The latest Business updates from the science industry
by Heather Hobbs
RMS President Announced at Society’s Flagship Event
During mmc2019 the RMS offi cially announced the appointment of Professor Grace Burke as its new fi gurehead - the fourth female president of the world’s oldest microscopy society.
A pioneering research scientist with a wealth of experience on both sides of the Atlantic, Grace, who will also be the society’s fi rst female president from the physical sciences fi eld, is currently Director of the Materials Performance Centre at the University of Manchester. She obtained her BS degree in Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, before completing a PhD in Metallurgy at Imperial College London.
She has around 30 years’ experience as a research scientist in the United States, including US Steel Research Laboratory, the Westinghouse Science and Technology Centre and the (Westinghouse/Bechtel) Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory. During her time at Bettis, she became the fi rst woman Consultant in the history of the Laboratory, performing research on structural materials for nuclear power systems.
Refugee Shelter Design Image Wins Photography Competition
Dr Dima Albadra, University of Bath (Syrian refugee at Azraq refugee camp) 1st People and Skills and overall winner
Professor Grace Burke RMS President
“I am looking forward to working with our RMS members via our very active Committees as well as encouraging all of our members, especially students and early career researchers, to get involved with our diverse activities and programmes.”
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A picture of a Syrian refugee using virtual reality to help researchers design a shelter has been chosen as the winner in the 2019 national science photography competition organised by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), which is part of UK Research and Innovation.
The photograph was taken by Dr Dima Albadra, a research associate in the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering at the University of Bath. It was taken at Azraq refugee camp in Jordan, where, as part of a participatory design workshop, refugees used virtual reality to give feedback and adapt suggested shelter typologies.
Heart Muscle Fibres Study Wins Research Imaging Award
MR Solutions’ Image of the Year 2019 award for the best molecular research image was presented to the Amsterdam University Medical Center, for its submission carried out by PhD researcher, Gustav Strijkers. The winners, which were presented at the ISMRM conference in May, were chosen by a panel of leading academics who examined images from MRI, PET or CT – or a combination of imaging modalities.
The winning submission technique was used in cardiac research to produce a high fi delity 3D tractography of the left ventricle heart muscle fi bres of a mouse. The exceptional quality and accuracy of the cardiomyopathy research signifi cantly advances the preclinical imaging sector in the battle to better understand heart muscle disease and treatment.
The submission from Sydney Imaging Core Research Facility came a close second place for the high quality MR abdominal image of a pregnant Sprague Dawley rat. The resulting image showed multiple embryonic implants and was ranked for image clarity, research interpretation and understanding.
The third place submission by the Centre Georges François Leclerc centre in France was a PET-MR whole body image of an eight week old BALB/c mouse showing a CT26 xenograft tumour. This displayed a clear breakdown of the metabolic, hypoxic and necrotic regions of the tumour. Additional axial images showed further localized information on the high and low uptake areas of 18F-FMISO using a 2T signal.
Nicky Doughty, CEO and Director at MR Solutions was delighted with the imaging submissions: “We want to thank our user group for all their imaging contributions. Researchers using our preclinical imaging systems are producing amazing results – this will help to progress our scientifi c understanding at molecular level and ultimately aid better treatment for patients in the clinic.”
MR Solutions’ preclinical MRI and PET systems won the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise in 2016 and 2019.
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Dr Albadra said: Participatory design is a two-way process allowing refugees to be part of the research team. It is credited with higher satisfaction in design outcomes and is an obvious way of encouraging socio-culturally sensitive solutions. This is usually diffi cult to achieve in a refugee camp context due to many practical and logistical issues. Over 160 refugees participated in our workshops, giving feedback on both design typologies and the participatory methods used, such as, physical models, architectural drawings and virtual reality.
Dr Albadra took the photograph on October 30, 2018 using a Canon EOS 7D Mark II camera.
Competition judge, Dr Hayaatun Sillem, Chief Executive Offi cer (CEO) of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: The striking photographs in this year’s competition refl ect the real breadth and ingenuity of engineering research supported by the EPSRC.
Many of the projects captured in these images will go on to transform our world for the better, improve people’s lives and the economy. It is fantastic to see such creativity, both in the images and the research projects, captured in the winners’ work.
Fellow judge, Professor Sarah Sharples, EPSRC Board member and Pro Vice Chancellor for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Nottingham said: Judging was not easy, there were some really arresting images that prompted a need to know more. They really demonstrate the breadth of the EPSRC portfolio of research and how it touches people’s lives.
The competition attracted 169 entries which were drawn from researchers in receipt of EPSRC funding, and were grouped into fi ve categories. Dr Albadra’s entry topped the People and Skills section and was selected as the overall winner. The winners in the other categories were: Innovation, Weird and Wonderful, Eureka and Discovery, Equipment and Facilities.
The fi rst, second and third prize winning images with descriptions are available to view on the EPSRC website:
www.epsrc.ukri.org
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