By Heather Hobbs BRINGING YOU THE LATEST RESEARCH & EVENTS NEWS FROM THE SCIENCE INDUSTRY


JIC and Chinese Academy of Sciences Collaborate on new Centre


UK and China have strengthened scientific partnerships with the establishment of a £12 million centre for plant science and microbiology spanning the two countries. With support from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), scientists at the John Innes Centre located on the Norwich Research Park, the Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology (SIPPE) and the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) in Beijing, will investigate challenges facing agriculture and human health including increasing crop yield and resistance to disease as well as developing the use of plants and microbes for the production of health- promoting natural products. Professor Dale Sanders, Director of the John Innes Centre (JIC) in Norwich, said: “We have a long history of joint research projects with Chinese scientists, many of whom are also JIC alumni. This strategic partnership with institutes within the Chinese Academy of Sciences will establish ten new research groups in the new centre in Beijing and Shanghai to work collaboratively with our internationally-leading researchers at JIC, as well as


providing reciprocal placements for UK and Chinese staff and students.” The strategic agreement was signed by Professor Sanders with representatives of the two research institutes within CAS: the Deputy Director of the Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology (SIPPE) Dr Chengshu Wang and the Director of the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) in Beijing Dr Weicai Yang. CAS President Prof Chunli Bai and BBSRC Executive Professor Jackie Hunter also witnessed the signing. Dr Chengshu Wang said: “JIC is one of the world’s leading institutions for plant and microbial science. Quite a few of our faculty have received excellent training in JIC and there are on-going projects jointly performed between our colleagues. In line with this strategic partnership, particular interests for the joint centre in Shanghai will be focused on the metabolic, interactive, and biosynthetic mechanisms in plants and microbes.” Dr Weicai Yang said: “The joint centre will further strength the collaborations between IGDB and JIC scientists in plant sciences and promote internationalisation of both


The strategic agreement was signed by Dr Weicai Yang, Professor Dale Sanders and Dr Chengshu Wang (bottom row, left to right), and witnessed by Professor Jackie Hunter and Professor Chunli Bai (top row, left to right)


institutes. The hybridisation of Chinese and British culture will bring vigour and inspiration to students, and therefore have a broad impact on IGDB.”


Over the next five years BBSRC will contribute £2 million; JIC is contributing £1 million and IGDB and SIPPE will together contribute in the region of £9 million towards the joint collaboration.


31014pr@reply-direct.com Summer Sports Challenges Runners to Fund Cancer Research


Queen Mary University of London staff, students and alumni have been joining the fight against cancer with a series of charity sports challenges this summer, including the British 10k Run, the London Triathlon and the Thames Path Challenge. Every penny raised through sponsorship will go towards research being undertaken at Queen Mary University of London’s Barts Cancer Institute (BCI). PhD student Doon MacDonald from the School of Electronic Engineering and Materials Science, alumni Roberto Ray (Computer Science, 2010), Kevin Leis (Hispanic Studies, 2010) and Dr Ilya Kantsedikas (Medicine, 2013) also took part in the London Triathlon, the world’s largest, between 2nd and 3rd of August.


Another team of BCI academics will also take part in the Thames Path Challenge in September, where participants can choose to walk or run a 25km, 50km or 100km route. Lecturer Dr Sarah Martin will be leading a team including Medical Oncology Consultant Dr Michelle Lockley, Dr Katiuscia Bianchi, and Dr Susana Godinho, walking from Cookham to Henley to raise funds for cancer research. Professor Nick Lemoine, Director of BCI, explains: “Not only are we hoping to raise funds, but also public awareness of the ground-breaking research being carried out at BCI and across QMUL. Every donation, however small, helps us buy vital equipment. Just £5 funds a DNA sequencing test so we can find out whether a tumour sample has a known gene mutation. £1,000 could pay for the sequencing of an entire genome of a cancer, so we can better understand it and develop ways to kill it completely.”


Dr Laura Gay took part in the British 10k London run


Neil Jahans took part in the British 10k London Run


31015pr@reply-direct.com £1.3 Million Wellcome Award to Boost Immune System Research


Professor Paul Crocker, a researcher at the University of Dundee has received a Welcome Trust Senior Investigator Award to support his laboratory’s research for the next five years, investigating proteins which regulate critical functions in our immune system and are influential in various infectious and autoimmune diseases and in septic shock. “Our bodies are continuously under threat of attack by infectious organisms,” said Professor Crocker, who is based in the College of Life Sciences at Dundee. “One of the key immune defences are cells called neutrophils which constantly circulate in the blood.


Professor Paul Crocker


“When a tissue such as the lung becomes infected, neutrophils rapidly leave the blood, enter the tissue and destroy invading pathogens such as fungi and bacteria. It is


essential to regulate this process since neutrophils themselves can cause severe damage if too


many of them enter the infected tissue, resulting in diseases such as acute lung injury. “My research is focussed on proteins called ‘siglecs’ that recognise sugar molecules on our cells and on certain pathogens. We have discovered that they are able to control the entry of neutrophils into the lung tissues as well as detect bacteria like Haemophilus influenzae. Professor Crocker is using mass spectrometry to work out in molecular detail how these proteins are able to regulate these critical functions in our immune system. “We expect that our research will reveal new molecules and signalling pathways that will help us understand disease better and may also help us to develop improved medicines for infectious diseases and septic shock,” he added. The award includes funding for two postdoctoral scientists and a research assistant over the five year period. More information about Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator Awards is available at http://ilmt.co/PL/lGQ.


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