Health and Medicine
Professor Roland Bender – Sex on the Brain – the Neurobiology of Sex Hormones
The prevalence of anxiety and mood disorders is on the rise worldwide. Men and women experience different types of anxiety disorders at different rates – this may be partially due to sex specific differences in the brain. To understand this difference Professor...
Professor Regina Fluhrer – A Unique Family of Intramembrane Proteases
Intramembrane proteases are proteins located in the core of the cell membranes of mammals and other organisms. Discovered at the end of last century, they are still poorly understood and implicated in a number of diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease, malaria and...
Dr Mark D. Hayward | Dr Jennifer Karas Montez – Education and Health Disparity Across the US
Adults living in certain US states suffer from more illnesses, more disability, and die sooner than residents of others. Dr Mark D. Hayward of the University of Texas at Austin and Dr Jennifer Karas Montez of Syracuse University are investigating these differences in...
Professor Sylvain Baillet – Brain Training
Gaining insight into the brain and its inner workings improves our understanding of behaviour and our knowledge of the diseases and treatments of our most complex organ. Professor Sylvain Baillet and his research team at the McConnell Brain Imaging Centre of the...
Chantau Lau – From Surviving to Thriving: Boosting the Oral Feeding Performance of Premature Babies
Dr Rens van de Schoot – Statistical Methods for Small Data
Researchers are heavily reliant on statistical techniques that are based on large sample sizes. Therefore, attempts to gain useful information from small samples can often lead to biased, or incorrect conclusions. Dr Rens van de Schoot at Utrecht University has shown...
Linh Le – Bonbouton: Leading the Charge in Wearable Healthcare Technology
At Bonbouton, Linh Le and his colleagues are creating a ground-breaking new range of wearable healthcare technologies. These products can track vital signs such as skin temperature and muscle motion, empowering people with the knowledge and data they need to monitor...
Professor Stephen Leeder – Integrated Healthcare – Building Health Systems for the Future
Globally, health systems are struggling to meet the rising demands from an ageing population and lifestyle-associated diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. To tackle this challenge, Professor Stephen Leeder, at the University of Sydney, Australia, and the...
The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation
Located in Irvine, California, the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation supports researchers and non-profit research institutions in making the next generation of breakthroughs in chemistry and the life sciences. Founded in 1978 by philanthropists Arnold and...
Professor Stephen Maren – Learning to Forget – Extinguishing Fearful Memories
We often hear how impairments in learning can have a negative impact on peoples’ lives but what about problems with forgetting? The inability to forget the association between everyday cues and previous traumatic events underlies anxiety-related disorders, such as...
Professor Michael Schrader – Peroxisomes on the Rise
Professor Michael Schrader and his team at the University of Exeter are working to decipher how specialised compartments within cells called peroxisomes are formed and function to perform vital roles in processing the lipids that coat nerve cells and in defending the...
Dr Chris Meier – Enhancing the Efficacy of Anti-Viral & Anti-Cancer Drugs
Cancer and viral infections are two of the leading causes of death worldwide. It goes without saying that there is a need for more effective treatment options. Dr Chris Meier from the University of Hamburg’s Department of Chemistry has been working on exactly that....
Professor Yuping Wang – Vitamin D and Preeclampsia – Joining the Dots
Preeclampsia is a common but serious complication of pregnancy that can harm both mother and baby. Recent research has identified vitamin D deficiency as a risk factor for developing preeclampsia and also the beneficial effects of vitamin D supplementation on this...
Dr Keith Brunt | Dr Jeremy Simpson – Old Drugs for New Tricks
Dr Keith Brunt from Dalhousie University and Dr Jeremy Simpson from the University of Guelph in Canada have pioneered research into understanding the mechanisms of increased shortness of breath in patients with heart failure. By applying a collaborative approach, they...
Professor Hannah M. Wexler – Good Bacteria Gone Bad
Bacteria within our gut play an essential role in breaking down our food, but when they escape to a new environment some can turn nasty in order to survive. Professor Hannah Wexler’s lab at the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Health Care System (GLAVAHCS) has been...
Lois Jean Brady | Matthew Guggemos – Multi-Sensory Tools for Autism
For children with autism, communication can be a challenge. Drawing from a wealth of clinical experience, speech pathologists Lois Brady and Matthew Guggemos at iTherapy, LLC are developing innovative, engaging multi-sensory communication tools with the aim of...
Professor Romano Orru – Cheap and Eco-friendly Drug Synthesis using Biocatalysis and One-Pot Processes
Developing more efficient techniques for synthesising complex drug molecules is a painstaking process. However, this is something that Dr Romano Orru of Vrije University Amsterdam is very much committed to. His team is working towards higher efficiency and yield in...
Dr Yu Wang | Dr Bo Bai | Dr Andy Man – Determining the Link between Ageing and Cardiovascular Disease
Ageing is the most significant risk factor for a range of prevalent cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, such as hypertension and obesity. Accordingly, new interventions are needed for delaying or preventing these disorders. Dr Yu Wang is a pioneering researcher at...
Andrew Freddo | Dr Katherine D. Walton | Professor Deborah L. Gumucio – An Absorbing Tale of the Intestine Unfolds
Understanding the mechanisms behind the development of the small intestine will help aid discovery of new therapies targeting intestinal disorders. Andrew Freddo and his colleagues at the University of Michigan Medical School are working to understand these...
Dr Kayvan Najarian – A Revolutionary Approach to Emergency Medical Care
The multiple injuries sustained in a traumatic accident put victims’ lives at risk and can be difficult to diagnose accurately in fast paced emergency room settings. Dr Kayvan Najarian and his team of researchers at the University of Michigan are designing advanced...
Dr Francesca Dominici – Life-Saving Data: How Breathing ‘Safe’ Air Can Kill
Air pollution can have serious health impacts. However, until now, the link between air pollution and death had not been comprehensively shown in the US, especially for rural areas and underrepresented populations. Using data science methodologies, Dr Francesca...
FutSci and ORUK
FutSci (www.futsci.com) is a donation-rewards crowdfunding platform dedicated to complement funding for research, innovation and technology within the Life Science arena. At FutSci they have been developing a game-changing solution to three of the biggest challenges...
Professor Brian Schaefer – Cellular Polka and Immune Cell Signalling
Immunology remains an important branch of medical and biological sciences, providing us with protection against infection and disease. Professor Brian Schaefer of the Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, has dedicated his research to elucidating the molecular...
Professor Sandra Schmid – The Dynamics of Dynamin and Cancer Evolution
All cells need to transport vital biomolecules across membranes by packaging them into small membrane-bound containers called vesicles. Integral to this process is the large protein dynamin. In her insightful and pioneering research, Professor Sandra Schmid has begun...
Dr Samantha Meenach – A Three-Dimensional Model of Lung Cancer
New and successful drug development for the treatment of lung cancer requires imaginative and creative thinking by scientists and doctors alike. Dr Samantha Meenach and her colleagues at the University of Rhode Island have developed an innovative approach for testing...
Professor Terry Powley – The Brain and the Gut – a Meeting of Two Minds
Until now, the brain and the neural network of the gastrointestinal tract have been considered largely independent organs. Recent experiments conducted by Professor Terry Powley of Purdue University and his colleagues have fundamentally challenged this belief. Their...
National Research Council Canada – Medical Devices Research Centre
The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) celebrated 100 years of existence in 2016. It has a rich history of contributions in medical device innovation, from the development of one of the first cardiac pacemakers in the early 1950s, to the first mass-produced...
Dr Madhu Bhaskaran – Stretchable Sensors: Electronics on the Move
Stretchable electronic devices have numerous applications in many fields, such as healthcare monitoring, communications and detecting dangerous substances. Dr Madhu Bhaskaran and her group at the RMIT University have developed an innovative new method for producing...
Dr Fiona Stanley – Empowering Indigenous Communities: Modern Solutions to Colonial Problems
Dr Fiona Stanley and her team of multi-disciplinary researchers at the Centre for Research Excellence in Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing use novel strategies to empower Indigenous Australians and promote public health. An Institutional Legacy of Failure Worldwide, the...
Dr Olga Volpert – Assailing Vessel: Angiogenesis in Health and Disease
Angiogenesis – the formation of new blood vessels – is a major component of the progression of several diseases – especially cancer. Dr Olga Volpert at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center works on elucidating the molecular mechanisms of abnormal...
The Stroke Foundation, Australia
The Stroke Foundation, Australia has for the last two decades worked to support stroke survivors and their families. As ‘the voice of stroke’ in Australia, the national charity is working to increase community awareness and understanding of how stroke can be...
Dr. Erik Sontheimer – Innovation Is in Our RNA
DNA, as the molecular blueprint for life on earth, has long held a special place in scientific discourse and popular culture. DNA also has a lesser-known sister molecule, called RNA, which transfers specific instructions from DNA to produce proteins. RNA is now...