By Heather Hobbs
BRINGING YOU THE LATEST NEWS & EVENTS FROM THE SCIENCE INDUSTRY
Key Construction Milestone moves The Franklin nearer to completion
A £40 million Hub that will house The Rosalind Franklin Institute on the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus reached practical completion at the end of January, when construction company Mace handing legal ownership to UK Research and Innovation. Following specialist scientific fit out, 200 researchers from academia and industry will begin to occupy the building.
Funded through UK Research and Innovation’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, (EPSRC), the Hub project which commenced in 2018 has been delivered on time and on budget by Mace, working in partnership with AECOM, The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the Franklin.
Professor James Naismith, Director of The Franklin said: “This is a building created by scientists for cutting edge research, and we are looking forward to continuing to deliver impact for the UK. The Hub shows that it is possible to deliver a highly functional science building that is on budget, on time, energy efficient, a record breaker in space utilisation and visually inspiring. This achievement, despite the pandemic, is entirely to the credit of the exceptional team work of MACE, AECOM, STFC and Franklin staff. Our scientists coming together in the building for the first time will deliver scientific firsts impacting across the UK nations. By doing so we will honour the legacy of our namesake Rosalind Franklin and try to be worthy of bearing her name.”
Working closely with Franklin researchers, Mace have created one of the most electromagnetically stable spaces on the planet for the Hub’s microscopy suites, with stainless steel shielding and piled foundations creating ideal research conditions. Over 50 fume hoods requiring miles of ducting, have also been installed to make the Hub one of the UK’s most space efficient research buildings.
Partnership Develops Test for Common Agricultural Parasite
The University of Liverpool and Mologic Ltd have been collaborating on a lateral flow test which will allow farmers and vets to diagnose livestock exposure to fluke on farm, with results available within 10 minutes. Prevalent in over 70 countries worldwide and a common parasite affecting cattle and sheep in the UK, Fasciola hepatica (the liver fluke) is estimated to cause over US$3.2 billion in livestock production losses.
Professor Diana Williams and Tessa Walsh PhD, Infection Biology at the University of Liverpool jointly commented: “We are delighted that what started as a research tool is now being developed as a practical diagnostic test for farmers and vets, to support strategic control for this common, devastating disease. The project has been supported by AHDB and BBSRC to bring it to a point where we can start to develop the test commercially.”
Dr Alison Wakeham, Project Leader, Mologic, commented: “In fluke endemic areas, industry practice is often to treat in the absence of any diagnosis. As seen with antibiotics, an over-reliance on flukicides gives rise to anthelmintic resistance and poses a significant threat and constraint to livestock production. Farm testing offers the industry a cost-effective route to early diagnosis and an on-the-spot targeted treatment. A positive outcome for the animal, the producer, the processor and the consumer.”
Pictured (L-R): Charlie Vezzell (Associate Project Manager AECOM), Jim Naismith (Director of the Franklin), and Simon Allen (Mace Project Director). Photograph By: Sean Dillow.
Terry Spraggett, Managing Director of Public Sector Construction at Mace said: ‘’We are proud to successfully handover such an ambitious and unique project under quite challenging circumstances. We brought together a multi-disciplinary team, who really pushed the boundaries to support the Rosalind Franklin Institute’s vision and create a world class science facility that will spearhead innovation. We look forward to continuing our work across the campus delivering exceptional science spaces.”
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Lesley Stubbings representing the Sustainable Control of Parasites (SCOPS) group added: “Testing is a key element in Liver Fluke control and the SCOPS group are excited by the potential for a test that can be used ‘pen-side’ on farm. This would enable farmers to treat only when necessary, ensuring timely treatment while avoiding over- use of flukicides, which is critical if we are to preserve the efficacy of the medicines available to us.”
Rebecca Small on behalf of the Control of Worms Sustainably (COWS) group added: “It is great to see that research is being put into practice. This tool is an exciting development that will provide rapid results allowing farmers to make more informed decisions as to whether an animal needs to be treated for liver fluke or not.”
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A study examining the impact of Covid-19 on the delivery of anti-cancer treatments in Scotland led by Russell Petty, Professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Dundee’s School of Medicine, found that chemotherapy services in Scotland resumed far quicker than in other countries and that the Covid-19 pandemic has led to improved treatments for cancer patients.
Many chemotherapy services were paused in response to fears that the treatment would greatly increase the risk of vulnerable patients contracting the virus. Professor Petty and his colleagues have shown that this activity decreased by almost 29% initially but that chemotherapy treatments had been almost fully restored after a month following service re-design. This compares to nadir figures of 45% and 66% respectively for England and
Scotland achieves Fastest Resumption of Cancer Treatments post UK Lock-Down Northern Ireland.
Actions that enabled the recovery of chemotherapy treatment included development of Covid-protected clinical areas for administration; switching patients to alternative chemotherapies requiring less hospital contact and that had less side-effects; expediting the approval of new cancer medicines.
Professor Petty says that these enforced changes might prove to be a rare positive side-effect of the bleakest period in living memory.
“New treatments that clinicians across the country had been gradually introducing to improve cancer chemotherapy were greatly accelerated as a result of the pandemic. Processes that would normally take months or even years took just weeks while the UK Coronavirus Cancer
database allowed us to collect data on the safety of treatments for patients.
“Crucially all this activity was undertaken in a co-ordinated way across NHS Scotland, so the recovery was national regardless of how badly or not different regions were affected by Covid-19. These activities have placed us in the best position to sustain treatment during the second wave and in the medium-term, chemotherapy services for patients will have actually improved.”
The reporting method developed by Prof Petty and his colleagues is informing the creation of a national realtime dashboard for chemotherapy activity in Scotland.
Published in the British Journal of Cancer.
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Professor Russell Petty
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