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A sustained joint research partnership with Biocompatibles UK Ltd has stimulated innovation underpinning the company's product development pipeline. Products include a family of soft contact lenses, enhanced medical device coatings, and novel treatments for liver cancer. Innovative enhancements, such as the unique non-biofouling nature of the company's ocular and cardiovascular devices and the practical utility of its drug eluting therapies for targeting liver malignancies, have delivered improved clinical performance and differentiated these products from those of competitors in the same markets. The company's continuing success in developing innovative medical technology products was recognised by the sale of Biocompatibles UK for £177m in 2011.
The University of Brighton's (UoB) research has reduced information misuse and decreased the threat of data and identity theft in Nokia Location and Commerce (L&C). Further impact has been to lower the risk of corporate liability and consumers' personal loss. UoB's innovative research in the creation of concept diagrams now underpins and provides rigour to Nokia L&C's privacy engineering processes. Consequently, they can now communicate complex information across diverse teams in an intuitive and accessible manner. Ultimately, the impact is on all customers and users of Nokia's L&C's services worldwide.
Research at the University of Manchester (UoM) has changed the landscape of medical care and research in fungal infections internationally. The impacts include: the world's first commercialised molecular diagnostic products for aspergillosis and Pneumocystis pneumonia (£10m investment); pivotal contributions to the preclinical development (£35m investment), clinical developments and registrations of 3 new antifungals with combined market share of ~$2 billion; one (voriconazole, 2012 sales >$750m worldwide) now first line therapy for invasive aspergillosis with improved survival of 15-20%; and internationally validated methods to detect azole resistance in Aspergillus (an emerging problem partly related to environmental spraying of azole fungicides for crop protection).
Our research led to the creation of Football4Peace (F4P), which is a vehicle for conflict resolution and peace building in divided societies. By challenging cultural prejudice F4P has transformed passive citizens into active ambassadors for peace. More than 8,000 children, 595 coaches and many community leaders have participated in F4P projects during the census period, generating political discourse in the community and in governments up to ministerial level. Innovative community relations research in the context of Northern Ireland's peace process led to the development of the F4P initiative. Subsequently it changed the policies of sporting organisations in Israel, Jordan, Palestine, Ireland, South Africa and South Korea.
The University of Brighton (UoB) has developed a new corpus-evidence-based approach to lexicography along with supporting tools and training resources. This approach has resulted in the development of a computational lexicography tool, the Sketch Engine, commercialised by Lexical Computing Ltd. The Sketch Engine has been adopted by four of the UK's five major dictionary publishers, national language institutes in nine European countries and over 100 universities, to support commercial dictionary production, language technology products and to enable language teaching. It has also been used to substantiate arguments in a pervasive debate about language use in the art world.
Since 2003, participatory action research in Brighton and Hove has identified the specific health and well-being needs of LGBT people in mental health, safety, housing, drugs and alcohol. The research changed local and national policy and reshaped services to reflect the diverse needs and experiences of LGBT communities. In the UK, the research influenced policy resulting in the first local LGBT housing strategy and the first suicide strategy in Brighton that centralises LGBT people. The research played a key role in ensuring the survival of the only LGBT mental health charity in the UK. Recommendations from the research have been adopted in the UK by the Department of Health, the UK Drug Policy Commission, the Cabinet Office and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission. The research has influenced policy developments in Australia through the National LGBTI Health Alliance and has been incorporated into a guide to GLBTI inclusive practice for health and human services in the state of Victoria.
Limitations in public access to water environments for recreation are a longstanding source of stakeholder conflict in which previous policy initiatives have been ineffective. Our research has demonstrated how recreational access to inland waters can be increased through stakeholder capacity building and partnership working. In England and Wales the research led to changes in policy decisions for access to water, revised planning policy guidance, improved recreational access, the creation of 102 new jobs, and the modification of management practices by private and public bodies. In Europe the research has shaped new approaches for the management of small waterways in 11 countries.
Researchers at the University of Brighton (UoB) have developed innovative low-cost solutions to pressing global disease problems. In Haiti, rapid deployment of new wastewater technology averted further human crisis when the 2010 earthquake exposed water resources to hospital wastewaters contaminated by the cholera pathogen. In Malawi, the re-design and improved management of rural wells have provided low-income communities with safer drinking water. In Europe, new methods have identified human faecal contamination of rivers and established viral removal rates in a wastewater reuse system, enabling two water companies and two national environmental agencies to meet international standards and protect public health.
Research at the University of Manchester (UoM) has, and continues to have, a direct impact on pharmacy policy and practice. From 1993, our work on the contribution of pharmacists to primary health care has helped improve patients' access to medicines and pharmacies. Our `Care@TheChemist' trial led to changes in the national pharmaceutical contract and now almost 5,000 pharmacies offer the service to several million primary care patients. Our skill mix research is used to inform regulatory control of pharmacies and our wider workforce research continues to inform national governments about how to forecast future requirements for pharmacist numbers.
15m people have a stroke each year worldwide. In England alone, stroke generates direct care costs of £3bn and a wider economic burden of £8bn. Service users report high levels of unmet need in relation to cognitive dysfunction (e.g. concentration). Improving cognition was the number one priority agreed by users and providers (James Lind Alliance, Lancet Neurology 2012). Research led by the University of Manchester (UoM) underpins recommendations in several recent clinical guidelines for stroke management and rehabilitation in the UK and internationally. Our 2012 aphasia trial and qualitative study made key contributions to the recommendations in the recent NICE (2013) and Intercollegiate Stroke Working Party (2012) guidelines. UoM-led Cochrane reviews (e.g., neglect, apraxia, perception) have directly influenced recommendations in guidelines produced by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, the European Stroke Organization and the Australian National Stroke Foundation.