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The UK infant formula market increased in value from 2005-2013 by 65% to £463m. The Unit's research, funded by the Food Standards Agency and the Department of Health, addressed the concerns of policy makers and breast feeding lobby groups that baby food manufacturers might be circumventing recently introduced restrictions on advertising infant formula (breast milk substitute) products in such a way as to undermine support for, and uptake of, breastfeeding. The research findings underpinned the recommendations on regulatory change made to government by an independent review panel established by the Minister of State for Public Health. Since the panel reported, manufacturers have addressed the issue by removing publicly accessible links to infant formula product information.
Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) are common, global diseases which cause considerable morbidity and mortality. Worldwide, around 235 million people suffer from asthma, while COPD accounts for 3 million, or 5% of all, global deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The relationship between inflammation and airway dysfunction is central to an understanding of their pathogenesis and treatment. The respiratory medicine group in the Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation has shown that optimal management of these conditions requires measurement of airway inflammation to stratify treatment regimes, an approach incorporated into national guidelines in 2012. In the late 1990s the group characterised a new clinical syndrome: `eosinophilic bronchitis', which is one of the commonest causes of chronic cough. The group's work has helped to launch a new class of drugs for asthma and to change the conceptual framework by which anti-inflammatory drugs for asthma are being developed.
Stroke is the third most common cause of death and single most important cause of adult disability in the UK, affecting over 150,000 individuals per annum and costing the economy approximately £8 billion annually in health, social and indirect care costs.
High blood pressure (BP) is the most common modifiable risk factor to prevent stroke, but the use of BP-lowering therapy in the acute phase of stroke is controversial. Clinical trials co-ordinated at the University of Leicester have confirmed the safety of continuation of pre-existing BP-lowering therapy in acute stroke and the de novo treatment of high blood pressure in acute intracerebral haemorrhage. This has resulted in changes to the most recent US (2013) and UK (2012) guidelines, which will significantly impact on clinical management of this common clinical problem in acute stroke.
Ongoing research by the University of Southampton has led to significant advances in the understanding of respiratory diseases, for which the dearth of available treatments had health repercussions on a global scale for many years. The formation of a spin-out company, Synairgen, has enabled the discovery and development of new therapeutics, the filing of several major patents in the UK, the US and Asia and external collaborations with industry and government funders. These continuing developments are key to tackling conditions that affect millions of sufferers in the UK alone and which, according to some estimates, cost the NHS £2.6bn every year. The research has given rise to more than £16m in follow-on funding from the NIHR and the MRC for further studies into the treatment of respiratory illnesses.
Research in Aston University on developing effective practices in teaching English to young learners (TEYL) has achieved the following key impacts:
A research project, embedded in the local community, unearthed multiple Iron Age treasures that have rewritten our understanding of the Iron Age to Roman transition in Britain. The discoveries directly inspired the South East Leicestershire Treasure project (SELT), which raised £934k funding (including 651K from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF)) for a major programme encompassing museum redevelopment, travelling exhibitions and a suite of learning resources. SELT initiatives have been enjoyed by over 270,000 members of the public, who through it have gained fascinating insights into our distant past. The find has also inspired a huge sense of community pride in a Leicestershire village and underlined the value of university involvement in local archaeology. The project was another important factor in the recent award of a Queen's Anniversary Prize.
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.
Effective, equitable natural resource management poses increasingly complex challenges for policymakers and local communities in the context of climate change, population growth and potentially conflicting agendas on biodiversity conservation, livelihoods and economic growth. Leicester research on socio-ecological, culturally appropriate approaches to environmental governance and sustainability has been integral to:
The National Institute for health Care Excellence (NICE) in England and Wales makes timely and equitable decisions regarding the use of health technologies (medical devices and pharmaceuticals) within the NHS in order to improve patient care. Such decisions are reliant on Health Technology Assessment (HTA) — the processes of evidence generation and synthesis, and the methods that underpin these. Methods pioneered and developed at Leicester over the last 15 years are now used routinely in HTA both by NICE and the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare consultancy companies who make submissions to NICE. Internationally, these methods are also now being adopted in the US by Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), as well as in rapidly developing countries such as Brazil and Colombia.
Electrical power companies are tasked with operating a highly reliable and robust power system. Electrical power outages (blackouts) have serious consequences for the companies concerned as well as society. The health of electrical insulating materials is critical for the reliability of these systems as it often determines equipment lifetime.
Leicester was the first to demonstrate experimentally that polymer based nanocomposite materials could increase the service life and reliability of electrical insulation as used in high voltage power transmission systems. Its research has also led to the development of measurement techniques to assess the health and the extent of thermal ageing of HV power cables.
National Grid has used Leicester's research findings to manage and monitor its electricity transmission equipment, with resulting impacts on its safety, efficiency and financial economy. Borealis, a major international supplier of insulating materials has used the research to solve manufacturing problems and to set up test facilities for medium voltage cables. A Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Alstom Grid has led to the the establishment of a £1M commercial size HVDC cable test facility which has attracted £0.5M investment from cable manufacturers worldwide.