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Research by Professor Joost de Bruijn and team at QMUL from 2004 was critical to demonstrating the efficacy and commercial viability of a novel Instructive Bone Graft (IBG) product, AttraXTM. The technology, commercialised via the spin-out business Progentix Orthobiology BV (founded in 2007) was sufficiently mature by 2008 to attract series A investment of €1 million series A financing by BioGeneration Ventures. The development of AttraXTM has led to a trade sale totalling up to US$ 80 million to the global top 5 spine company NuVasive Inc. in 2009. In 2011 an exclusive distribution deal with a global top 3 dental company was signed for use of the technology in the field of dentistry and craniomaxillofacial surgery. After regulatory approval of AttraXTM in Europe (CE mark), the product was commercialised in 2011 and has been used successfully in more than eleven thousand patients (as of 2013Q3) with global reach (including EU, US, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil). Within 1 year of commercialisation, a 1.1% share of the estimated US$2 billion global spinal bone graft market has been achieved. This research has seen an economical benefit in terms of newly formed jobs from 2 FTE in 2008 to 25 FTE in 2013 at Progentix Orthobiology BV.
Directly inspired by the research of Rüdiger Görner, in the autumn of 2010 the Globe Theatre and the Goethe Institute in London staged a season of lectures, performances, readings and films entitled `Shakespeare is German'. This materially affected the cultural life of the capital, notably in the direction of 'conserving, preserving and presenting transnational cultural heritage'; it broadened the horizons of more than two thousand attendees; it had a resonance in the media which marked a clear shift in popular conceptions of Anglo-German cultural relations; and it continued to resonate in both countries long after the actual season finished.
Angela Gurnell's research on the geomorphology, hydrology and plant ecology of urban water courses has led to the development of important new tools for the biophysical assessment and improved management of urban rivers. Known as the Urban River Survey (URS), these tools are accessed by the Environment Agency and River Trusts across London, and their application is supported with workshops and guidance provided by Gurnell and her team. The URS has been used to deliver morphological quality indicators for rivers across London; to appraise river restoration schemes; to develop catchment management plans; and to assess long-term changes in rivers. It is currently being developed to quantify and set targets for river improvement schemes in relation to their impact on river ecosystem services. Gurnell's work has made a distinct contribution to urban river improvements in Britain and Europe, particularly through her leadership in developing a European framework for assessing hydromorphology.
Prof Hörnle's research into Online Dispute Resolution has had a clear impact in government policies and the drafting of legislation at international level (UNCITRAL, Organization of American States (OAS)), EU level and UK level. ODR is an extremely new field (only 10-12 years' old) and there is little expertise in the area among lawyers, government and other policymakers. The underpinning research in this case examines how cross-border commercial and consumer disputes can be solved using internet technology as an alternative to national courts. Building on existing research on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), the research examined how ADR can be applied specifically in an online context and has had a significant impact on legal practitioners, policy makers and governments. This is a new field of research, and the work has been used by the European Commission to draft the first European legislation on Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) and has informed the approach taken by policy-makers in the UK to implementing this legislation. It has also critically shaped the discussion of ODR in international, regional and national organisations.
Prof Alan Hildrew and his group have carried out research that supports and informs the UK Acid Water Monitoring Network, which was established by Defra to provide information about the effects of changes in emissions policy on freshwater ecosystems in the UK. The hypothesis-driven research on invertebrates and fish explains patterns of ecological recovery in freshwaters following reduced emissions and freshwater acidification. Hildrew's group revealed that biological communities have failed to fully recover following reductions in atmospheric SO2. These data and insights have: 1) supported organisations tasked with the management of UK freshwaters to meet commitments under the EU Water Framework Directive, 2) informed a range of national and international ecological surveillance programmes, and 3) influenced policy makers, being key to the argument that was made to tighten emissions legislation across the EU in 2012. This work has far-reaching impacts in assessing and amending EU legislation and, ultimately, in reducing air pollution and improving environmental quality.
Our research has established that Trimethylaminuria (TMAU) — a rare and distressing disorder where affected individuals excrete large amounts of odorous trimethylamine (TMA) in their breath, sweat and urine — is a genetic disorder, and is not, as previously thought, due to poor hygiene. This has transformed understanding in the medical community and the wider public of why some people have an extremely unpleasant `fishy' body odour, and has been crucial to helping individuals with TMAU who often suffer social isolation, rejection, depression and higher than normal suicide rates. The findings have led to genetic diagnosis and genetic counselling for TMAU in the UK, Europe, USA and Canada and the publication of guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of the disorder.
In 2005/06, Chittka's team evaluated the hazard of imported foreign bumblebees sold for commercial pollination in the UK and demonstrated a severe risk of them displacing native pollinators. The impact of this work for the UK environment is significant, since it resulted in a DEFRA policy review, mandatory licensing for using non-native pollinators by Natural England, and legal changes which place a fine of up £5,000 and/or 6 month custodial sentence for the uncontrolled use of such pollinators. As a result, all major commercial providers of pollinators now sell a UK native subspecies of bumblebee, Bombus terrestris audax.
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.
The spin-out company, Degrasense, has developed and protected intellectual property of technology capable of quantifying specific proteolytic enzymes through changes in electrochemical responses (impedance) at electrodes due to the enzymatic degradation of polymer coatings. The company has detected several specific proteases that are relevant to the monitoring and treatment of a number of conditions including: periodontal disease, multiple sclerosis, haemophilia and hypertension. The technology is currently being validated in a clinical trial as a point of care sensor for the detection of active periodontal disease. Point-of-care sensors provide immediate, low-cost test results in non-laboratory settings, offering a more patient-centred approach to healthcare and earlier detection of disease.
Professor Paul Heritage joined QMUL in 1996. His research over the last two decades has opened up new understandings of Brazil's transformative arts practices within the UK cultural sector. Through practice-based projects, his research continues to deepen and extend the understanding of innovative Brazilian arts practices in Britain. Heritage has forged new opportunities for UK arts practitioners to develop their work in Brazil and shaped new policy exchanges between ministerial/governmental and non-governmental organisations. His research engages with a diverse range of artists and cultural institutions, reaching over 50,000 people in the period since 2008 via performances/screenings/seminars/exhibitions/events. Through disseminating research into Brazilian culture policy and practices that have responded to extreme social crises, he has strengthened the British cultural sector's confidence in using art in the advancement of social development.