovery steps in commercial production processes of leading mining (South Africa), pharmaceutical (UK) and petrochemical (Germany) companies and make a significant impact on the business of these companies as well as limiting waste of limited resources.

Submitting Institution

Queen Mary, University of London

Unit of Assessment

Chemistry

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Chemical Sciences: Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Other Chemical Sciences

C2 - The BioLEDTM microanalysis technology: Molecular Vision Ltd

Summary of the impact

Molecular Vision Ltd ("MV"), which was spun-out of Imperial Innovations, develops simple-to-use, point-of-care diagnostic devices (known as the BioLED™ platform) that quickly produce lab-quality information from a single sample of bodily fluids. Since 2008 MV has validated the platform, including demonstration of its CardioplexTM triple test for myoglobin, CK-MB and troponin-I in a serum sample, and undertaken >£1.5M of contract work for a variety of customers including Acrongenomics Inc, Microfluidic ChipShop and L'Oreal; addressing analysis problems relating to kidney and cardiac health, pathogen identification and cosmetics. During the REF period the Company has generated a total of over £3.4m in investment, contract revenue and non-UK grant funding and created greater than 50 man years of UK employment, primarily at the PhD level. Abingdon Health Group acquired a majority stake in MV in 2012 as part of its strategy to create a fully integrated business in the UK that is able to compete in the large and global immunodiagnostics market.

Submitting Institution

Imperial College London

Unit of Assessment

Chemistry

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Physical Sciences: Other Physical Sciences
Chemical Sciences: Physical Chemistry (incl. Structural)
Engineering: Interdisciplinary Engineering

Developing Leadership in FE: the Practitioner Research Programme.

Summary of the impact

In response to the declining number of applicants for leadership posts in Further Education, David Collinson developed the Practitioner Research Programme. Funded by the UK Government's Learning and Skills Improvement Service, the programme offered FE leaders and managers the opportunity to produce research-informed answers to challenges they were facing in their own practice. Findings were developed into 88 practitioner research reports that were disseminated to every FE college in England and Wales and made available online. Research engagement enhanced knowledge and understanding of leadership issues, stimulating organisational change and improving the performance of individuals, teams and organisations. Key themes were presented at a national conference where outstanding projects received awards for the impact of research on their own FE organisation, the local community and leadership development. Findings were extensively cited in the `Independent Commission on Colleges in their Communities' report, and in the Foster Review of UK FE.

Submitting Institution

Lancaster University

Unit of Assessment

Business and Management Studies

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Education: Specialist Studies In Education
Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology

Glysure: a commercial clinical continuous glucose sensor

Summary of the impact

A commercial continuous glucose sensor/monitor that provides real time data has been developed by GlySure, a venture capital funded company founded on the basis of Bath chemistry. The sensor enables Tight Glycaemic Control (TGC) for control of glucose levels in patients in Intensive Care Units (ICUs), reducing severe hypoglycaemia, glycaemic variability and the nursing burden, maximising both patient and economic benefit. This has led to (i) £13.5M investment in the company GlySure Ltd directly for development of the system based on the Bath chemistry and (ii) successful results from full clinical trials of the device, involving more than 200 ICU patients, prior to CE approval and launch in the EU.

Submitting Institution

University of Bath

Unit of Assessment

Chemistry

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Chemical Sciences: Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry, Organic Chemistry
Biological Sciences: Biochemistry and Cell Biology

P9 - The BioLEDTM microanalysis technology (Molecular Vision Ltd)

Summary of the impact

Molecular Vision Ltd (MV), an Imperial Innovations spinout, has developed a low-cost technology for multiplexed analysis on bodily fluids. The BioLED™ platform rapidly delivers lab-quality information from a single-sample point-of-care diagnostic device. Since 2008 MV has validated the platform, including demonstration of its Cardioplex™ triple test for myoglobin, CK-MB and troponin-I in a serum sample, and undertaken > £1.5M of contract work for a variety of customers including Acrongenomics Inc, Microfluidic ChipShop and L'Oreal. A further £1.2M in non-UK and £2.6M in UK equity investment and > £660K in non-UK grant funding has been injected via MV into the UK economy during the REF period, securing > 50 person years' employment. MV is now a key component of the Abingdon Health Group's (AHG's) strategy to create a fully integrated UK business to compete in the multi-billion pound global immunodiagnostics market. Agreements with a leading European pharmaceutical company and a large multi-national chemical company, in both cases to co-develop point-of-care diagnostic tests in the UK, are now underway.

Submitting Institution

Imperial College London

Unit of Assessment

Physics

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Chemical Sciences: Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry (incl. Structural)
Engineering: Interdisciplinary Engineering

Efficient Development and Assessment of Extraction Strategies in the Petroleum Industry

Summary of the impact

This case study reports the development of a new approach to solving full field reservoir problems with inhomogeneous and anisotropic permeability and variable reservoir This comprehensive body of work arose from discussions between scientists at the Schlumberger Technology Centre, Abingdon, and the internationally recognised Nonlinear Waves group in the School of Mathematics, and has been supported under two contracts with Schlumberger Oilfield UK PLC through their Technology Centre in Abingdon UK. The work has provided Schlumberger with a fast, robust and efficient tool for the rapid assessment of optimisation problems relating to oil well location sites in new oil reservoirs, and has been implemented in their recently developed GREAT facility for reservoir estimation and analysis. Schlumberger PLC is an international company which plays a premier role in supplying the petrochemical industry with services such as seismic acquisition and processing, well testing and directional drilling, flow assurance and extraction strategy. The work described in this case study took place from 2007 to 2011, and involved D J Needham (University of Birmingham) and S Langdon (University of Reading).

Submitting Institution

University of Birmingham

Unit of Assessment

Mathematical Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Mathematical Sciences: Pure Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Numerical and Computational Mathematics

Global health impact and economic impact from the development of FreeliteĀ®

Summary of the impact

Research conducted by Professor Jo Bradwell at the University of Birmingham provided the basis of the commercially available diagnostic test Freelite®, which quantifies free immunoglobulin light chains in serum and was the first and only assay for the diagnosis and monitoring of Multiple Myeloma (MM). MM is a cancer of immunoglobulin producing plasma cells in the bone marrow. Freelite® has markedly improved the diagnosis and management of MM, is helpful in the diagnosis of all B cell lymphoid neoplasias and provides prognostic information for premalignant conditions present in over 3% of people over 50 years of age. Freelite was commercialised by the University of Birmingham spinout company, the Binding Site, which has achieved worldwide sales, with over 360,000 tests being sold per month in 90 countries and an ongoing 25% annual growth in sales. The company provides annual revenue of £55m and employment for 620 people in the UK and abroad. An improved second generation of tests has been developed by Professor Mark Drayson at the University of Birmingham, which has been commercialised by a second University spinout company Serascience, which started marketing a point of care free light chain diagnostic test worldwide in April 2013.

Submitting Institution

University of Birmingham

Unit of Assessment

Clinical Medicine

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Cardiorespiratory Medicine and Haematology, Immunology, Oncology and Carcinogenesis

Improving Foreign Language Teaching in England

Summary of the impact

Research by Macaro and collaborators since 1999 led to the distillation of eight principles regarding foreign language pedagogy, and to the development of video- and paper-based materials to support the application of these principles in teacher pedagogy and in teacher education programmes in England. The application in Schools and Higher Education Institutions was facilitated through an ESRC-funded impact project involving language teachers and teacher educators, and it was extended and sustained through the creation of practitioner clusters based on the research. Teachers report that changes have taken place in their modern languages departments following engagement with the research, with benefit to student learning; these changes have included much greater, and better quality, interaction in the foreign language, and a greater focus on processes and strategies in skills development. Teacher education programme providers have incorporated the research-based principles into their programmes, with impact on their student-teachers' practice.

Submitting Institution

University of Oxford

Unit of Assessment

Education

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Education: Curriculum and Pedagogy, Specialist Studies In Education
Language, Communication and Culture: Linguistics

Public Understanding of Jazz and Popular Music

Summary of the impact

Dr Alyn Shipton's research focuses on jazz and popular music in the twentieth century. As a scholar and broadcaster, Dr Shipton has a long record of communicating the results of his research to audiences considerably beyond academia, through his own regular appearances on BBC Radio, and his writing for the broadsheet press. His work has led to enhanced public awareness of significant (but hitherto neglected) figures in jazz and popular music, a greater understanding of the American recording and music publishing industries, and a reassessment of his subjects' work which has generated commercial outcomes and affected professional practice.

Submitting Institution

Royal Academy of Music

Unit of Assessment

Music, Drama, Dance and Performing Arts

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Creative Arts and Writing: Performing Arts and Creative Writing
Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies

1 Super-repellent surfaces by Plasmachemical techniques

Summary of the impact

Super-repellent surfaces created by plasmachemical techniques invented at Durham University have been exploited by P2i as the Ion-mask and Adiron brands and used to protect the surfaces of millions of products worldwide including: 3 million pairs of footwear (Timberland, Hi- Tec); 8 million mobile phones (Nokia, Motorola, Alcatel); 60% of the world's hearing aids (HLT, GN Resound); 55,000 feet of filter media (Porvair); and 100 million pipette tips (Eppendorf). This has earned P2i industry awards including the 2011 and 2012 International Business Award for "Most Innovative Company in Europe" and the "Global Business Excellence Award" 2012. The combined turnover of P2i since 2008 was ca. £20M, it received external investment of £31.75M and has created 115 new jobs. A DU IP-holding spin-out company, Surface Innovations, was purchased by P2i in 2010, and further applications of DU plasmachemical functionalization were commercialized by Dow Corning Plasma Solutions Ltd and exploited in-period.

Submitting Institution

University of Durham

Unit of Assessment

Chemistry

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Physical Sciences: Atomic, Molecular, Nuclear, Particle and Plasma Physics
Chemical Sciences: Physical Chemistry (incl. Structural)
Engineering: Materials Engineering

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