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King's College London (KCL), operating a state-of-the-art Drug Control Centre (DCC) in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), delivered the anti-doping analysis at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This operation, undertaken in their World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) accredited laboratories, was characterised by unprecedented scale, speed and accuracy. It succeeded in protecting the health of athletes and the integrity of the Games. KCL was chosen to undertake the 24/7 anti-doping operation based on its cutting-edge bio-analytical research in drug control. Although a number of athletes were disqualified in the pre-Games testing, the deterrent effect of the KCL work was evidenced by the few doping cases during the Games itself. Using the new biomarker test developed by the DCC at KCL in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Southampton, the team identified for the first time the administration of recombinant human growth hormone (hGH) in two athletes. The findings of the KCL-led operation are already being used to develop similar testing facilities for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and have opened up the science of drug-testing to schools through the "Scientists in Sport" initiative.
Biocatalysts provide unique activities that facilitate chemical transformations that are simply not possible using abiotic methods. Northumbria University researchers with expertise in enzymes and biocatalysis have provided biocatalysis services to the pharmaceutical, fine chemical, food and biofuels industries through our business facing innovation unit Nzomics. This has generated significant contract research, collaboration and licence agreements to companies, including the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline and the services-led company Almac. Biocatalysts produced as a result of Northumbria University research and technology transfer are sold worldwide and benefit business through their use in research and development activities, such as the production of intermediates in drug synthesis.
Mathematically-based image processing techniques developed at the University of Cambridge have helped bring about a revolution in the ability to extract quantitative measurements from laboratory experiments in fluids. Techniques and software tools developed from this research and incorporated into commercial software are now used in engineering, physics and mathematics research laboratories around the world on projects ranging from fundamental research to ones with strong industrial connections.
Knowledge of the three-dimensional structures of macromolecules is a prerequisite for understanding their function at the atomic level, an essential component of modern drug development. Most structures are determined by X-ray crystallography: the majority using molecular replacement (MR, which exploits known structures of related proteins), and about half of the remainder using single-wavelength anomalous diffraction (SAD). The Phaser crystallographic software, developed by Read and colleagues, implements powerful new likelihood-based methods for MR and SAD phasing and has made a large impact, accelerating over the period 2008-2013. At the pharma giant, AstraZeneca, Phaser is considered the "tool of choice" for solving structures by MR.
The Department of Chemistry at UCL has pioneered the use of Raman spectroscopy (RS) for the identification of pigments in and the in situ examination of objects that are of artistic, cultural, or historical importance. Until recently this was a relatively unknown and rarely used technique in heritage science. RS is now used regularly by conservators worldwide and has become an important analysis tool in museums and libraries including the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Collaboration between the British Library and UCL was highlighted by the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, helping to promote further collaboration between universities and museums. The use of RS in heritage science has also benefited manufacturers of RS equipment, and has led to enhanced understanding of the histories and care requirements of a wide range of artefacts.
Nu Instruments is a successful mass spectrometer company set up in collaboration with geochemists at the University of Oxford. This joint effort was initially based around the development of a new kind of mass spectrometer; the Nu Plasma. Subsequent research in the UoA demonstrated the capabilities of this instrument for analysis of a large range of isotope systems, leading to its widespread use in geochemical and industrial laboratories around the world. Research in the UoA also aided in creation of new products, further contributing to growth in sales. Nu Instruments have sold over 150 instruments worldwide since 2008, while their turnover grew from £5.2M to £14.7M, and their employee numbers more than doubled to 105.
We set up one of Britain's first online recording projects (www.harlequin-survey.org) to track the spread and study the effects of an invasive alien species (IAS), the harlequin ladybird. We used this as a model to develop a recording programme for other IAS (www.nonnativespecies.org/recording/). The main areas of impact are: (i) Informing conservation policy through collecting and analysing wildlife data (e.g. GB non-natives surveillance and monitoring system stemmed from our work; long-term trends data used to address Convention on Biological Diversity targets); (ii) Utilizing `citizen science' and (iii) Changing public attitudes to IAS (e.g. by engaging the public, changing the way that IAS are recorded; educating and training the public).
This case study outlines how research at Plymouth University in soil science has been extended to a new way of measuring and characterising porous solids and their pore fluids by generating realistic simulated three-dimensional void networks and is now being used across a wide range of industry sectors. The research has been pioneered, patented and marketed and is available to industry via the products Pore-CorTM and PoreXpertTM. The approach has impacted nationally and internationally across a range of sectors including energy companies such as EDF and paper production such as Hewlett Packard. It has improved efficiency and operations in industry such as in nuclear reactors and led to a University spin out company.
Research by Libby Sheldon into the history and technology of paints and pigments has benefited conservation specialists and art professionals based in both museums and the art trade. Using specialist scientific techniques to examine artists' paint materials, her research findings have made possible the accurate dating of Old Master and British paintings and have played a crucial role in their authentication and critical re-evaluation. Her analysis of works in important public as well as private collections has contributed to both professional and public understanding of our cultural heritage. Her research has enriched appreciation of technical art history for a large general audience through museum displays and programmes and through high-profile media appearances enhancing the understanding of how art is made from a technical and material perspective.
In 2008-2009 the UK was subject to legal infraction proceedings at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for allegedly failing to implement the European Union's Urban Waste-water Treatment Directive (UWWTD). Research by the Institute of Estuarine and Coastal Studies, Hull (IECS) for the Environment Agency (EA)/Defra provided evidence to the UK Government for its defence against these allegations. The research consisted of:
- literature/data reviews and collection and analysis of critical evidence from the Humber.
- co-ordinating workshops and convening an expert panel of sufficient authoritative academic opinion to counteract the European Court of Justice allegations.
In December 2009 the European Court of Justice ruled in favour of the UK. Our research therefore helped to save very significant, unnecessary capital investment in nutrient removal technology for sewage treatment nationally and in the Yorkshire and Humber region especially. The UK government thus avoided the possibility of major European Commission fines of up to €703,000 per day, or €256m per annum, for infraction of the Urban Water-water Treatment Directive [1].