February 2013 - Faculty of Health and Life Sciences - Oxford ...

FACULTY ANDRESEARCH UPDATEFaculty of Health & Life Sciences February 2013

Projects& more Postgraduate Symposium 3A Day in the Life of an Air Ambulance 42nd Oxford Functional Food Conference 5News in Brief 6Events 9Research & Consultancy Bids and Awards 11WelcomeWelcome to this edition of the newsletter celebrating some of thelatest staff and student activities and successes across the faculty.There are also events advertised that you might like to put in your diaries!To keep future editions interesting and relevant we need a constantsupply of news stories so please keep sending them to:fhls-news@brookes.ac.ukPlease do read on and enjoy!June Girvin, PVC DeanLinda King, Associate Dean,Research and Knowledge Exchange2 Research News

PostgraduateSymposiumDavid EvansWe have just come to theend of another excellentpostgraduate symposium.Talks and posters were to anexceptional standard onceagain and we were particularlyimpressed by the networkingand mixing of different areas ofthe Faculty, not only over lunchand coffee, but also in the oralsessions.Kim Wallis with Dr Ahmed Al-QahtaniAlistair Fitt welcomes the attendeesI am also delighted to say that the AhmedAl-Qahtani/ Nigel Groome awards resultedin a ‘double winner’; Melissa Prunty, whowon the oral presentation in 2011/12achieved best poster in 2012/13 and willtherefore be eligible for an all expensespaid visit to Saudi Arabia courtesy ofDr Al-Qahtani and his company SafranHigh Services. This has led to on-goingresearch collaborations for a previousdouble winner, Patrick Esser, who hasjust returned from a lecture visit to SaudiArabia.Some of the judges withLinda King and Nigel GroomeWe were also delighted to be joined (unexpectedly) at the end of the event by Prof NigelGroome, whose work generated the royalty income that funds many of our studentships.Prof Nigel Groome, Melissa Prunty, David Evansand Dr Ahmed Al-QahtaniMelissa Prunty, who won the oralpresentation in 2011/12 achievedbest poster in 2012/13 and willtherefore be eligible for an allexpenses paid visit to Saudi Arabiacourtesy of Dr Al-Qahtani and hiscompany Safran High Services.Award winners Kimberley Hill (above)Beatrice Bathe (below)March 2013 3

A Day in the Lifeof an Air AmbulanceBy Sam Willis, Senior Lecturer in Paramedic Emergency Careinform the pilot and to not assume that thepilot has seen it. Again, if a warning lightshows and the pilot doesn’t appear to haveresponded to it that I should speak up. Thisteam approach clearly addresses humanfactors and strengthens team working,reducing the possibility of nasty incidentsfrom occurring. At this point I was startingto miss the safety of my desk.We only received one call that day but evenso the patient we attended needed help.On arrival a paramedic crew was already onscene and it was a nice surprise to realisethat it was an ex Oxford Brookes Universitystudent.On arrival at the hospital, while handing overto hospital staff, I met another ex-OxfordBrookes university student paramedic aswell as a current student paramedic. Itwas great to see how our teaching hadtranspired into practice.The air ambulance is based at RAF Bensonin Oxfordshire and flies from dusk to dawn.It flies in most weathers, but during severeweather the HEMS crew respond to callsin the Landrover ambulance. The crewusually consists of 2 paramedics and aConsultant who has a speciality in traumaand emergency care. The emergency callsthey attend are of the most serious naturefor example major trauma, cardiac arrestsand drownings.On my observation day I arrived at the RAFbase in time for a 0700 start where I had tosign in and have my photo taken before Iwas even allowed onto the RAF base. I wasthen escorted to the air ambulance site bythe paramedic. The base also houses thepolice helicopter alongside the RAF.As this was my first visit to the site thefirst discussion that took place was aboutsafety. I was told about the procedure of4 Research NewsRachel Decaux (A/E Consultant), Andrew Colledge (Paramedic), Sam WillisOn Friday 14th December 2012 I was given an opportunity tojoin the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance for a shift onthe helicopter. During my career as a lecturer I have always hadan involvement with the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service(HEMS) in one way or the other, usually by taking students to visitthe helipad. This was the first time I was offered the chance towork with the HEMS crew as a paramedic.getting into and out of the helicopter andwas warned of the importance of followingthe rules closely. Even though I did need ahaircut I did not want one that close!I was immediately impressed by the waythe crew respected ‘human factors’ and‘crew resource management’. Theseterms have existed within aviation sincethe 1950s and have recently been taughtin paramedic programmes, including thedegree at Oxford Brookes. They relate tothe ways that humans interact with theirworking environment and recognise theeffects of a unique set of characteristicssuch as fatigue, stress and role conflicton paramedic performance. All of thesecan have life altering consequences for thepatient.The pre-flight safety brief also addressedhuman factors, and I was told that if duringthe flight I saw another aircraft, that I shouldDuring the quiet periods we had anopportunity to identify the equipment andprotocols that HEMS offers that routineambulances do not. For example they useimmobilisation equipment that is lighter andeasier to use, and the drugs they carry suchas Ketamine and other sedatory drugs thatcurrent paramedics don’t yet carry. We alsohad time to have a run through of a practiceimmobilisation on a training manikin.Overall the day was massively beneficialto my own development, not to mention apositive step for the University by promotingthe paramedic programme and increasingawareness of how the programme works,as well as offering an element of studentsupport. I was invited back to do an 0600shift on Saturday but I was craving sleep atthat point.

2 nd Food ConferenceOxford FunctionalThe Functional Food Centrehosted its 2nd InternationalFunctional Food Conference onthe 13th and 14th of November2012. After a successful 1stconference in 2010, it wasdecided to host this eventbiennially.The 2012 conference was jointly hosted forthe second time with the Richardson Centrefor Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals(University of Manitoba) and focussed onthe role of functional foods in helping totackle obesity, diabetes and inflammation.A distinguished assembly of speakers fromthe UK, Europe, USA and Canada includingour very own Dr Lisa Ryan presentedtheir latest research and insights. Theconference received an endorsement forContinuous Professional Development fromthe professional body, the Association forNutrition.The event was well attended and, thisyear, special rates for Oxford Brookesstudents and alumni were introduced. TheFaculty also sponsored 4 places in supportof colleagues’ personal development.Feedback scores from attendees wereexcellent with an average rating of 4.2out of a possible 5 for the speakerpresentations. The majority of respondentsalso rated the conference overall, theprogramme overall and the registrationprocess as excellent. Our Canadiancolleagues were very complimentary aboutthe whole experience.The plenary lecture on day 1 was givenby Dr. Malcolm Kendrick (author of ‘TheGreat Cholesterol Con’). Using his ownexperience of challenging the widelyaccepted belief that cholesterol causesheart disease, he set the scene bychallenging the assembled scientists toaccurately and clearly publish their resultseven when such results contradict currentthinking.Professor Jason Halford (University ofLiverpool and chair of the UK Associationfor the Study of Obesity) in his plenarylecture on day 2 highlighted the complexphysiological and psychological factorsin play in controlling human appetite andthe subsequent issues in research studieswhen trying to prove an effect.Professor Jason HalfordA wide ranging programme considered:• whether evidence currently exists that functional foods can positively impacton appetite and weight management;• the efficacy of natural ingredients in diabetes control;• the use of functional ingredients to modulate the metabolic syndrome (obesity,diabetes, cardiovascular disease etc.);• the role of cell culture models in assessing bioavailability and bioaccessibilityof food ingredients prior to complex and expensive human studies as apotential to improve the achievement of positive outcomes.The development of functional ingredientsand foods is a growth area from both aresearch and a commercial perspective.Taking an idea from concept to the finalproduct requires a great deal of investmentboth from a time and funding perspective.The benefits are only ever finally proven instudies involving human subjects.Different regulatory regimes worldwidehave the ability to either stifle or facilitatesuch innovation yet the evidence suggeststhat benefits at the individual, populationand economic level can be delivered. Thespeed of development will depend on manyeconomic and political factors. This leavesplenty of scope for the Functional FoodCentre to play a pivotal role.There were 2 poster sessions for thepresentation of new and novel research.The prize sponsored by Oxford BrookesUniversity and the University of Manitobafor the best student project was awarded toPeter Wootton-Beard (PhD student in theFunctional Food Centre) by an independentjudging panel. The Innovation Prize donatedby Food and Function was awarded toCaroline Montelius (PhD student from LundUniversity).Peter Wootton-Beard collecting his student prizeThe planning and delivery of the conferenceinvolved all members of the FunctionalFood Centre and many other colleaguesacross the University. Many thanks andmuch praise goes to them for making thisconference such a great success. Wehave already had some post conferencepublicity and we plan more. Two excitingcollaboration opportunities have also arisen.Visit http://www.shs.brookes.ac.uk/research/functional-food/conference forfurther conference highlights.March 2013 5

News inBriefPhD Student Award WinnerSuzanne Watts, second yearPhD student in the Departmentof Psychology, Social Work andPublic Health has been awarded theRoyal College of Nursing MarjorieSimpson New Researcher Award2013. The award covers the costof conference fees, travel andaccommodation for Suzanne toattend the annual Royal Collegeof Nursing International ResearchConference to be held in Belfastlater this year. At the conferenceSuzanne will be presenting a posterdetailing how she addressed theethical challenges in the design ofher research which is a multiplecase study exploring child protectionreferrals from primary health care tochild social care. Suzanne, who is amember of the Children and FamiliesResearch Group is supervised byDr Jane Appleton and ProfessorMargaret Harris and is supportedby a Faculty funded studentship onthe Interdisciplinary Doctoral TrainingProgramme for Children and YoungPeople.Senior Lecturer Awarded TravelScholarshipObrey Alexis, Senior Lecturer in AdultNursing, has been awarded a SantanderTravel Research Scholarship to exploreglobal health care and its developmentin the United States of America. Whilstthere, he will visit the University ofPennsylvania, The John Hopkins Universityand the University of Columbia and willgain insights into global health care fromacademics and those who are part of theglobal health care community. Obrey aimsto disseminate the findings in the form ofa seminar session to staff and students atOxford Brookes University enabling themto have a better understanding of globalhealth care. This award will no doubtdevelop Obrey professionally and theexpert knowledge gained will enable himto inform the nursing curriculum within theAdult nursing programme.Climate Change and the Accliphot ProjectAccliphot is a major and exiting new project funded as part of the European Union’sMarie Curie Initial Training Network scheme. The overall aims of the project are toidentify how plants might alter their biochemistry in response to climate change, whetheror not it is possible to accelerate this adaptation via specific interventions, and whethersuch understanding can be applied for practical purposes (e.g. obtaining higher biofuelyields by engineering organisms that can take advantage of higher light levels).The network is comprised of thirteen international academic and industrial partnerseach of whom will be employing one or more early stage researchers to work on variousaspects of the project. The Cell Systems Modelling Group will be appointing two ofthese researchers to develop metabolic models of the relevant organisms. These willthen be used as an aid to experimental design and interpretation.Further details can be found on the project website -http://www.accliphot.euDr Ross Sadler has been awardedan NIHR grant for “Predictingcardiovascular risk in Rheumatoid arthritispatients: Addition of microparticle andimmunological biomarkers to currentcardiovascular risk scores”Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronicautoimmune disease that affects approx600,000 people in the UK. Rheumatoidarthritis currently has no cure and theimmunological mechanism by whichthe disease develops remains unclear.Interestingly, the biggest cause ofdeath in these patients is heart orcardiovascular disease (CVD). ThoseRA patients who are diagnosed withcardiovascular illness are twice as likelyto die within 1 year of their cardiovasculardiagnosis that someone who has CVDbut no RA.Currently, CVD is predicted according toa patient’s ‘risk’. This risk is calculatedfrom a number of different factors aboutthe patient including smoking history,body mass index (BMI) and cholesterollevels. These factors are compiled into aformulation that can predict the likelihoodof the patient developing CVD, known asthe Framingham risk score (FRS).Microparticles are small cell-derivedmembrane-bound vesicles producedby cells in the vascular system at timesof physiological stress to the body.Previous studies have shown thatincreases in particular microparticlesare associated with various groups ofpatients who suffer from a cardiovascularcomplication and that these can increasethe accuracy of a risk score for thesepatients when predicting cardiovasculardisease. The second biggest cause ofco-morbidity and mortality in RA patientsis infection and this has been shown tobe independent of immunosuppressivemedication, indicating a wider effectof immune dysregulation in thesepatients than simply their autoimmunemanifestations.In this study, levels of microparticles andimmune function will be assessed inpatients with established RA who alsohave cardiovascular disease and thesewill be compared to relevant controls.We will try to establish if signaturemicroparticle and immune function profilefactors exist that appear to be presentsignificantly in this RA + CVD group.These candidate biomarkers will be thenassessed for their clinical value, eitheron their own or integrated into existing‘risk’ scores, in predicting cardiovasculardisease in newly diagnosed RA patients.With this work, it is hoped that moreaccurate evaluation of early RA patientscould lead to earlier intervention andbetter management of patients leadingto a decrease in both morbidity andmortality ‘Sexuality in life-limiting illness: apenomenological study’ bridget taylor6 Research News

Biotech Partnership with India inSearch for Sustainable FuelsOxford Brookes University has joinedforces with the International Centre forGenetic Engineering and Biotechnology(ICGEB) and Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU) in Delhi to develop cheap andsustainable biofuels in a project funded byan Indian Partnering Award from the UK’sBiotechnology and Biological SciencesResearch Council (BBSRC).The project mayexpand to involvepartner institutionselsewhere inIndia and theUK. It follows asuccessful fouryearcollaborationbetweenProfessor DavidFell (pictured) from the Department ofBiological and Medical Sciences at OxfordBrookes and Dr Sudip Kundu, from theDepartment of Biophysics, MolecularBiology and Bioinformatics at theWe are delighted to bedeveloping this partnership andhope to win further fundingfor more extensive researchcollaborations. This type ofpartnership provides tremendousadvantages for all parties: we take acomputational modelling approachwhilst our Indian colleagues have theexperience and facilities to test out ourpredictions, rather than just relying onproof of principle. David FellUniversity of Calcutta which focussed onthe metabolic properties of rice.Prof Fell was in a visiting party fromUK universities, funded by the BBSRC,that met with the Indian Government’sDepartment of Biotechnology (DBT) andIndian scientists in Delhi in October 2011to promote and facilitate collaborativebioenergy research by researchersand academics from both the UK andIndia. They agreed to explore threepossible sources of biofuels: planktonicalgae, seaweed and the by-products ofrice production - rice straw - to avoidcompetition between biofuel and foodproduction. It was here that he met DrShams Yazdani (ICGEB) and Professor K JMukherjee (JNU).David returned to Delhi in November2012 with colleagues to deliver a weeklongpractical course for 12 postgraduateresearchers and staff. (See next page.)During the week, students were selectedto visit the UK in 2013 to work at OxfordBrookes and the University of Abderdeen.The latest project aims to build computermodels of the metabolism of bacteria andthen design and implement changes thatcould help provide a credible biofuel forIndia.How We Find What We Are Looking ForWhat we know about an object we are looking for plays animportant role in how effectively we find it.According to research from Early Career FellowDr Giles AndersonThe series of eye-tracking studies, to be published in the journalVision Research under the title ‘Top-down Guidance of EyeMovements in Conjunction Search’, indicate that knowingsomething’s colour allows us to spot an item (such as yourkeys) far quicker than prior knowledge of other attributes (e.g.,its visual orientation). Such differences in the functioning of thevisual system have real-world applications, particularly whenimprovements in visual processing are of paramount importance(e.g., emergency or traffic signage).Thyroid Hormone Deficiency andTesticular Structure in the OvineFetusAlison Forhead has been awarded anAcademic Scholarship Award of £5550from the Society for Reproduction andFertility.Her project will examine the effectsof low levels of thyroid hormones(hypothyroidism) before birth on thestructure and function of the fetal testis.Development of the testis in the fetusand newborn can influence reproductivefunction and fertility in adult life. Thyroidhormone receptors are present in the fetaltestis, and congenital hypothyroidism,the most common congenital endocrinedisorder, has been shown to impair malefertility in both clinical and experimentalanimal studies.This study will provide novel pilot data forfuture research proposals to explore themechanisms of thyroid hormone actionin the fetal testis, and the findings maycontribute to the understanding andmanagement of long-term reproductivefunction in congenital hypothyroidism.Richard Newton, celebrating hissuccessful PhD Viva, on Friday 11January. He is with the two examiners,Prof Ed Elbers, University of Utrecht,The Netherlands, and Dr Mary Wilde,Oxford Brookes School of Education(and his Director of Studies – Guida deAbreu).Richard was supported by a UniversityScholarship from the Doctoral Trainingin Children and Young People, andhis research programme involvedcollaboration between Psychology &Education.His thesis was titled ‘Parent-childmathematical interaction: experiences,identity and activity’. He was supervisedby Professor Guida de Abreu(Psychology, director of studies) andGeorgina Glenny (Education, secondsupervisor).March 2013 7

One-Week WorkshopIn November 2012 David Fell and MarkPoolman of the Cell Systems ModellingGroup, Oliver Ebenhoeh (University ofAberdeen) and Hassan Hartman (PhDstudent in our group) ran a one weekworkshop for post-graduate studentsand interested others at the Universityof Delhi, introducing mathematical andcomputational analysis of metabolicsystems. As with previous workshops,we were incredibly impressed with theenthusiastic and friendly attitude of theIndian students, especially considering thesomewhat ad-hoc nature of the practicalarrangements - not all of the facilitieswere yet fully functional and this wasfurther compounded by the heavy securitynecessitated by a visit from the AustralianPrime Minister (who didn’t even attend theworkshop).The project aims are to:- use workshops to spread knowledge of modelling techniques developed by theUK partners;- mutually develop systems biology approaches to bioenergy research;- exchange researchers to work on areas of mutual interest.The project runs from 2012 to 2016.This workshop was the first one organisedunder our new UK-India partnering award.The award will run over the next threeyears so we are looking forward to thenext visit!To conclude an earlier UK-India partneringaward with Dr Sudip Kundu at theUniversity of Calcutta, we organised aconference in Kolkata (aka Calcutta) atthe end of January, involving a numberof UK and Indian scientists, with the title‘Systems Biology of Metabolism, Stressand Disease’.This promised to be a fascinating meeting,bringing together researchers from awide range of areas of biology (plant,microbial, human) and an equally diverserange of approaches, from theoretical toexperimental. We will report the results ofour project on modelling rice metabolism.Oxford Brookes participants, David Fell,Mark Poolman and Christine Faulkner,were joined by Dr Nick Kruger from PlantSciences, University of Oxford. The Indianspeakers come not only from Calcutta butfrom around India.More details can be found athttp://mudshark.brookes.ac.uk/Meetings/Kolkata2013Brookes Academic Featured inthe Daily MailImages of the internal world of plantstaken by Dr John Runions, Readerin Cell and Molecular Biology, havefeatured in the Daily Mail. The images,originally submitted to the onlinejournal Cell, demonstrate the beauty,intricacy and dynamism of plants whenphotographed at microscopic level.From the outside plants mayappear less than mobile, butpeer inside and you’ll see averitable motorway of activity.For proper health and development,resources like water and nutrients musteasily get from one part of the plantto another; in vascular plants, theseresources can traverse the plant viavascular bundles that are made up ofmany different cell types.John RunionsMore of John’s images and others submitted by colleagues at the University ofCambridge, can be found here:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2215052/The-complexity-intricacy-Mother-Nature-revealed-incredible-pictures-plants--seen-inside.html8 Research News

Brookes Students Attend CAIPEConferenceOn the 9th November 2012, threethird year Children’s nurses attendeda student conference focusing oninterprofessional learning, run by theCentre For The Advancement OfInterprofessional Education (CAIPE).The day consisted of various speakersand a breakout discussion in smallgroups. A highlight was the speakerKylie Jarvis, who has Down’s syndrome,demonstrating perfect public speakingskills on the importance of usinglanguage that is suitable for eachindividual patient and how to supportself-advocacy in people with a learningdisability using a MDT approach.The conference was also an excellentnetworking opportunity, we had thechance to meet and work with studentsfrom different universities, from varyingcourses. We would recommend joiningCAIPE for the conference opportunitiesand to stay up to date with IPE andother students.Public Health Student Gains Prestigious ScholarshipA student on the Masters in Public Health programme has received an award from the JohnHopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Evelyn Akinbunu, who is a full time internationalstudent from Ontario, Canada, received a scholarship to study for a Vaccine Policy Issuescourse taught in partnership with The Public Health Agency of Barcelona.Designed specifically for public health professionals, the course was an intensive three-daycourse that featured renowned professionals in the area of vaccine, including guest speakersfrom organizations such as WHO, LSHTM, Novartis, and the University of Barcelona.Evelyn commented:As a current student and novice in the field of public health, I was unsure ofwhat to expect. However, the course took me on something I would like tocall a “vaccine journey”. Within the span of 72 hours, I was able to have anin-depth understanding of immunization programmes, the role of the internetin low uptake, research and design, vaccine safety, the debate of compulsoryvaccination, the challenges faced by developing countries and how to tacklethe general public’s lack of confidence in immunization.‘In between the talks, group activities were implemented to facilitate discussions,tackling vaccine policy case studies, and creating our own immunization program.I was unsure of what I would take away from this course, but I acquired a wealth ofknowledge about a field unknown to me. It also made me aware of my ignorance inthe area of vaccinations. I took away many valuable lessons, but the one that stoodout to me is the need for better public health communication to the general public.This will restore the public’s confidence in vaccines and increase uptake.EventsFirst International SpiderWeb Meeting23-24 February, 2013Oxford Brookes University, UKDept. of Biological and Medical SciencesSpiderWeb is an alliance led by Dr. AlistairMcGregor (OBU), Dr. Evelyn Schwager(Havard University) and Dr. Niko Prpic-Schäper(Göttingen University) of severalresearch groups who are interested in thedevelopment, evolution, phylogeny anddiversity of spiders. SpiderWeb servesas a way to share and discuss ideas,knowledge, resources and materials. Datasharing and joint meetings further increasethe synergy, support common scientificprojects, and help to manage all availableresources economically.SpiderWeb will host its first meeting atOxford Brookes University in February, withinterested researchers from around the world!The meeting will include talks by membersof the consortium, additional contributedtalks and posters, and two workshops todiscuss current and future progress in spidergenomics and functional tools.Organizers: Alistair McGregor, Evelyn Schwager,Niko Prpic-SchäperPlenary presentations: Hiroki Oda, Michael AkamConfirmed speakers: Yasuko Akiyama-Oda, Jonathan Coddington, Wim Damen,Cassandra Extavour, Franziska Anni Franke,Beate Mittmann, Matthias Pechmann,Siegfried Roth, Evelyn Schwager, PrashantSharma, Angelika StollewerkworkshopResearch that breaks your heart: The emotional impact of research on the researcher11 March, Marston Road CampusMarta Wanat (Department of Clinical Health Care) and Tracy McAteer (Department of Psychology, Social Work & Public Health) who areboth PhD Researchers have managed to secure funding from The Psychology Postgraduate Affairs Group to run a one day workshop.It is aimed at postgraduates who are currently conducting research on emotionally sensitive topics.The invited speakers include Dr Juliet Rayment (City University London), Bridget Taylor, Marta Wanat, Tracy McAteer (Oxford BrookesUniversity) and Ben Hicks (Bournemouth University).If you would like more information, please email Marta Wanat (marta.wanat-2011@brookes.ac.uk) orTracy Mcateer (tmcateer@brookes.ac.uk) who are organising this workshop.March 2013 9

Tiger Conservation into the21st CenturyOpen Lecture SeriesMain Lecture Theatre27 February 6.00pmProfessor Stewart Thompson’sinaugural Professorial LectureIt is not easy to see a tiger – even if you arelooking in the right place! At the start ofthe 20th century there were an estimated100,000 worldwide. Today, although theactual number is subject to disagreementbetween tiger range Governments, tigerbiologists and Forest officials, there isconsensus that this number is somewherebetween 3 - 5,000.Some tiger biologists prefer to think ofthem as having sub-species – of the ninesub-species they recognise, three, arealready gone, with a fourth functionallyextinct. Others believe there are only twoforms – the ‘nominate’ (typical) and the‘Sunda Islands’ (Indonesian) tiger. Whilstthis lumping versus splitting debate hassome conservation implications, the factremains that whichever way we look at it –tigers are in big trouble.Today wildlife conservation has movedaway from a species-centric to alandscape or ecosystem approach.Modern tiger conservation centres aroundthe identification, maintenance andprotection of “Tiger Conservation Units”or “Critical Tiger Habitat”. One recentpiece of research identified 160 distinctlandscapes where tigers are found. Ofthese 60% were calculated to be unviable,with the vast majority of the 160 havingfewer than 25 breeding adults. Perhapsthe most sobering aspect of this workJ. Patrick Fischerwas the conclusion that as few as six tigerlandscapes exist that have more thanthe minimum number of breeding adultspopulation biologists consider necessaryto ensure a viable population in perpetuity.At face value tigers have scores of friends.There are numerous NGO’s pouringmillions of pounds into their conservationannually. Add to this the multi-million dollartourism industry that surrounds them andclearly they are of major economic andsocial importance. The recent decisionto close all Indian tiger reserves to tourismwas met with outcry from the tens ofthousands of individuals who rely, directlyor indirectly, upon them for their livelihood.The tiger tourism industry rallied round andthe decision was reversed, but for howlong? For many observers the removalof tiger tourism will be their death knell.Therefore developing an understanding oftourism impacts to both tigers and humansis vital if tigers are to have a chance ofsurvival into the 21st century and beyond.Conservation biologists are firmly of thebelief that we are at a cross-roads forthe world’s tigers. Current protectionmechanisms are not working and a newapproach to tiger conservation must bearrived at and quickly! Without this newapproach the price will be the loss ofthe tiger and the admission that we didnot have the ability to save the planet’smost iconic species. As part of theOpen Lecture series Stewart Thompsonwill therefore explore a number of keyquestions linked to how best we canprotect and expand their remainingpopulations and asks what chance dotigers have in their remaining strongholds?Forthcoming EventsBrookes Science Bazaar, 16 March 2013:https://shsc-int.brookes.ac.uk/blogs/outreach/?p=157deadline for online activity registration is 7 January 2013.Attention: We only called it ‘Science Bazaar’ because ‘Evidence based Research Bazaar’ isn’t catchy.ALL researchers from FHLS are invited to run an activity based on their research field.Darwin, Sex and Sexual Selection, 27 March 2013 at 6pm:The Faculty Annual Research Lecture by Professor Tim BirkheadPlaces can be booked at www.brookes.ac.uk/about/eventsAmazing Acts Festival, 7-10 May 2013:https://shsc-int.brookes.ac.uk/blogs/outreach/?p=176registering expression of interest now.Please have a look and if you have any questions or would like to discuss ideas, drop Anne Osterriederan email.Statslink and Mathslink Short Courses for ResearchersStatistical Methods for Data Analysis 2, 11 and 12 June 201310 Research News

Research & Consultancy Bidsand AwardsHealth & Life Sciences Research & Consultancy Bids and Awards 01 to 31 Oct 2012ConsultancyProject Status Department pFACT ID Project Name Funder Principal Investigator Award Value FEC Awarded Date Submitted DateAwarded HLS Functional Food 4389 GR/IR KitoZyme Test KitoZyme S.A. LIGHTOWLER HJ £5,600 £4,666 01-Oct-2012 24-Aug-2012HLS Social Work & Public 4490 Public Health Short Course Training Pilot Oxford Deanery - Career BETTIOL S £15,000 £14,570 18-Oct-2012 04-Oct-2012HealthDevelopment UnitAwarded £20,600 £19,236Project Status Department pFACT ID Project Name Funder Principal Investigator Award Value FEC Awarded Date Submitted DateSubmitted HLS Biological & Medical Sci 4491 Online materials consultancy project Higher Education DALRYMPLE R £8,333 £6,520 03-Oct-2012AcademyHLS Sport & Health Sciences 4520 College of OT DCD Day College ofGREEN D £561 £560 12-Oct-2012OccupationalTherapistsSubmitted £8,894 £7,081Total Faculty of Health & Life Sciences £29,494 £26,316ResearchProject Status Department pFACT ID Project Name Funder Principal Investigator Award Value FEC Awarded Date Submitted DateAwarded HLS Biological & Medical Sci 3851 AccliPhot II European Commission POOLMAN MG £445,300 £541,195 04-Oct-2012 06-Jan-2012HLS Biological & Medical Sci 4181 Identification of new anophthalmic/microphthalmicgenes by exome sequencingFondation MaladiesRaresRAGGE N £0 £11,281 02-Oct-2012 23-Apr-2012HLS Psychology 3368 Navigational abilities of typically developingindividuals and individuals with DevelopmentalCoordiHLS Sport & Health Sciences 3400 Effects on post prandial glycaemic & insulinaemicresponse & satiety of products with BaobabEconomic & SocialResearch Council(ESRC)Technology StrategyBoardWILMUT K £280,300 £370,588 05-Oct-2012 13-Oct-2011RYAN L £18,140 £25,243 04-Oct-2012 24-Jun-2011Awarded £743,740 £948,308ResearchProject Status Department pFACT ID Project Name Funder Principal Investigator Award Value FEC Awarded Date Submitted DateSubmitted HLS Biological & Medical Sci 4504 Recombinant vaccines for African horse sicknessbased on baculovirus pseudotyping and transductionPirbright Institute forAnimal HealthKING LA £49,084 £49,084 03-Oct-2012HLS Biological & Medical Sci 4505 Aldosterone a new target for treatment-resistantdepresssion modellingHLS Sport & Health Sciences 4508 Identification of new anophthalmic/microphthalmic genesby exome sequencingHLS Biological & Medical Sci 4514 The mechanism of PAMP-triggeredplasmodesmatal closure during pathogen invasionHLS Biological & Medical Sci 4517 The role of miRNAs in mediating drug-resistancein ovarian cancerHLS Biological & Medical Sci 4532 Identifying RNA associated with stress-inducedexosomesBrain and BehaviourResearch Foundation(formerly NARSAD)BERMUDEZ DIAZMIA£61,109 £130,507 04-Oct-2012Retina France RAGGE N £0 £7,544 19-Oct-2012Royal Society FAULKNER C £14,717 £17,664 15-Oct-2012Cancer and PolioResearch FundHLS Biological & Medical Sci 4542 The role of microvesicles in cancer metastasis Assoc. for InternationalCancer ResearchHLS Clinical Health Care 4387 A feasibility study of a brief individualisedcoaching-based intervention to equip lay carerswith tHLS Clinical Health Care 4523 Adherence to aromatase inhibitors: theexperiences of women (DCC 2012HLS Psychology 4501 Relative contributions of social/non-socialcognitiveindividual diffs to infant languagedevelopmentHLS Psychology 4546 Oat-based nutritional interventions as ‘recoveryfood’ for individuals addicted to alcoholCARTER DRF £28,763 £69,554 10-Oct-2012Royal Society CARTER DRF £15,000 £18,027 19-Oct-2012National Institute forHealth ResearchCARTER DRF £188,991 £405,138 25-Oct-2012BOULTON MG £13,147 £16,432 12-Oct-2012Dimbleby Cancer Care WATSON EK £99,779 £295,775 31-Oct-2012Research FundBritish Academy HARRIS M £213,815 £271,585 03-Oct-2012Esmee FairbairnFoundationNEALE JS £40,704 £95,674 24-Oct-2012Submitted £725,109 £2,325,291Total Faculty of Health & Life Sciences £1,468,849 £2,325,291March 2013 11

Health & Life Sciences Research & Consultancy Bids and Awards 01 to 30 Nov 2012ConsultancyProject Status Department pFACT ID Project Name Funder Principal Investigator Award Value FEC Awarded Date Submitted DateAwarded HLS Functional Food 4600 Horizon Science GI Test - 4 products Horizon Science LIGHTOWLER HJ £9,100 £7,716 23-Nov-2012 23-Nov-2012HLS Sport & Health Sciences 4491 Online materials consultancy project Higher Education DALRYMPLE R £10,000 £6,520 05-Nov-2012 03-Oct-2012AcademyHLS Sport & Health Sciences 4520 College of OT DCD Day College of OccupationalTherapistsGREEN D £561 £560 01-Nov-2012 12-Oct-2012Project Status Department pFACT ID Project Name Funder Principal Investigator Award Value FEC Awarded Date Submitted DateSubmitted HLS Biological & Medical Sci 4578 EiE Blogv Low Carbon Hub ESVELT M £800 £800 01-Nov-2012HLS Biological & Medical Sci 4594 Bath Schools Energy Surveys Somerset County Coucil ESVELT M £77,900 £77,829 13-Nov-2012HLS Biological & Medical Sci 4604 OCC 2 business waste audits Oxfordshire CountyCouncilHLS Biological & Medical Sci 4647 Worcestershire Resource & Efficiency assessments Worcestershire CountyCouncilHLS Biological & Medical Sci 4656 TOE2 workshops and audits winter 2013 Trust for Oxfordshire’sEnvironment (TOE2)HLS Psychology, Social Work &Public Health4570 Investigating ‘Did not attend’ routines and policiesfor childrens missed health care appointmentsESVELT M £1,410 £1,402 20-Nov-2012ESVELT M £60,000 £60,000 30-Nov-2012ESVELT M £3,492 £3,490 30-Nov-2012NSPCC APPLETON JV £2,086 £2,086Submitted £145,602 £145,606Total Faculty of Health & Life Sciences £165,263 £160,403ResearchProject Status Department pFACT ID Project Name Funder Principal Investigator Award Value FEC Awarded Date Submitted DateAwarded HLS Biological & Medical Sci 4160 Cell-wall stabilisation of plasma membrane proteindynamicsBiotechnology &Biological SciencesResearch Council(BBSRC)RUNIONS CJ £377,100 £496,271 09-Nov-2012 25-Apr-2012HLS Biological & Medical Sci 4423 Discovery of blood pressure genes could helpprevent cardiovascular diseaseWilliam HarveyResearch Institute)ZHANG Y £4,113 £7,507 15-Nov-2012 24-Aug-2012Awarded £381,213 £503,777Project Status Department pFACT ID Project Name Funder Principal Investigator Award Value FEC Awarded Date Submitted DateSubmitted HLS Biological & Medical Sci 4521 Synthesis of commodity chemicals byTechnology Strategy FELL DA £139,016 £173,770 16-Nov-2012fermentation of syngasBoardHLS Biological & Medical Sci 4547 Sub-chronic tryptophan depletion and aldosteronesets new targets for resistant depressionHLS Centre for Rehabilitation 4531 Non-pharmaceutical treatment of Parkinson’sdisease and other movement disordersHLS Clinical Health Care 4569 Prostate Cancer in African and Caribbean men:Their health beliefs, experiences and unmet needsHLS Clinical Health Care 4590 Impact of a tailored exercise programme forpatients with advanced breast, colorectal &prostate caHLS Psychology, Social Work &Public HealthBrain and BehaviourResearch Foundation(formerly NARSAD)Jacques andGloria GossweilerFoundationDimbleby CancerCare ResearchFundDimbleby Cancer CareResearch FundBERMUDEZ DIAZMIA£31,082 £40,853 08-Nov-2012DAWES NH £9,062 £16,300 13-Nov-2012ALEXIS O £71,900 £195,167 19-Nov-2012WATSON EK £74,999 £190,092 08-Nov-20124585 Money practices in culturally diverse families Leverhulme Trust DE ABREU GMCP £8,196 £26,953 27-Nov-2012Submitted £334,255 £643,135Health & Life Sciences Research & Consultancy Bids and Awards 01 to 31 Dec 2012ConsultancyProject Status Department pFACT ID Project Name Funder Principal Investigator Award Value FEC Awarded Date Submitted DateSubmitted HLS Biological & Medical Sc 4438 SEEP Network 2012-13 CPD Short Courses ESVELT M £1,875 £1,872 03-Dec-2012Submitted £1,875 £1,872Total Faculty of Health & Life Sciences £1,875 £1,872ResearchProject Status Department pFACT ID Project Name Funder Principal Investigator Award Value FEC Awarded Date Submitted DateAwarded HLS Biological & Medical Sc 4121 Low dose radiation-induced optical changes and European Commission KADHIM MA £185,186 £366,452 20-Dec-2012 17-Apr-2012genetic factorsHLS Social Work & Public Health 4496 Mentor International Prevention Hub Evaluation Mentor International FOXCROFT DR £100,000 £150,284 19-Dec-2012 11-Dec-2012Awarded £285,186 £516,736Project Status Department pFACT ID Project Name Funder Principal Investigator Award Value FEC Awarded Date Submitted DateSubmitted HLS Biological & Medical Sc 4655 Establishment of small fluorescent protein iLOV Science & Technology IRONS SL £0 £0 07-Dec-2012for use in fluorescence lifetime imaging application Facilities CouncilHLS Clinical Health Care 4642 MARION The role of data visualisation in diabetesself-management, within the context of mobiletechnologiesHealth Foundationl WAITE MA £5,672 £11,218 13-Dec-2012HLS Psychology, Social Work &Public HealthHLS Psychology, Social Work &Public HealthHLS Psychology, Social Work &Public Health4615 Development & piloting of a digital tailoredintervention to reduce alcohol consumption inobese men4660 How much promotion of alcohol do young peopleencounter in social media: feasibility study of aself report method that quantifies exposure toalcohol communications4679 Getting the best for my health: improving engagementbetween health services and the homelessHLS Social Work & Public Health 4665 Treatment of alcohol use disorders and comorbiddepression in primary care: exploratory RCTNational Institute forHealth ResearchAlcohol Education andResearch CouncilFOXCROFT DR £320,537 £400,663 05-Dec-2012FOXCROFT DR £61,154 £211,474 17-Dec-2012Health Foundation NEALE JS £6,750 £12,347 18-Dec-2012Alcohol Education andResearch CouncilSMITH LA £51,546 £172,404 17-Dec-2012Submitted £445,659 £808,106Total Faculty of Health & Life Sciences £730,845 £1,324,842