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The activities of the Organic Materials Innovation Centre (OMIC) at the University of Manchester generate impact from its research activities through knowledge transfer to industry. This is exemplified by:
Provision of research-based training in the field of printed electronics and sensors to over 250 people from 2008 onwards.
Research on ester liquids (ELs) has proved they can be used in high-voltage (HV) transformers, bringing economic and safety advantages to the power industry and environmental benefits to society. Impact includes revisions to National Grid's oil policy recommending ester-filled HV transformers for use in London and the design and operation of the first 132kV "green" transformer (valued between £1m and £2m). The research has led directly to the creation of two international standards for professionals in global power utilities specifying the use of ELs in transformers. These developments have contributed directly to Manchester SME M&I Materials increasing sales from £15m (2008) to £29m (2012).
The field of conceptual chemical process design as practiced industrially has been influenced significantly by the outputs from the Centre for Process Integration (CPI) at Manchester. Process Integration Ltd (PIL) was spun-out from Manchester and currently employs over 50 staff globally, who have conducted projects that have resulted in annual cost savings of hundreds of millions of US dollars. The application of CPI technology has led to significant reductions in both energy costs and emissions of greenhouse gases. Since 2008 ca. US$350m of savings have been realized through the exploitation of CPI technology with US$1.4m generated from software sales.
The lasting impact of Professor Prag's work on facial reconstruction is that it has become a vital tool for archaeologists, helping them to understand the past better. Facial reconstruction now plays a major role in many museum exhibitions around the world and the techniques developed in Manchester have increased public interest in past civilizations. An important aspect in the reconstruction process is the ability to work across disciplines to produce a complete picture. Manchester has pioneered this method of collaborative working with some ground-breaking results. The facial recognition methods established by Professor Prag continue to impact on archaeological and museum practices around the world to bring history truly to life.
The need to manage, analyse and interpret the volumes of data and literature generated by modern high-throughput biology has become a major barrier to progress. Research at the University of Manchester on interoperability and advanced interfaces has resulted in innovative software (Utopia Documents) that links biomedical data with scientific literature. The software has been adopted by international publishing houses (Portland Press, Elsevier, Springer, etc.), allowing them to explore new business models, and by pharmaceutical companies (e.g. AstraZeneca, Roche), providing new opportunities to explore more efficient, cost-effective methods for exploiting and sharing in-house data and knowledge. The research also led to a spin-out company, Lost Island Labs, in 2012, which expects a profit [text removed for publication] in its first year.
Novel vapour sorption experimental methods for the characterisation of complex particulate materials have been developed in the Department of Chemical Engineering. This research and expertise resulted in the creation of Surface Measurement Systems Limited (SMS), whose Dynamic Vapour Sorption (DVS) and Inverse Gas Chromatography (IGC) instruments are now found in >500 laboratories around the world. They are recognised standard research and development tools in the global pharmaceutical industry (DIN 66138). SMS has contributed >270 man-years of employment and generated £27M of turnover, whilst SMS instruments have generated over £300M of economic value, over the REF period.
Automation of genomic data analysis has become essential. High-throughput sequencing technologies are producing data faster than can be managed and interpreted, meaning that much biomedical information remains unused.
Research led by Attwood introduced a unique method for protein sequence characterisation and a derived database of diagnostic protein signatures (PRINTS). This led directly to the development of a new database (InterPro), now routinely used to annotate the world's largest protein sequence archive (UniProt), and complete genomes and metagenomes. The databases and their search tools have been exploited in the private sector (including SMEs and multi-national pharmaceutical and agrichemical companies), generating workflows that have yielded candidate drug targets and provided insights into disease mechanisms.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides measurements for quantitative, non-invasive, diagnostic, repeatable monitoring of disease. MRI biomarkers research at the University of Manchester (UoM) spans cancer, lung disease, neurology and more. Our research has produced methods that are widely used by the pharmaceutical industry for drug development decision-making (including ≥ seven AstraZeneca development molecules, plus other pharma), leading to economic benefit, and for healthcare impact (e.g., influencing diagnostic MRI tools introduced by Philips and creating new tools via spin-outs). The methods have been delivered in part via an award-winning UoM spin-out SME, Bioxydyn (incorporated 2009; 2012 turnover £630K; employing 12 staff).
Preziosi and his research group have taken a leading role in conducting biodiversity research in the Ecuadorian Amazon, working in collaboration with national and local governments and indigenous communities. It is critical to monitor and conserve biodiversity in the Ecuadorian Amazon and preserve this unique habitat for local, national and international benefit. Preziosi's research group have demonstrated that indigenous people can be trained to monitor biodiversity accurately. The impact of introducing these new skills to local people in the Payamino community is that they have been empowered to locally monitor and adaptively manage their own resources. By educating local people about the importance of biodiversity, Preziosi's research group have changed the behaviours and attitudes of the community, leading to reduced participation in environmentally harmful practices.
New methods to study the biophysical action of the human digestive system were developed in Nottingham using high speed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and have been used by: (i) the food and drug industry (Unilever, Proctor & Gamble, Mitsubishi Chemicals, Reckitt Benckiser, Glaxo and McNeil Pharmaceuticals) to develop new products; (ii) Plant Bioscience Limited (PBL) to develop an artificial Dynamic Gut Model (DGM) which is now being applied commercially to characterise drug and food ingestion; (iii) the BBC and other media agencies in programmes related to the promotion of better understanding of nutrition in an effort to combat obesity.